Robots Less Likely to Replace San Jose Jobs

There have been several reports floating around claiming that robots are going to make a large number of jobs obsolete. The unfortunate reality is that those reports are likely correct. However, there is a silver lining.

San Jose will feel less of an impact on the robot uprising than other cities. Why is that? Skilled labor is the least likely to be replaced in the immediate future, and that is exactly where most of San Jose's jobs lie. A secondary, almost ironic reason is that San Jose area companies are most likely to be the ones designing and developing robot hardware and software. In this context, our region might end up becoming one of the largest beneficiaries of these upcoming changes.

Source: SVBJ

Robot at Orchard Supply in San Jose

February 2016 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• Super Bowl 50
• 400,000 of the 1 million visitors coming to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl likely visited San Jose.
• Several Groundwerx ambassadors volunteered to staff the information booth at Plaza de Cesar Chavez as well as helping with Downtown Super Bowl activities.
• The special event zone Downtown prohibited peddlers, drones, and people giving out handouts.
• Barry Swenson Builder has begun setting up infrastructure for what will be a 1,100 home development in the North San Pedro area. Part of the project will realign Julian to become a traditional street grid.
• Leasing has begun for 27 North (also known as the Symphony project), a new 119 unit project for student housing. The leasing office is at 96 E. San Fernando.
• UserZoom is a user experience optimization company that has moved from Cupertino to 10 Almaden Downtown.
• Downtown Ice has broken attendance records with over 55,000 skaters by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
• Cinequest 2016--voted the best film festival by USA Today readers--is coming to Downtown from March 1-13. Over 100,000 attendees are expected.
• The sixth annual San Jose Jazz Winter Fest will run from Feb 25th to March 8th.
• VTA rolled out 29 new 60-foot clean-energy buses that will serve the new Bus Rapid Transit corridor from Santa Clara Street to Eastridge and El Camino Real. The new hybrid buses have WiFi and capacity for six bikes.
• The City Council is discussing building a seven-field soccer complex in Guadalupe River Park off Coleman Avenue. Four fields would be publicly accessible and have lighting for use at night.

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SJC Getting Nonstop Flight to Charlotte

While less exciting than an international route, any new nonstop from San Jose to the east coast is a welcome addition. San Jose International Airport received incredible traction in 2015, and this is the first significant news for the new year. American Airlines is adding a seasonal nonstop from San Jose to Charlotte, North Carolina. This also enables easy access to the Caribbean, Raleigh-Durham, and Florida.

Service will begin on June 2nd and continue until August 15th. The flight will use an Airbus A319 and leave from SJC each day at 10:45pm, arriving at 6:40am the next day (it's a red eye). The return flight leaves Charlotte at 6:10pm and arrives back at SJC at 8:40pm.

Source: The Merc

Apple's Big Plans for San Jose

A couple weeks ago the San Jose city council formally and unanimously approved a 15 year development agreement with Apple. This would give the company the ability to build up to 4.15 million SQFT of office space in North San Jose. To put that in perspective, that would be more than all of Apple's Cupertino offices including it's new flagship headquarters. That much real estate could accommodate 16,000 well-paid tech employees.

While there is no guarantee that Apple will fully build out this much space, this agreement opens up a huge door for San Jose. If Apple continues to grow, San Jose will be the obvious partner to fill the need for large amounts of space. Given the very real possibility that Apple may enter the auto industry, the demand for several million square feet of space could become imminent. In fact, Apple is already planning to occupy two projects totaling almost 500,000 SQFT in North San Jose: the former Atmel headquarters (296,000 SQFT) and a 200,000 SQFT office building under construction. Apple could have 1,000 employees in San Jose by the end of the year.

I have a feeling that 2016 will be a great year for getting more large tech companies into San Jose. Apple and Google are paving the way for others to enter the market and join the party.

Source: SVBJ

Super Bowl 50

Enjoy Super Bowl 50 everyone, the first Silicon Valley Super Bowl!

Anime & Video Game Convention Next Weekend

Fanime isn't the only major anime convention in Silicon Valley anymore. AOD (Animation on Display) takes place next weekend and features two days of Japanese animation, video games, cosplay, and other geeky attractions. AOD will be located at the Santa Clara Convention Center with easy access from Light Rail (there is plenty of parking as well).

It's worth noting this event previously took place in San Francisco until 2013. Last year it migrated down to Burlingame, and this year it finally made it to the right region.

You can view a full list of events and exhibits at the AOD website over here.

February 5-6: South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + SoFA Winter Mrkt

South FIRST FRIDAYS has been expanded in honor of the Super Bowl this year. Not only is it a two-day event now, but there will be local vendors and special performances. Multiple venues and art galleries will be participating, as you can see on the handy map below. Most of the festivities will be on South First Street, but I highly recommend exploring other areas as well. If you haven't made a pit stop to Plaza de Cesar Chavez recently then this would also be a great time to swing by.

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + SoFA Winter Mrkt takes place tonight from 7-11pm and tomorrow from noon to 6pm.

Celebrate the Big Game at Santana Row

San Jose, CA  - Santana Row adds to the Bay Area’s celebration of the Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium with a long weekend of football festivities at Silicon Valley’s Premier Destination. Come join the fun!

The Beer Blitz Presented by Anheuser Busch
Thursday, Feb. 4, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Santana Row kicks off Super Bowl 50 weekend by hosting The Beer Blitz Presented by Anheuser Busch, an evening featuring 10 breweries in eight locations with each stop representing a division of the NFL. (Some locations will have more than one brewery.)

Partnering with The Beerwalk organizers, the Santana Row event includes an evening of unlimited tastings in the participating locations, an official Big Game swag bag from Anheuser Busch and a passport for shopping and dining discounts to stores and restaurants at The Row! Anheuser Busch will have a pop-up shop in Santana Row Park where other activities are also planned.

Tickets: $100 per person and limited in number. Includes:

• Unlimited tastings
• Souvenir pint glass
• Gift bags with Big Game merchandise

Check-in Location and time:
Santana Row Park, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Sponsors:
Budweiser
Bud Light
Shock Top

Featured imported breweries:
Stella Artois
Hoegaarden
Leffe

Featured National Breweries:
Elysian Brewing, Seattle, WA
Golden Road Brewing, Los Angeles, CA
Goose Island, Chicago, IL
10 Barrel Brewing Company, Eugene, OR

Highlighted Local Breweries:
Red Branch Cider Company, Sunnyvale, CA
Santa Clara Valley Brewing, San Jose, CA
New Bohemia Brewing Co, Santa Cruz, CA
Golden State Brewery, Santa Clara, CA
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, San Francisco, CA
Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, CA

Tasting locations:
Santana Row Park
lululemon athletica
Kit and Ace
Pasta Pomodoro
Rosie McCann's Irish Pub & Restaurant
Orvis
Roots and Rye
Sino restaurant
Straits restaurant

Super Bowl activities at The Row, Thursday, Feb. 4 through Sunday, Feb. 7
One of the Bay Area’s most-talked about destination for food, fun and festivities
is hosting Super Bowl events and offering shuttle service to hotel guests from select hotels and to Levi’s Stadium on game day. More details coming soon!

• Live music in the parks and plazas from Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016 through Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016.
• Complimentary round-trip shuttle service from The Fairmont and Hilton hotels in San Jose are offered on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6. The shuttle service begins at 11 a.m. each day in front of each hotel. The service will run every 45 minutes continuously all day to and from Santana Row, with the last shuttle departing each hotel at approximately 8:45 p.m. The shuttle will drop guests off at Santana Row, which is about five miles away, and guests are picked up at the same location as the drop-off to return to the hotels.  Questions? Contact Santana Row Concierge, 408.55.4611.
• Super Bowl ticket holders can conveniently pick up their tickets in the days leading up to the Big Game. Ticketmaster will be on site at Santana Row, next to Z Gallerie.
• On Super Bowl Sunday, Santana Row will have its ongoing shuttle service to Levi’s Stadium for those going to the game. Shuttles depart at 1 p.m., about two and a half hours before game time (3:15 p.m.) and tickets are $30 for each passenger. See details below.

Super Bowl 50 Viewing Parties and Happy Hour Specials for Super Bowl 50!
Several Santana Row restaurants and bars are inviting football fans to enjoy the Big Game and feast on festive food and drinks:

• Left Bank Brasserie will be showing the game on two large screens in the bar area and has an exclusive happy hour beginning at 3 p.m. Wings, sliders and other nibbles for $6, plus select wines and beers for $5.
• Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub & Restaurant will have a large projector screen in the restaurant as well as smaller TVs in the bar area.
• The Counter will be showing the game and is offering happy hour specials all day, including half off starters, $2 mini burgers, $2 off draft beer, wine, signature cocktails and adult shakes. Wings are six for $6.
• VBar at Hotel Valencia airs the game in the bar area and will have special hours from Thursday, Feb. 4 through Sunday, Feb. 7. Drink specials and a special Super Bowl menu items are offered.
• Vintage Wine Bar won’t be televising the game but is celebrating anyway with all-you-can-drink-champagne (featuring Taittinger, Pommery and Delamotte) for $60 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• LB Steak will have all day happy hour and the Big Game showing on two TVs.

Calling all Super Bowl 50 Ticket Holders!
Take the Round Trip Shuttle to Levi’s Stadium from Santana Row
Avoid the headache of game day traffic! Take the shuttle from The Row to Levi’s Stadium for a hassle-free day that starts with easy parking, shopping and dining perks.
Shuttles leave two hours before game time.
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, Super Bowl 50 (departs at 1 p.m. for 3:15 p.m. kickoff)
The shuttle registration begins about 30 minutes before departure time. Registration and shuttles are located near the CineArts Theatre.
Your $30 ticket, which can be purchased in the concierge office or at SantanaRow.com, includes:

• Round trip transportation to Levi’s Stadium
• Free parking at Santana Row
• Santana Row shopping and dining incentives

Details:
When you arrive at Santana Row, park your vehicle in the designated, secured parking lot on Winchester Boulevard in the former Century 21 Theatre area. Walk across Winchester Boulevard to Olsen Drive where the registration table and bus will be waiting to load in front of the theater. The bus departs at the scheduled time (two hours prior to game time), and will not wait for passengers.

Levi’s Stadium drop-off site:
The bus will park at the official shuttle drop-off location at the stadium. One hour after the conclusion of the game, the bus will depart from the same location. Passengers not on bus at the specified departure time, will not receive transportation back to Santana Row.

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About Santana Row
Santana Row, a 647,000 square foot mixed-use development in San Jose, CA, is Silicon Valley’s premier destination for shopping, dining, living and working. Santana Row features over 70 shops, 20 restaurants, a boutique hotel and movie theatre. In addition to the dynamic retail & restaurant collection, Santana Row offers 615 luxury rental homes, 219 privately owned condos and 65,000 square feet of Class A office space. Santana Row is a property of www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit www.santanarow.com.

About Federal Realty
Federal Realty is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Founded in 1962, our mission is to deliver long term, sustainable growth through investing in densely populated, affluent communities where retail demand exceeds supply.  Our expertise includes creating urban, mixed-use neighborhoods like Santana Row in San Jose, California, Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland and Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts. These unique and vibrant environments that combine shopping, dining, living and working provide a destination experience valued by their respective communities.  Federal Realty’s 90 properties include over 2,600 tenants, in approximately 21 million square feet, and 1500 residential units.
Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 48 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT. For additional information about Federal Realty and its properties, visit www.FederalRealty.com.