Affordable Housing Project Opening in East San Jose

Mayfair Court features 93 units of affordable housing across a 1.44-acre site at 65 McCreery Avenue. It has a surprising amount of amenities for this kind of project as you can see below. The total cost is going to be $23 million and it will include 56 two bedroom units that will rent from $663-1,129 and 37 three bedroom units that will go for $763-$1,301. Rents are based on family income, and you need to make less than $50,650 a year to even qualify. Needless to say the waiting list is already completely full.

UNIT AMENITIES
Sleek interior finishes with floor to ceiling windows
Modern kitchens with energy efficient appliances and espresso cabinetry
Private patios and balconies
Energy efficiencies, including dual pane windows
Central heat and air conditioning
Spacious master suites with plush carpeting
Ceiling fans
Designer tile flooring
Wheelchair accessible

COMMUNITY AMENITIES
Gated Community
Fitness center with cardio equipment
Covered gated parking
Public Wi-Fi area
Fully furnished clubhouse
Computer center
On-site laundry facilities
Children’s playground area
Beautifully landscaped courtyard
Walking distance to shopping and restaurants
Easy access to public transportation
On-site maintenance
Recycling initiatives
Non-smoking community

Source: SVBJ

Licks Screening at Camera 12 Tomorrow

LICKS is filmed on location in the Bay Area with a cast and crew that was born and raised here. It was a first time experience for everyone involved, yet the movie has received quite a bit of attention after its premiere last year at SXSW. It is coming to San Jose for a one night screening at Camera 12 tomorrow. You can find out more about the movie over here.

LICKS follows the story of a young man, D, as he returns to his Oakland neighborhood after serving two years in prison for a robbery gone wrong. In the days after his release, we are taken into D’s world while he navigates the harsh realities that plague his inner city community. His judgment is tested by the insidious influences around him, forcing D to decide what direction to take his life.

Another Apartment Project Proposed for Midtown

Fairfield Residential is proposing yet another dense project for midtown over at 800 W. San Carlos where the Cheim Lumber Yard used to be. Unfortunately there has not been much movement on previous projects such as the Ohlone (with 800 units). This new proposal is still in the very early stages, but they are shooting for 315 apartment units. You can't make out too much from black and white drawing below, but it does look like the design will be more eye catching than many of the apartment projects that have been recently built. It kind of reminds me of The Pierce which will go up in Downtown's SoFA District.

The plans also include a respectable and appreciated 23,500 SQFT of retail/restaurant/office space on the ground floors oriented along West San Carlos. Lightrail will also be nearby, providing plenty of transit options thanks to a quick connection to Diridon. I really hope to see this come to fruition soon instead of linger like some of the other midtown projects.

Source: SVBJ

Virgin American Leaving SJC

Some bad news today. Virgin America is leaving SJC.  I was really excited when they announced that they were coming to our airport, but was always worried they would be destined for failure from the start. Instead of adding a new route that would be a huge value add to Silicon Valley residents, they chose instead to go with four daily flights to LAX. Guess what, San Jose already had two dozen flights to LA each day.

If they went with a new route instead of a highly competitive one, they would have been much better off. ANA is doing really will with over 80% occupancy on their route to Japan. Hopefully future new carriers will be more like ANA and less like Virgin.

Saturday Stats: #1 Apartment Boom Town

SpareFoot ranked the top apartment boom towns in the US, and San Jose took the pole position on the list with San Francisco coming in 8th. The analysis looked at the total apartments per person, population growth, the percentage of people spending more than 35% of their income on rent (lower numbers are better), per-capita personal income growth, per-capita GDP growth, and growth in per-capita construction permits for new apartments. The article is an interesting read (especially on how Detroit made the list) and you can access it here.

The Way to San Jose
Here is SpareFoot’s ranking of America’s Top 15 Apartment Boom Towns, in descending order.

1. San Jose, CA
2. Austin, TX
3. Houston, TX
4. Grand Rapids, MI
5. Nashville, TN
6. Dayton, OH
7. Portland, OR
8. San Francisco, CA
9. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
10. Oklahoma City, OK
11. Seattle, WA
12. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
13. San Antonio, TX
14. Des Moines, IA
15. Detroit, MI

San Jose’s continued job growth, along with its shortage of affordable entry-level homes, encourages younger workers to look for apartments, said Matthew Mahood, president and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“The apartment housing market has responded to this increased demand and has built and will continue to build new projects. In fact, there are two high-rise projects being built simultaneously in downtown San Jose that will provide for nearly 700 for-rent units in the next two years,” Mahood said.

Source: The SpareFoot Blog

2014 State of the City Address

Below is a video of Mayor Chuck Reed's final State of the City Address. His speaking points included SJC, connecting BART to Downtown San Jose, the A's, community reforms, green-tech, budget deficits, homelessness, taxes, and public safety.

BLINK Exhibit March 15th

from: Phantom Galleries by PG

San Jose Art Salon Presents BLINK.

Please join us for an art expo of vastly different styles that are sure to please the versatile taste of all art lovers.

Everything changes in the blink of an eye.

Opening event: Saturday March 15, 2014, 7-10pm, free

Art By:

• Shannon Amidon 
• AtreyArt
• Anthony Barbaria 
• Brande Barrett
• Julie Barrett Bilyeu 
• David Canavese 
• Jennifer Pizarro-Cordiglia 
• Lorinda Farfan 
• Gretchen Kisler 
• Mark Martinez 
• Kristen Pollock

Music by: Alex Pansoy

Delicious treats provided by: TEA-Rex catering. https://www.facebook.com/TeaRex.BayArea

Exhibition runs from March 15th through March 29th.

Hosted by: 2905 Gallery, KLOK radio and Lourdes Morante-Mieses 

2905 South King Road, San Jose, CA

New LPA Offices in Downtown San Jose

LPA is an Architecture, Design, and Master Planning firm that has taken over the old Northwester Mutual space at 60 South Market Street. Their portfolio is quite impressive and they are known for modern and sustainable projects. Have a look at some before (black & white) and after photos of their stunning new Downtown San Jose home.