January 2016 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• Two new illuminated art projects are now open underneath Highway 87 at Santa Clara Street and San Fernando Street. The interactive projects will make people feel safer and also bring unique artwork to the streets of San Jose.
• There will be several activities in relation to the Super Bowl this year:
• Plaza de Cesar Chavez will have a beer garden, cafe, games, interactive lighting, and music from January 29th to February 7th.
• Part of San Pedro Square will be closed off to create a football-themed atmosphere.
• Downtown Ice will have an extended season and be open daily until February 7th.
• South First Fridays presents SoFA's WINTER MRKT will be on February 5th and have a Super Bowl theme
• Guadalupe River Run on February 7th.
• The NFC champion team will be staying at the Marriott Hotel.
• An NFL merchandise store will open at 300 S. First St.
• The Super Bowl Opening Night will be at the SAP Center on February 1st
• San Jose State University will operate and manage the Hammer Theatre Center for the next three years (formerly the Rep). SJSU will produce events and rent the theater to arts groups. Events could begin this year.
• A new Barber's mural has been painted outside the shop at 332 E. Santa Clara Street.

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Plaza de Cesar Chavez Hosting Light Shows, Cafe, and Beer Garden During Super Bowl Week

Downtown San Jose has ambitious plans for Super Bowl Week. Plaza de Cesar Chavez is going to be transformed into the epicenter of South Bay festivities thanks to $150,000 in privately funded improvements (split between the Adobe Foundation and the Knight Foundation).

The trees will be lit with animated LED displays that are synchronized with both live and recorded music. There will be a new cafe and beer garden open from noon until 10pm and well as food trucks along the perimeter of the park. They will even have games for visitors such as a scaled-down football field and ping pong tables.

Some of the attractions will be used to showcase what can be done in urban parks, while some others like lighting improvements and new furniture will be permanent. That is a big win for our top park in Downtown San Jose. Hopefully we will do more events like this in the future. A permanent cafe in the middle of the park would not be a bad idea either.

You will be able to check out the new and improved Plaza de Cesar Chavez from January 29th to February 7th.

Source: SVBJ

More Info on the "Greyhound Bus" Towers

KT Urban has to be the most prolific Downtown San Jose developer right now. They were responsible for Axis, One South, and played a big part in Silvery Towers. Those three also happen to be among the most impressive projects in the area. KT Urban has built a strong brand for themselves--they know how to move projects forward and deliver a quality product. That is one of the reasons why I was excited when they proposed the largest residential project in the history of Downtown San Jose last month.

KT is looking to build 708 residential units in an area currently occupied by a Greyhound Bus station. The project consists of two towers, one would be 24 stories (251 feet tall) and the other would be 23 stories (241 feet tall). There would be 13,5000 SQFT of retail on the ground floor, mostly along Post Street. The location is also very central, with easy access to most of Downtown's amenities.

A few more details have leaked out. The project would include a five-story 708 space parking garage, two levels would be above ground and three under ground. If this number is correct, that means there would only be one space per unit built. Since some spaces will be reserved for retail, this means that there is an assumption that not everyone who has a unit is going to purchase a parking space. This would represent a substantial change of in mentality for the area. Perhaps not everyone needs a car in San Jose. The new project will be close to Light Rail, Bus Rapid Transit, Caltrain, some of the best bike lanes anywhere, and eventually BART. If they only build 708 parking spaces, this could represent the beginning of a new era for Downtown.

Speaking of transit, the article referenced below mentioned that the Greyhound station will likely move to Diridon Station. That seems like a much more appropriate location and I wonder why it was not located there in the first place.

There are now 8,629 residential units that are either existing, under construction, or proposed in Downtown San Jose. That is the largest number in history, and the way things are going we may see it rise even further in 2016.

Source: The Registry

Downtown San Jose Drone Footage

A few people have been bringing drones to Downtown San Jose and capturing some impressive aerial footage. You can two of the best videos below. It would be interesting to see this same footage during December when all of the holiday decorations are up.

Source: Dirt Patch and Cardinal2007 from the San Jose Development Forum

Saturday Stats: San Jose has the Longest Life Expectancy of all US Metro Areas

San Jose has always ranked highly in terms of healthiest metros. Combine that with the great moderate weather and enough income to afford proper medical care, and you will naturally get to this latest stat. The San Jose metro has the highest life expectancy in the United States, clocking in at 82.7 years.

San Jose's smoking rate is only 10.3% versus a national average of 20%. Obesity in San Jose is at 20.5% versus a national average of 27%. Another interesting stat is that the San Jose Metro has the lowest mortality rate from all causes of any other Bay Area region.

So in conclusion, if you want to live a long time you are in the right place!

Source: SVBJ

Topgolf Considering San Jose for first Bay Area Location

Topgolf is like a collision between a driving range and a Dave & Busters. They have 20 locations across the US, which are huge regional entertainment draws and can command multi-hour wait times to get in. Each location typically has a high-tech three story driving range, multiple restaurants and bars, and business centers for corporate events. The balls have embedded micro-chips that let you know how close you came to hitting various targets on the field. Players are scored based on accuracy and distance. The experience is closer to a trendy bowling alley than a traditional driving range.

The location that Topgolf is eyeing is Pin High Golf Center in Alviso. The project could be part of a new retail center that would include up to 100,000 SQFT of retail and a 200-room hotel. This area is just down the street from the @First Shopping Center and around a mile away from Levi's Stadium and Santa Clara's planned shopping and entertainment center. Not only would it help capitalize on events happening in Santa Clara, but it would help service North San Jose where retail is still scarce.

The only other planned California Topgolf location so far is in Sacramento, and that will open in November 2016.

Source: SVBJ

San Jose-based Nutanix May IPO This Month

Nutanix offers storage and visualization solutions that are used in data centers around the globe. The company will likely be one of the first Silicon Valley IPO this year and is hoping to raise $200 million. The company currently has 1,368 employees and revenues of $241 million a year. You will be able to find them under the NASDAQ symbol of NTNX.

The company is headquartered near SJC at 1740 Technology Dr #150. The infusion of money will mean more growth for the company, additional job openings, and an opportunity for current employees to cash in some of those shares and contribute to the local economy.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: E-paper Signs for Transit

London has become one of the first cities in the world to test out using e-paper signs to provide real-time transit information at its bus stops. The signs show how long until each bus arrives, but they can also provide additional information by using three buttons below the display.

What is really nice about e-ink is that it uses almost no power. This is the same technology that is used in the Kindle. It can display what is on the screen indefinitely without using any electricity, energy is only used when the screen updates. These signs can be solar powered and in London they will use 3G data to get updated information. The fact that you would not have to plug them in anywhere makes them relatively easy to roll out and install.

These types of signs would be great for VTA's growing bus network. Light Rail is already getting color flat-screens. E-paper signs would provide a less expensive alternative for VTA's hundreds of bus stations. They could also be used to show ads and other information to help cover their costs.

Source: Engadget