Google Signs Another North San Jose Lease!

Google is finally stepping up to the plate and joining Apple in acquiring commercial space in North San Jose. The company leased two buildings at the corner of North First Street and Trimble (2600 North First Street and 75 E. Trimble Road). This will give Google 174,000 SQFT, a rounding error compared to their Mountain View Campus.

This is actually their second San Jose lease. Google's first San Jose location was 40,000 SQFT at 2460 North First Street. That was just a dipping their toe in the water. Now they have both feet in and could potentially jump in for a swim. Google is going to need far more space than what Mountain View can provide. If San Jose proves to be a good partner for them, it will mean much larger investments in the future.

Keep in mind that Google is just one piece of parent company called Alphabet. There are many other great companies under that umbrella that could use offices located in the Golden Triangle with easy access to manufacturing facilities and semiconductor fabs (Nest, I'm looking at you).

Source: SVBJ

Apple Buys Another Building in North San Jose

It seems like Apple can't get enough of North San Jose this year. They have made yet another purchase, this time for a 70,000 SQFT former chip fab at 3725 N. First Street. It was previously used as a manufacturing facility for a semiconductor company called Maxim Integrated Products. What Apple will do with the space is anyone's guess. It seems too small to manufacture anything that Apple would put in their products, but could be used as a test lab. Perhaps Apple will tear it down to build a new facility. Either way, it is nice to see Apple continue to invest in our area.

The location is also notable. As you can see in the image below, the building could not be any closer to Samsung's shiny new North American Headquarters in San Jose. Talk about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.

Source: SVBJ

Find the First National Bank Building

Do you know where the First National Bank Building is in Downtown San Jose? The building below was built in 1910 and still exists today, but looks completely different. To find out what the heck happened, head over to Think Bigger San Jose. We have several historic treasures hiding underneath fake facades unbeknownst to most San Joseans.

Warby Parker Opens in Santana Row Today

Warby Parker, a trendy eyewear store, is opening their 20th location in Santana Row. This will be their first location in Silicon Valley and the second location in Northern California (the only other being in San Francisco). They carry both prescription lenses and sunglasses and are known for reasonable pricing and their philanthropy efforts. For every pair sold, they donate a pair to someone in need around the world.

The Santana Row store opens today and the hours are 10am-9pm Monday through Saturday and 11am-6pm on Sundays. More details below.

San Jose's New "SmartPoles" are a Global First

San Jose has become the first city in the world to get Philips SmartPoles, which are perhaps the most technologically advanced street lights ever manufactured. Besides having energy-efficient LED lighting (made by San Jose-based Lumileds), they have two other distinct features. There is 4G LTE wireless infrastructure built right into the top of the pole, which is likely what gives it such a funky shape. On the bottom of the pole is a PG&E wireless energy meter, which previously required separate boxes on the street.

As a beta test, 50 of these will be manufactured and installed in Downtown San Jose and North San Jose. 14 have already been installed and the rest will be live by March 2016. These will add much needed capacity to cellular networks in San Jose. The best part is that the pilot program will cost nothing to the city. If everything works out, this technology will be deployed to other cities across the US.

I do wish they did not look like giant tampons, but hopefully that can be fixed in future design iterations.

Source: SVBJ

Permanent Light Show Under Highway 87 is Complete

One of the largest public art projects in Downtown San Jose has finally been completed. Many Downtown residents and visitors have been noticing the hundreds of blue circles underneath Highway 87 over the past couple months. The initial feedback when the project was in progress was a bit underwhelming; however, I'm pleased to say the that end result turned out quite well as you can see in The Merc's photos below.

This was all part of a $600,000 from ArtPlace America to illuminate Downtown San Jose and bring more art to public places. San Jose-based Philips Lumileds also donated the LEDs used in the installation.

"Sensing You" is the name of the project at Highway 87 and Santa Clara street. Every time someone walks or bikes through that underpass it will incite a reaction from the LED lights above. The more people that walk through it at the same time, the more dynamic the lights will become. There are up to 35 different "light reactions" that can be triggered.

A block away at Highway 87 and San Fernando there is another installation called "Sensing Water." Here you have paintings of water on both sides of the underpass and on the ceiling that is lit with blue LEDs.

I'm thrilled to see these projects go live. First off they are turning bland, uninviting, and sometimes even scary underpasses into interesting works of art. Second, they are helping build up a sense of artistic identity for San Jose. I have always felt that we should try to differentiate our artwork with projects that are digital, dynamic, and interactive. Those traits go hand-in-hand with the branding of Silicon Valley. The "Sensing You" is a great example of what we need more of in San Jose, and I hope it will inspire other projects not just in Downtown but throughout the city.

Source: The Merc

Highway 87 Underpass at Santa Clara Street

Highway 87 Underpass at San Fernando Street

Content Pick Up Party Today!

In celebration of Content's 4th anniversary, they are doing a pick up party for Issue 7.5 "Serve" today at Downtown ice from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. This issue is focused on those that volunteer in our community. It features Kristi Yamaguchi, Ryan Nyquist, Manresa Bread, Caffe Frascati, Orly from Cukui, Cinequest, PSRT, Cruels, and Ann Bridges.

The event will include disco skating, beer by Golden State Brewery, wine by Regale Winery, hot cocoa, and biscotti. Subscribers get one free ice skating pass and a gift from Roxanne Biscotti when you pick up your latest issue.

Unlike most of their events, this one will be outdoors so bundle up! If you are not a subscriber yet, you can learn more about this great publication over here.

Sourisseau News: Andrew Hill

In the latest edition of Sourisseau News, we learn about the man Andrew Hill High School was named after. He was a painter and photographer known for several iconic photos of places like Mission Santa Clara, Stanford, and San Jose's Chinatown. He even climbed the San Jose Electric Light Tower to get an 8-photo panorama which you can see in the video below.

Andrew Hill had a studio in the Dougherty Building on South Second Street, which burnt down in the 1906 Earthquake. He ended up moving his studio to his home, which is currently on display at History San Jose. Check out the two minute video below for your monthly dose of San Jose history!


Sourisseau News December 2015 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

San Jose Chinatown as photographed by Andrew Hill