San Jose Convention Center Expansion and Hotel

There was an ill-fated expansion of the San Jose Convention Center planned in the late 90s and early 2000s. Several years after that project failed, a temporary blue-and-white tent went built behind the Convention Center known as South Hall. It is easily one of the ugliest structures Downtown, but serves its purpose as an 80,000 SQFT overflow space for large conventions.

San Jose officials want to take down this monster and build a proper expansion of the center along with a new full-service high-rise hotel. I think we can all agree that would be a big improvement for this space. However, the main complication is that the land is now owned by the Redevelopment Agency's "Successor Agency" and acquisition might be complicated. If San Jose can get rights to the building, it will then cost about a million dollars to tear it down and get the site ready for future development.

Source: The Merc

Super Bowl Festivities in Downtown San Jose

Downtown San Jose is going all out for Super Bowl 50 this week! This isn't just pandering to this big event. The Carolina Panthers are staying at the San Jose Marriott and Super Bowl Opening Night will be hosted at the SAP Center. The heart of San Jose's Super Bowl 50 activities will be in Plaza de Cesar Chavez. They have installed an advanced lighting system synced to live music, a beer garden, multiple game areas, and food trucks. Downtown Ice is still going strong and there is even a NFL store pop-up shop nearby. San Pedro Square has shut down a whole street, added turf, and provided 50 nerf footballs to throw around.

There is a lot going on, and thankfully the city has provided an interactive Super Bowl 50 map for Downtown activities. Check it out over here!

VTA Plan for the Super Bowl

There are going to be some major VTA route changes during the Super Bowl next week. The most substantial of which is a complete closure of Light Rail in front of the stadium itself. If you are one of the lucky ones with Super Bowl tickets and are planning to take Light Rail to the big game--or you just plan on using Light Rail at any time on February 7th--you should watch the video below.

Quick Look at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Decorations

As part of the Super Bowl festivities in San Jose, Plaza de Cesar Chavez has been transformed with state-of-the-art lighting. Below is a CBS segment showing what the park currently looks like. Every day until there Super Bowl there will be live music, games, and even a beer garden in the park.

Source: Hillrise at the San Jose Development Forum

San Liccardo and Jim Plunkett Welcome Super Bowl Fans

Team San Jose has created a short video with our mayor and San Jose-native Jim Plunkett. Stay tuned over the next week for more info on all the great San Jose events happening during Super Bowl week.

Olympics Skaters Celebrate Reading at Downtown Ice Tomorrow

Photos by Daniel Garcia

SAN JOSE - U.S. Olympic skaters Kristi Yamaguchi and Polina Edmunds join Yamaguchi's Alway’s Dream Foundation, Hicklebee’s Bookstore and Hawaiian Airlines/Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice to promote reading in a unique program combining books and winter dreams.

Polina Edmunds and the San Jose Skaters will kick off the event with a performance of "Skating in Fairytales" on downtown’s outdoor ice rink. After the performance, Yamaguchi will read from the children’s books she’s authored. Hicklebee’s Bookstore will temporarily set up shop at the rink, with shelves of Yamaguchi’s two children’s books, It's a Big World, Little Pig! and Dream Big, Little Pig!, for sale.

When: 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 31
Where: Hawaiian Airlines/Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice, 120 S. Market St.,San Jose
Cost: Free to watch the performance and join the reading; regular admission for those wishing to skate after the performance.


About Kristi Yamaguchi: An Olympic Gold Medalist figure skater (1992), Yamaguchi is also the author of two children’s books and a philanthropist who founded the Always Dream Foundation.

About Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation: Founded in 2012, the Always Dream Foundation’s Always Reading program focuses on early childhood literacy through innovative reading programs designed to support underserved children and encourage families to read together. www.alwaysdream.org/

About Polina Edmunds: Edmunds is the 2015 Four Continents Champion, 2014 U.S. Senior Ladies Silver medalist, a 2014 U.S. Olympic figure skating team member and 2014-2015 World Team Member.

About Hawaiian Airlines/Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice: Operated by the San Jose Downtown Association for 12 years at the Circle of Palms, San Jose’s outdoor ice rink is one of the city’s most beloved winter traditions. The unique circular rink incorporates 32 palms into the skating experience. This year, the rink extends its season to help celebrate Super Bowl 50. It will remain open an extra month, closing Feb. 7. www.downtownicesj.com

About Hicklebee’s Bookstore: San Jose’s favorite children’s bookstore, Hicklebee’s offers extraordinary books for the entire family. www.hicklebees.com

San Jose's OneRent Raises Funding

OneRent is an online platform for both renters and property managers. The solution allows property owners/managers to easily showcase available units, process background and credit checks, and book property showings. For renters it allows online lease signings, paying rent online, and online or text-based submission of maintenance requests.

The company has just announced that it raised $1.5 million in funding and that they are expanding their offering to Seattle, their first territory outside of the Bay Area. Property management seems like an old-school industry ripe for disruption, and I wish them all the best.

OneRent is located in Downtown San Jose at 75 E. Santa Clara Street, Suite #1250.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: Dual-Purpose Architecture

I ran across an article showcasing several buildings that you can actually sled, ski, and snowboard on (images below). The first image is for a building in Kazakhstan that uses synthetic snow-like material, making it functional year-round. The last one is in Dubai, a city that doesn't exactly get a lot of snow. That one also happens to be fully enclosed.

I love the idea of a building having multiple purposes and could not help but to think about which kind of dual-purpose structures would make sense in San Jose. Most of the roofs in Downtown San Jose are completely underutilized. There is potential for gardens/parks (like Vancouver), swimming pools, and urban farms. What sort of dual-purpose structures do you think would make sense for us?

Source: inhabitat