Downtown Illumination Project Takes a Step Forward

The Office of Cultural Affairs nabbed a $600,000 ArtPlace America grant a couple years back to implement several art projects Downtown. The first two are moving forward with the adoption of a resolution to execute an agreement with Dan Corson, who will be responsible for the artwork at Highway 87 & Santa Clara as well as Highway 87 & San Fernando. We also have more details on the project itself.

The Santa Clara Street project will be called Sensing You and will include a mural covering the columns and "underside" of the overpass as well as LED lighting elements. Sounds great so far, no? It gets better. The project includes sensors that cause the artwork to react based on the volume of pedestrian traffic. There will also be a partnership with Google's Nitanic Lab--creators of the augmented reality game Ingress--that will allow players to have special abilities to interact with the artwork. Awesome.

Over at San Fernando Street, the project will be entitled Sensing Water. The LED artwork will vary day to day and season to season based on information taken from the Guadalupe River.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing both of these come to life, as well as the other artwork and interactive exhibits that the grant will bring Downtown!

Hat tip to Brent Pearse for sending this in.

Highway 87 & Santa Clara Street

Highway 87 & San Fernando Street

Downtown San Jose Office Vacancy Falls Below 20%

After several years of 20%+ vacancy in the Downtown office submarket we have finally broken that barrier. In the 4th quarter of 2013, vacancy dropped from 20.9% to 19.5%. The total amount of office space Downtown is 8.4 million SQFT and the average rents are around $2.74, far below most parts of Silicon Valley.

The notable 2013 leases mentioned in the Silicon Valley Business Journal article are:

• Apigee (moved from Palo Alto) - 41,000 SQFT @ 10 Almaden
• Bridge Bank - 18,500 SQFT expansion @ 55 Almaden
• Miller Morton - 15,000 SQFT @ 50 West San Fernando
• CiperCloud - 20,000 SQFT @ 333 West San Carlos

While 19.5% is still quite high--especially compared to Palo Alto and Mountain View--the trend is very positive. The previous quarter also saw a 1% drop in vacancies. With more residential towers on the way and a booming restaurant scene, I fully expect vacancies to continue to decrease. Downtown San Jose is perhaps Silicon Valley's best kept secret regarding office space. Rates are low, the area is easily walkable with great access to mass transit, easy access to the airport, hundreds of restaurants and bars, a renovated convention center, tons of hotels, the SAP center, and now we even have a patent office.

Source: SVBJ

LastLightBender

San Jose Makes Global Momentum Index!

Commercial real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle has identified cities around the world that have the combination of strong socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum, as well as longer-term foundations for success. The company has created the "City Momentum Index" where San Jose ranks quite well and is sitting shoulder to shoulder with great international cities. At 9th place on the list, San Jose is nestled between Hong Kong (8th) and Singapore (10th). New York comes in at #6 while San Francisco commanded the top spot. LA is 15th on the list, Boston is 17th, and Seattle is 18th.

The factors in the index include economic output, population, Fortune 2000 HQs, foreign direct investment, commercial real estate construction/absorption/prices, higher education infrastructure, technology/venture capital, and innovation capability.

You never in a million years would have found San Jose on a list like this a couple of decades ago--we've really come a long way. Looking forward to seeing where all this momentum will take us.

You can access the full article over here. Hat tip to Todd Horvitz for sending this in.

Original Joe's Featured on the Travel Channel

Source: I Heart SJ

Fogo de Chão Coming to San Jose this Month!

Internationally renowned Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão is opening their first Northern Californian location later this month at Santana Row. I will have more information about the restaurant later in February, but for now there is a neat video about the "Gaucho Way" and a contest for a 7-day expedition to Brazil below. I am really, really looking forward to this restaurant!

Brazilian Steakhouse Fogo de Chão, Opening Its First Northern California Location in February, Launches “Expedition Brazil,” A National Contest for Adventure-Seeking “Culture-vores”

Fogo de Chão has launched “Expedition Brazil,” a national contest that is perfectly fit for adventure-seeking Fogo fans. It invites these “culture-vores” into the world of Fogo by offering an insider’s look into the beautiful country of Brazil. One lucky fan and their guest will be awarded one of four, 7-day travel expeditions that include dining at a Fogo restaurant in Brazil. Entries are accepted through Feb. 16, 2014, and judging is based on several criteria such as creativity and uniqueness of the submission, describing why they are perfect to win the exciting journey. Complete details and Official Rules at: www.fogo.com/expedition. Fogo de Chão will open its first Northern California location at Santana Row in San Jose in February 2014.

In September 2013, U.S Fogo de Chão assembled a team of Fogo leadership and Brazilian gauchos to return to Southern Brazil, where the deep cultural roots of Fogo de Chão were formed. They spent time on the family farms of authentic Fogo de Chão gaucho chefs and became immersed in the rich Southern Brazilian culture. “It was during our own expedition to Brazil that we were inspired to fully develop the contest, as we realized what an incredible insider’s look we could provide to our guests,” says Fogo de Chão marketing director Andy Feldmann, “What better way to create something special for our fans than to send them on an unforgettable adventure throughout Brazil, where Fogo de Chão originated?”

The contest was launched in conjunction with “The Gaucho Way,” a short 3-minute film that tells the Fogo story through the eyes of one of their gauchos. The majority of the video was shot on location in Southern Brazil. The story represents the many gauchos that have traveled to the U.S. with Fogo to share their culture here in America. The film brings to life the passion, heritage and distinctive culinary style that Fogo has been known for since it opened its first restaurant in Brazil in 1979, before importing the concept to the U.S. in 1997. The documentary can be viewed at fogo.com/expedition or http://www.youtube.com/fogorestaurants.

About Fogo de Chão

Fogo de Chão^® Churrascaria - Brazilian Steakhouse was founded in 1979 in Porto Alegre, Brazil and expanded into the U.S. in 1997. There are currently 22 locations throughout the United States and nine locations in Brazil with the recent openings in New York City and the Jardins neighborhood of São Paulo. San Jose, California to follow in 2014. For more information, please visit www.fogo.com. Follow FOGO on Facebook.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Submission period ends on 2/16/14. Open to legal residents of 50 U.S. and DC, 21 and older. Void where prohibited. For Official Rules, click here. Sponsor: Fogo de Chão (Holdings) Inc. 14881 Quorum Drive, Suite 750, Dallas, Texas 75254.

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Saturday Stats: Santa Clara County has the 5th Largest Homeless Population in the US

Homelessness is one of the key issues our area is facing more and more each day. A federal survey has come out saying homelessness has declined overall, but Santa Clara County has the 5th largest homeless population in the US. This is not adjusted on a per capita basis (like the map below), but raw numbers.

Homeless Populations

• New York City: 64,060
• Los Angeles city and county: 53,798
• Seattle/King County: 9,106
• San Diego city and county: 8,879
• San Jose/Santa Clara County: 7,631

I am a little bit skeptical about the data given SF is not on the top 5, but Santa Clara County does have more than double the population of SF County. On a per capita basis I would expect Santa Clara County to be lower on the list.

The real bad news is that they are not mostly transients that are flocking to the South Bay for awesome weather and a liberal environment. 85% of the homeless here had their last permanent residency within the county. This isn't something that we can easily sweep under the rug, most of these people were former neighbors at one point.

Source: Anonymous Poster, The Merc

Battledish Downtown San Jose

San Jose is participating in an international cooking competition called Battledish, which is actually hosted by our friends at Dishcrawl. Six chefs have been chosen to compete in "Battledish San Jose." Each chef will be preparing a miniature version of their signature plate along with a drink pairing. Each dish (or drink pairing) is available for only $5, and the participants are the ones who rate the food and determine the king of Battledish.

Sounds like an awesome event! It is all going down at the San Pedro Square Market between 2-6pm on February 8th. You can get your tickets right over here.

Chinese New Year @ Santana Row

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Chinese New Year at Santana Row

Celebrate the Year of the Horse on Saturday, Feb. 22at

  Silicon Valley’s Premier Destination


 

SAN JOSE (Jan. 28, 2014) Santana Row’s annual celebration of the new lunar year begins at 1 p.m. on Feb. 22 with the exciting drumbeats and crashing cymbals of the lion and dragon dances in Santana Row Park.

New this year, traditional red envelopes, called “lai see” will be distributed to guests, with one lucky winner finding a $1,000 Santana Row gift card inside. Every envelope will contain discount coupons for shopping and complimentary two-week passes to Club One Fitness.

When: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22

Where: Santana Row Park, across from Left Bank Brassiere

What: A festive afternoon celebrating the Lunar New Year. Lucky red envelopes will be distributed to guests from 1 to 4 p.m.

 with one extra lucky winner who will find a $1,000 Santana Row Gift Card inside. All other envelopes will contain coupons, certificates and discounts to stores such as Icebreaker Touchlab and Lucy as well as complimentary two-week passes to Club One Fitness.

The afternoon is filled with a lineup of traditional live performances celebrating the start of a new year, including martial arts demonstrations, fashion presentations, music, singing and dancing.

The event is free and open to the public.