Vietnam Town Expanding By 186,000 SQFT

Even though there are 51 unsold retail condos in the 120-unit first phase of Vietnam Town, the owners have decided to go through with a second phase. The project will include an additional 186,000 SQFT with 141 more retail condos. These would be distributed across a total of five buildings with the average retail condo size being around 1,000 SQFT.

Part of Vietnam Town phase two will be a single 40,000 SQFT pad that could easily accommodate a grocery store. 99 Ranch Market or Lion Market have already been identified as potential candidates. There are also plans to build a parking structure on the site.

This seems like an ideal place in the middle of Little Saigon for a mixed-use village, so I'm a bit disappointing that a housing component was not included in the project. This could have become a Vietnamese Santana Row. At least doubling down on the project will increase the chances for success and turning it into a regional draw.

Source: SVBJ

Feathers of Fury 4: San Jose Pillow Fight Today!

If you have ever wanted to run around Downtown hitting total strangers with pillows, boy do we have the event for you. The fourth annual Feather of Fury pillow fight is going down today at high noon. The location is going to be the plaza outside the Rep. Below is a photo from last year's event.

Scroll down for more details and the rules. It should be a lot of fun!

EVENT PAGES:
Main Event Page
https://www.facebook.com/events/452235801572555

Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pillowfightsj

HOW:

An AIRHORN or WHISTLE or TOWER will signal the beginning of the event. We will proceed to charge a la Braveheart and let the flailing of laughter ensue. How long will it last? Well, that all depends on you.

THE RULES:

-Tell everyone about the Pillow Fight.
-Wait until the whistle/airhorn signal to begin.
-Soft pillows only!
-NEVER swing at people without pillows or with cameras.
-Tell EVERYONE about the Pillow Fight.
-Remove glasses beforehand!
-Don't hit people with a pillow unless they want it.
-Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
-This is not a little kids event.
-If you don't like it ... just walk across the street.
-TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THE PILLOW FIGHT!

(Feathers are fantastic!) But it might be a good idea to wear a bandana to keep yourself from swallowing some Feathers of FURY. AGGGHHH!

Latex gloves and Garbage Bags will be brought out so that we may attempt to leave the park/area just as we found it ... which is impossible cause after we leave it will be AWESOME.

tweet. blog. FB. space. email. morse code. GET IT OUT THERE.

FB: /PillowFightSJ
Twitter: @pillowfightsj
Instagram#: #pillowfightsj

Saturday Stats: San Jose Ranks #4 for Political Giving

The political campaign season has already begun despite there being over nine months left before the 2014 midterm elections. Nerdwallet has taken the campaign contribution data from the Center for Responsive Politics and ranked the 50 largest US metropolitan areas in terms of political contributions. San Jose came in at #4. I have to say that I am a little bit surprised to see San Jose rank so high on the list, but am not surprised to see that 75% of party-specific contributions went towards the Democratic Party. Check out the full article and more analytics at the source link below.

Source: Nerdwallet

Happy Valentine's Day! After Tonight's Festivities, Help Plant Roses Tomorrow =)

Saint James Park is about to get some grass-roots beatification. Tomorrow, the San Jose Downtown Residents Association is planting 25 rose bushes in the often neglected park. The roses were donated by the Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden. They are gathering from 9am-12pm and are looking for 25 volunteers. More info below if you are interested (or check out the SJDRA Facebook page here).

I really appreciate that there are people willing to get together to help make Downtown a better place. This is a great and much needed initiative.

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!

We just received word that the irrigation system at St. James Park is now fixed and we are cleared to proceed with the planting of 25 rose bushes graciously donated to us by the Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden. We have locked in Saturday, February 15 from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm and need up to 25 volunteers to help with this grass-roots beautification project. Please send an email to kymberli@sanjosestock.com if you would like to participate, either by planting or providing refreshments. It will be a great way to work together and bring some color to this great park. If successful, more roses will be donated for future plantings so let's make this happen and show the city what a few dedicated residents can do!

Thin Film Establishing an Innovation Center in San Jose

Thin Film Electronics ASA in a Norwegian company that specializes in "printing" electronics on rolls of flexible material. This technology could become very disruptive, lowering the cost of producing electronic components dramatically and also opening up new markets. One cool product they are working on that ships this year is an electronic piece of plastic that includes integrated sensors with the ability to track temperature. Imagine having this slapped on a bag of fish or meats to track the full temperature history of that product, ensuring the food is not compromised by the time it gets to the grocery store.

They are entering the San Jose area by purchasing Kovio, a company that supports NFC (near field communications) on these tiny printed electronics. The tech makes it so that you can use a smartphone or other electronic device to easily communicate with these printed devices wirelessly. Kovio is located on Zanker Road, where it also has a manufacturing facility.

Source: SVBJ

Content Magazine Pick Up Party @ SP2

The latest issue of Content Magazine is almost here, and as per tradition they are throwing a party to celebrate! The venue of choice this time around is SP2, one of the best new Downtown San Jose restaurants of last year. Subscribers (and their +1) get a free drink and appetizers. The event runs from 6-8pm on February 18th. All the details are below.

It's PICK UP PARTY Time!

Celebrate a new year of Content with our newest issue, "Discover." Think there’s nothing to do in San Jose? Think again. In this issue, we’ll feature people worth watching, places worth visiting, and businesses worth supporting. Discover something new (or new to you).

Start that spirit of discovery by visiting SP2, one of San Jose's newest restaurants.  Previously a horse stable, now a communal bar and restaurant with delicious, locally sourced American bistro cuisine.

Print Subscribers, Contributors and Featured Personalities (and their +1) are invited to enjoy a free drink and passed appetizers, and a night of connecting and picking up the latest issue of Content Magazine.
Not a subscriber? Make it your resolution to support local. Subscribe now to receive Content Magazine 6x a year--in Print & Digital ($42) or Digital Only ($23).

Stop on by. Meet new people. Learn new reasons to love your city.  RSVP (Facebook) //RSVP (email)

Tuesday, February 18th
6-8pm

Synaptics Expands San Jose Headquarters

Synaptics is one of the market leaders in touch-sensing technology, such as trackpads on laptops. The company moved its headquarters to Northeast San Jose in 2013, and they are already expanding. They just paid $10 million for an extra 80,000 SQFT of space at 1140 and 1150 Ringwood Court. These two buildings are right next to their current three-building campus.

Source: SVBJ

Cocoabella Chocolates Valentine's Day Collections

Valentine's Day is almost here and my favorite chocolate shop is featuring several collections to celebrate the occasion. Cocoabella is a curator of the best artisan chocolates from all over the world. The quality and uniqueness of each piece blows away the cookie-cutter stores. It has gotten to the point where my wife can't go to Valley Fair without picking up one of their boxes along with a chocolate drink.

The Valentine's Day Collections include chocolates from France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, and across the US, all handmade and flown in last week. If your significant other hasn't tried these out yet, then you have the opportunity to score some big points this year.

Check out Cocoabella at Valley Fair on the first floor near the center court or online right over here.