Saturday Stats: San Jose is One of "America's Coolest Cities"

Forbes recently compiled a list of America's Coolest Cities. They started with the 60 largest Metros in the US and then ranked them on six factors (equal weight):

• Arts, culture, and entertainment amenities
• Recreational amenities
• Diversity
• Foodie culture
• Population aged 20-34
• Population growth

San Jose ranked #16 on their list, tied with Los Angeles (I'll take it). SF ranked #5 and New York hit #11. Washington DC took the #1 spot. To see the full list click here.

Sources: Cardinal2007 from Skyscrapercity, Forbes

Techmanity 2014 Coming to Downtown San Jose

Being billed as Silicon Valley's first official technology conference, Techmanity is coming to Downtown San Jose on October 1st and 2nd. The event will be curated by Fast Company and has a nice list of speakers including CEOs, entrepreneurs, and VCs. Also, what's a tech conference without some fun? In addition to multiple networking opportunities Techmanity will also host several musical events with bands like Weezer, the Kongos, and Young Rising Sons. You can get all of the details in the press release below or visiting the Techmanity website over here.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Techmanity 2014, Silicon Valley’s first official technology conference, today announced its lineup and open registration for its inaugural event, taking place in San Jose October 1-2. Headline speakers include Houzz founder and CEO, Adi Tatarko; Samsung Electronics president, Young Sohn; and a keynote by actor/musician turned tech entrepreneur, Jared Leto.

“Techmanity summons the best minds of our generation—the firestarters, malcontents, trailblazers and dreamers to rethink and re-imagine the future of work, play and life in a networked age”

The two day event, curated by Fast Company, will feature rapid-fire presentations from dozens of “radical entrepreneurs and vanguard geeks” representing the most disruptive and compelling ideas from Silicon Valley. After-hours entertainment and networking is being produced by Live Nation, and includes national music acts such as Grammy-award winner Weezer, who will be debuting its new album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End. Top-level sponsors include Samsung Electronics, Silicon Valley Bank and Adobe.

Designed as a next-generation conference experience and networking festival, Techmanity is a gathering of the Silicon Valley tribes celebrating the region’s future-bending companies, entrepreneurs, inventors and ideas. Techmanity will feature a riveting mix of the Valley’s movers and shakers – people who are cultivating new business models and disrupting the status quo – alongside passionate social entrepreneurs leveraging new innovations to improve the lives of those who might otherwise be left behind by technological progress.

“Techmanity summons the best minds of our generation—the firestarters, malcontents, trailblazers and dreamers to rethink and re-imagine the future of work, play and life in a networked age,” said Tom Hayes, the tech executive who founded Techmanity. “Techmanity is about doing business in a whole new way in a profoundly connected global economy—about new ideas to improve human creativity, productivity and quality of life for a planet made much smaller by technology.”

In addition to Leto, Techmanity will provide an opportunity for two days of high-energy networking, socializing and idea-sharing with disruptive industry leading executives including:

• Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, co-founders, SoulCycle
• Leah Busque, founder and CEO, TaskRabbit
• James Freeman, founder and CEO, Blue Bottle Coffee
• Troy Carter, music industry pioneer and tech investor, Atom Factory
• Catherine Hoke, founder & CEO, Defy Ventures
• Ido Leffler, co-founder, Yes To brands; founder, Yoobi
• Marissa Sackler, founder, BeeSpace

Topics on the agenda include the Internet of Us, the future of post-job work, building a cult brand in a media-saturated world and the power of second chances, among many others. In addition to these conference sessions, Techmanity will also celebrate the winners of its Techmanitarian Awards, and showcase the hottest, most disruptive startups in its Startlandia exhibit.

In the evening, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy networking events featuring performances by Weezer, Thievery Corporation,Kongos, Crown and the Mob, Young Rising Sons and more acts to be announced.

To register for Techmanity 2014, please visit www.techmanity.com/registration. Media registration can be found here:www.techmanity.com/media.

Tweet this: .@Techmanity opens registration and reveals speakers for first annual conference http://bit.ly/1ymnNKD

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About Techmanity
Techmanity is Silicon Valley’s first annual technology and lifestyle event celebrating the companies and people whose products and services are revolutionizing our world.

For two days in October 2014, Techmanity will command center stage on the tech world with mind-blowing conversations with the brightest people in the industry, dozens of exciting networking events hosted by leading Silicon Valley companies and an incredible line-up of special programs showcasing the best new apps, business models and startup ideas on the planet.

Super Jardineros Greenhouse Project

Valley Verde is a small non-profit in San Jose that wants to improve access to homegrown organic vegetables while assisting low-income families. They started an Indiegogo project that will be used to fund supplies such as greenhouses that would be placed at the homes of "Super Jardineros." Valley Verde will train these gardeners on how to grow varieties of ethnic seedlings (finger eggplant, tomatillos, chayote, etc.). They will then sell these seedlings either back to Valley Verde or to local farmer's markets.

The end result should be easier (and theoretically less expensive) access to locally grown organic vegetables, all the while helping low income families with both a sustainable income stream and entrepreneurial skills.

Valley Verde is aiming to raise $10,000 which will be enough to provide 10 families with green houses, seeds, seedlings, trays, pots, domes, heating mats, and training. It's a great cause and you can learn more by watching the video below and visiting the Super Jardineros Greenhouse Project page.

Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak & Pub Now Open @ Levi's Stadium

This week marks the official opening of Michael Mina's second restaurant in Silicon Valley (Arcadia in the ground floor of the Downtown San Jose Marriott was the first). Bourbon Steak & Pub combines both a high-end steakhouse and a more relaxed Pub environment. The Pub will have 50 craft beers, farm-to-table cuisine, and 70 HDTVs for watching sporting events. On the other hand Bourbon Steak will offer a premium dining environment with Certified Prime Angus steaks, Japanese Wagyu, and Dry-Aged Duck. The restaurant will be open all year round and will have special events during game days.

For more information, scroll down for the full press release. You can make reservations over here.

Chef Michael Mina teams with the san Francisco 49ers to Bring Unique

dual-restaurant dining concept to Levi’s Stadium

Bourbon Steak & Pub to Welcome Bay Area Patrons Daily, Year-Round

for Lunch, Dinner and Viewing Parties

(SANTA CLARA, CA) – Bay Area culinary great Chef Michael Mina has unveiled Bourbon Steak & Pub at Levi’s Stadium^®, a new concept in stadium dining. Bringing a high-end steakhouse and relaxed pub together under one roof, Bourbon Steak & Pub offers a range of dining experiences to suit the needs of sports fans, foodies, concert goers and local residents alike – seven days a week, all year long. Bourbon Steak & Pub is now accepting reservations beginning Aug. 11. 

Bourbon Pub will be the premier lunch, dinner and gameday destination offering the perfect space to kick back and cheer on your favorite teams while enjoying a variety of 50 craft beers and a vast menu filled with reinvented bar bites. Bourbon Pub will serve fresh, farm-to-table cuisine that reflects the spirit of a modern pub at affordable price points. With a focus on shareable dishes, featured menu items include Berkshire Pork Ribs, a Ecopia Farms Greens salad, the Bourbon Burger, Smokin’ Double Barrel Wagyu Dog, Crispy Flounder Fish & Chips and a 38 North Half Chicken straight from the restaurant’s one-of-a-kind, 13-foot tall, fully rotating rotisserie. With 70 high-definition televisions, subscriptions to all major sports cable packages and a Yahoo! Sports ticker that will run through the space highlighting fantasy football stats, Bourbon Pub will be the ultimate viewing party location for any sporting event, on any given day.

Bourbon Steak offers a more private, premium dining environment for the true Michael Mina steakhouse experience. With a focus on seasonal regional cooking, Bourbon Steak will feature tableside service with a heightened guest experience, along with steaks that are sourced from premium producers from around the world. Signature dishes will be served directly from the rotisserie and a state-of-the-art seafood boiling station, and will include items such as Certified Prime Angus steaks, A5 Japanese Wagyu, Dry-Aged Duck for Two, Wild Striped Bass, Black Truffle Mac and Cheese and innovative vegetable sides from famed South Bay farms. Guests dining in Bourbon Steak can also enjoy a flight of spirits from the restaurant’s Bourbon Cart, individually smoked tableside to accentuate the flavor profiles of each.

“Bourbon Steak & Pub at Levi’s Stadium has been the ultimate passion project for me,” said Mina. “I’ve had the rare opportunity to pair two of the things I love most – food and the football – to create two dining experiences that will create the perfect atmosphere for fans of sports and fans of great food.”

Echoing the high level of innovation found in every corner of Levi’s^®Stadium, Bourbon Steak & Pub features a state-of-the-art open kitchen, delivering a culinary theatre with a wood-burning grill, a seafood action station with a floating suspension frame that elevates the burners, and a show-stopping, one-of-a-kind, 13-foot tall, fully rotating rotisserie that’s equipped to hold up to 1,000 pounds of meat.

“We believe Levi’s Stadium to be the gold standard in next-generation stadium experiences,” said Paraag Marathe, San Francisco 49ers President. “Bourbon Steak & Pub will enable us to present that vision to Bay Area residents and visitors 365 days a year.”

Located on the ground floor of Levi’s^® Stadium at 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way in Santa Clara, Bourbon Steak & Pub welcomes Bay Area diners seven days a week, year-round, with Bourbon Pub open for lunch and dinner, and Bourbon Steak open for dinner only. Additionally, before the start of each home game, Michael Mina’s Tailgate will kickoff in the tailgate area of the restaurant, a member-only experience for 49ers season ticket holders, inspired by Chef Michael Mina’s elaborate, themed tailgate parties he has thrown with 49ers fans for more than two decades.

Additionally, Chef Michael Mina is pleased to announce the appointment of John Cahill, recently the Chef de Cuisine of Café des Amis in San Francisco, as Executive Chef of Bourbon Steak & Pub. Cahill has a multi-faceted role at Bourbon Steak & Pub, overseeing the whimsical pub-style lunch and dinner menus for Bourbon Pub, and the signature high-end steakhouse menu for Bourbon Steak. “We’re building something that could revolutionize the stadium experience,” explains Cahill of his new role.

For additional details on Bourbon Steak & Pub’s menu and Michael Mina’s Tailgate, visit www.BourbonSteakandPub.com, ‘Like’ BourbonSteakPub on Facebook, and follow @BourbonSteakPub on Twitter and Instagram.

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ABOUT MINA GROUP

Mina Group Inc. is a San Francisco-based restaurant management company specializing in creating and operating upscale, innovative restaurant concepts.  Mina Group is led by Chef/Owner Michael Mina whose accolades include James Beard Foundation “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage” inductee in 2013, Bon Appétit Chef of the Year, Food Arts Silver Spoon Award Winner, San Francisco Magazine Chef of the Year, and International Food and Beverage Forum’s Restaurateur of the Year.  Operating since 2002, Mina Group currently manages 22 restaurant properties including MICHAEL MINA in San Francisco (Esquire Magazine’s Restaurant of the Year 2011); BOURBON STEAK and CLOCK BAR at The Westin St. Francis on Union Square in San Francisco; RN74 at Millennium Tower in San Francisco and RN74 at the Joshua Green Building in Seattle; PABU and THE RAMEN BAR at 101 California in San Francisco; BOURBON STEAK & PUB at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara; STRIPSTEAK at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas; MICHAEL MINA Bellagio at Bellagio in Las Vegas; MICHAEL MINA 74 at Fontainebleau Miami Beach; LOCALE MARKET and FARMTABLE KITCHEN at Sundial St. Petersburg in Florida; and THE HANDLE BAR in Jackson Hole.  For a complete list of restaurants please visithttp://michaelmina.net.

ABOUT LEVI’S® STADIUM

Levi’s® Stadium will be the new home to the San Francisco 49ers, and will also serve as one of the world’s best outdoor sports and entertainment venues. It was designed by HNTB and is being built by Turner/Devcon for the Santa Clara Stadium Authority. The $1.2 billion venue will have 1.85 million square feet, seat approximately 68,500 and feature 170 luxury suites and 9,000 club seats. It was designed to be a multi-purpose facility with the flexibility to host a wide range of events, including domestic and international soccer, college football, motocross, concerts and various civic events, and will be expandable for major events such as the Super Bowl. Levi's® Stadium is owned by the Santa Clara Stadium Authority, a public joint powers authority that was established to provide for development and operation of Levi's® Stadium to ensure that the stadium serves the goals of the City of Santa Clara. For more information, go to www.LevisStadium.com.

Balermino Park Under Construction on Almaden Road

Balermino Park is being built on 1.8 acres near the Almaden Family Apartments. The most unique feature in the park will be a pavement design that resembles traditional Ohlone basket weaving (the person the park is named after was born to Ohlone-speaking parents). Balermino will also have picnic areas, play structures, and a basketball court.

Completion is scheduled by the end of the year and based on the photos below from San Jose Trails it looks like a lot of progress has already been made.

Sources: San Jose Trails, The Merc

Tallest North San Jose Apartment Project Ever Moves Forward

After eight years of stalls and delays, the Century Center Towers project is getting a new push. Barry Swenson Builder is now partnering with Essex Property Trust to get two 12-story residential towers built at 1733 N. 1st St. The location is near the old Sony campus and Casino M8trix, and has convenient access to both light rail and Highway 101.

Century Center Towers will have 376 apartment units and will cost $170 million to build (including land costs). There were no special incentives or fee reductions here, and the land is already being prepped for construction.

This is the first San Jose residential high-rise building to be built outside of Downtown San Jose. I don't think it will be the last. This is a strong sign of increasing density in San Jose, and a new push to build in transit corridors. Hopefully more corporations (like Samsung) will employ this model as well as opposed to your traditional sprawled out office campuses.

Source: SVBJ

J. Crew Factory and Gap Factory Store Coming to Westgate

Federal Realty--same owner as Santana Row--has already done quite a bit to overhaul Westgate with a big remodel, new stores, and new restaurants. Now they are bringing two more anchor tenants: J.Crew Factory and the Gap Factory Store. Both will fact Saratoga Avenue and should be ready for business by Spring 2015.

Westgate will also be getting Carter's and Oshkosh B'Gosh in a combined store next to Target. For more info have a gander at the press release below.

San Jose, CA (August 8, 2014) – Federal Realty Investment Trust is bringing the outlet center, traditionally located in outlying areas, to the city with a strong mix of top discount stores.  J. Crew and Gap are among two retailers opening outlet stores in the revamped Westgate Center next year. They join Nike Factory Store, which opened in February, and Skechers Factory Outlet, which opened in July.

“This is a new direction for Westgate Center,” said Jeff Kreshek, Federal Realty’s vice president for West Coast Leasing. “Our customer is looking for quality, variety and diversity; a product mix that outlet shops combined with full price brands can deliver.”
Following an extensive $15 million renovation and the addition of shops such as Nike Factory Store, J. Crew Factory and Gap Factory Store, the center will provide an innovative, exciting and accessible experience for customers.

J. Crew Factory is scheduled to open in spring 2015. The approximately 5,750 square-foot store facing Saratoga Avenue will feature ready-to-wear pieces, boldly colored basics and casual classics for men and women. This family-friendly new addition will also feature “crewcuts,” the brand's coveted children's line offering "mini-me" looks in sizes 2 to 14.

Westgate Center has also scored a Gap Factory Store, scheduled to open in spring 2015. Gap Factory Store will be a 10,910 square-foot store fronting Saratoga Avenue next to Old Navy. In addition, Carter's and Oshkosh B'Gosh will open a combined 9,137 square-foot store facing Saratoga Avenue, next to Target.

“As anchor stores, both Gap Outlet and J. Crew Factory will drive more shoppers to Westgate Center,” said Kreshek. “Furthermore, the broad tenant mix, as well as the mall’s location on heavily-traveled Saratoga, Hamilton and Campbell avenues in San Jose provides convenience and top brands to the densely-populated surrounding communities.”

About Westgate Center
Westgate Center, located in San Jose, California is a 645,000 square-foot community center offering a one-stop family destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. Westgate Center features over 50 shops and restaurants and is anchored by Target, Nordstrom Rack, Walmart Neighborhood Market, Nike Factory Store, Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory, Michaels and Ross. Westgate Center is a property of Federal Realty Investment Trust www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit shopwestgatecenter.com.

About Federal Realty
Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of high quality retail assets. Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contains approximately 20 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 95.3% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of June 30, 2014, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 3.2% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 47 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT.

Santana Row's Next Office Building Moving Forward

A 225,000 SQFT, six-story office building a the end of Santana Row is going to break ground this year--with or without a tenant. This is known as building on spec (speculation). Usually developers don't do this unless the market is extremely strong.

The building will be unique for San Jose. It is being modeled similar to a loft building in SF's SoMa district than your typical office building here. The ceilings will be huge with giant floor plates, ideal for modern companies focused more on collaboration rather than a cube culture.

Also part of the plan will be 1,500 SQFT of retail on the ground floor (why not more?) and 670 underground parking spots that will be usable for Santana Row visitors during nights and weekends.

Source: SVBJ