Downtown San Jose Restaurant List Updates (2016 Q1 & Q2 Edition)

It has been a while since posting the latest list of Downtown San Jose Restaurants. We are up to a grand total of 268 eateries! This is yet another record-breaking number for Downtown San Jose. Our little database had 206 eateries just five years ago. 60+ new restaurants in such a short period of time is pretty amazing.

Every time I have compiled the list, there have been significant closures. Not this time. Amici's and Da Noodle are the most significant that I am aware of since the last time this list was posted. On the other hand, there are many notable additions:

• Sushi Confidential - Creative, non-traditional sushi that took over the former Sonoma Chicken space.
• Olla Cocina - Vibrant Mexican cuisine in San Pedro Square.
• 2nd Story Bakeshop - Killer bakery providing some of the highest quality baked goods in San Jose.
• Ola's Exotic African Coffee and Tea - Yet another candidate for the best coffee in town. Highly recommended.
• IPOH Garden - San Jose's first Malaysian restaurant.
• Ludwigs German Table - San Jose's second German restaurant, situated in a unique ornate building with a lot of history.
• SoFA Market
• Hawaiian Poke Bowl
• Milk and Wood
• Vitamina Juices & Blends
• COMING SOON (you can find all "Coming Soon" restaurants at the top of the list in the spreadsheet)
• Chromatic Cafe (2nd St.)
• Elyse Restaurant (1st St.)
• Origins Juicery (1st St., former Discovery Store)
• Mo's (W. Santa Clara St.)
• Tac-oh! (SoFA)
• Pizzetta 408! (SoFA Market)
• Toasted Craft Sandwiches (SoFA Market)
• Uproar Brewery (SoFA, former Zer01 Garage)

Below is the change log from the Downtown San Jose Restaurants Database:

11/1/2015	Fahrenheit on San Feranando has closed and is being replaced by Pieology.
11/1/2015	Added Sushi Confidential, coming soon to 31 N. Market
11/1/2015	Added Pieology, coming soon to 99 E. San Fernando
11/8/2015	McDonald's on San Carlos closed
12/12/2015	Added Jade Leaf Eatery and Lounge at S. Market St. Suite 170
12/23/2015	Added Takai Sushi and Sake Bar in the Fairmont Hotel (5 star Yelp rating)
12/31/2015	Ayola Closed
1/10/2016	Da Noodle closed on Santa Clara Street
1/10/2016	Added Elyse restaurant as coming soon, taking the old House of Siam place at 151 S. Second.
3/12/2016	Added Olla Cocina as coming soon to 17 N. San Pedro St.
3/21/2016	Added 2nd Story Bakeshop, now open at 138 E. Santa Clara St.
4/2/2016	Our House has replaced Mid GoGo at 185 Park Ave.
4/2/2016	Added Ola's Exotic African Coffee and Tea at 30 E. Santa Clara Street #120
4/9/2016	Chromatic Cafe is coming soon to 2nd Street
4/24/2016	IPOH Garden has replaced 8 Treasure restaurant at 150 S. First St.
6/4/2016	Added Ludwigs German Table, now open at 261 N. 2nd St.
6/5/2016	Replaced Oni Mexicatessan at the San Pedro Square Market with Crepes & More
7/2/2016	Replaced Amici's with Mo's at 225 W. Santa Clara St.
7/2/2016	Tac-oh! is coming soon to 399 S. First St. (formerly First to Market)

If you haven't bookmarked it yet, here's the link to the spreadsheet! There is also a permanent link over to the right entitled Downtown San Jose Restaurants.

Sushi Confidential is now open in Downtown San Jose

Randy Musterer's acclaimed sushi joint has finally opened its San Jose location. The original restaurant in Campbell has become a tremendous success, leaving little doubt that Sushi Confidential will become an anchor restaurant in the San Pedro Square area. The restaurant specializes in creative, non-traditional sushi in a hip environment.

You can find Sushi Confidential over at 31 N. Market Street, former home of the original Sonoma Chicken Coop. They are open from 11:30am to 11:30pm, seven days a week.

Source: SJ Economy News

July 2016 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• Groundwerx continues to get high praise from Downtown property owners. The latest annual survey shows:
• 92% satisfaction with the overall condition of Downtown
• 93% approval rating for Groundwerx clean teams
• 73% of respondents saw an improvement in overall cleanliness from last year
• 49% of respondents saw an improvement in safety
• 72% of respondents believe the overall image of Downtown has improved
• Music in the Park still has three more concerts this year at Plaza de Cesar Chavez:
• July 14: AC/DShe, The Killer Queens and The Drought
• Aug. 4: Ozomatli and Sonido Clash Session
• Aug. 25: Tower of Power with Super Soul Brothers
• The first BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) stations along Santa Clara Street are nearing completion and the entire project--including East San Jose stations--should be completed by early 2017.
• Voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax increase that will raise an additional $40 million each year. The extra funding will go towards:
• Basic road repair and replacement of major arteries
• Increase police staffing by 41 positions and community service officers by 19 positions
• Keep fire companies open, double officers in squad cars, and improve traffic signal technology for more efficient emergency and medical responses.
• Sund Construction is finishing the 850-bed Campus Village Phase 2 project just in time for the fall semester. This will bring SJSU's total capacity for on-campus housing to 4,000 students.
• Mo's (breakfast and burger eatery) is coming to 225 W. Santa Clara St., replacing Amici's pizzeria.
• Tac-oh! will serve 16 different tacos at 399 S. First St. (the former First to Market space).

City Hall Rotunda

Cardinal2007 from the San Jose Development Forum has found yet another neat San Jose photo. The City Hall Rotunda has to be one of our top 10 architectural landmarks.

San Jose City Hall Rotunda by Night by Thomas Hawk, on Flickr

Saturday Stats: the San Jose Metro is worth $419 billion

Thanks to soaring property values and new flagship office developments, the value of all real estate in Santa Clara County has hit $419 billion. That is $30.9 billion more than 2015 (7.9% increase). The biggest increases in assessed property value came from Mountain View, Santa Clara, and Cupertino (due to Apple Campus II). San Jose proper appreciated at a respectable 7% which unincorporated parts of the county saw the least appreciation at 0.89%.

Source: SVBJ

Toasted Craft Sandwiches broke ground at the SoFA Market

One of the two last empty spaces in the SoFA Market is now officially under construction. "Toasted Craft Sandwiches" will be coming to SoFA later this year along with another new eatery called Pizzetta 408. Also, if you guys haven't tried Milk & Wood's ice cream and gelato popsicles yet, you have to get on over there and try them out. The SoFA Market is located at 387 S. 1st Street in Downtown San Jose.

ROEM builds 200 new affordable homes at 295-acre Hitachi master-planned community in San Jose

It is not easy to find affordable housing in San Jose. The good news is ROAM is just wrapping up 200 new affordable homes in South San Jose. The $46 million project is called Charlotte Park Apartments. The homes include several amenities including solar power, access to an outdoor BBQ, children's play area, a lounge, and a community kitchen/entertainment area. The bad news is that the project is already 100% leased. If you are in the market and meet the income requirements, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get on the wait list.

Charlotte Park is part of a much larger planned development that includes market-rate apartments, condos, townhomes, and a 10-acre park. For more info on Charlotte Park, have a look at the press release below.

$46 Million Charlotte Park Apartments’ 200 Affordable Multi-Family Residential Units Are 100% Leased and Near Completion

SAN JOSE, Calif. ― With the near completion of 200 new, affordable housing homes, the $46 million Charlotte Park Apartments in San Jose, Calif., is a great example of ROEM’s expertise in building a high quality affordable residential rental community located within a market-rate development. In this case, ROEM Corp. satisfied most of the affordable housing requirement of the Hitachi master-planned community, with ROEM Builders, Inc., acting as both general contractor and construction manager.

“While inclusionary housing policies provide a major source of funding for affordable housing, they can significantly reduce a developer’s return and create long-term obligations,” said Alex Sanchez, Executive Vice President of ROEM Corporation. “Our market-rate developer partners recognize the benefits of having ROEM act as their third-party general contractor. We assume their affordable housing obligations and pay the in-lieu fees while designing and building high-quality affordable housing that seamlessly blends with their market-rate housing. About 430 of our more than 3,000 new affordable housing units completed since 2000 were built by ROEM for a market-rate developer.”

Located on the former Hitachi Global Storage Technologies campus, Charlotte Park is part of a 295-acre master-planned community that will include condominiums, apartments, attached townhomes, many pocket parks, and a large 10-acre park with a baseball field. Charlotte Park is situated near the intersection of Cottle Road and Highway 85, and within walking distance from the Blossom Hill Caltrain station and the Cottle and Santa Teresa light rail stations. This $46 million development with the construction and permanent financing provided by Citi is affordable to families that make 60 percent or less of the Santa Clara County Area Median Income and provides an amenity-rich residential experience.

“Charlotte Park provides a safe haven to those who are being squeezed out of quality housing in Silicon Valley,” said Jay Abeywardena, Director at Citi. “We are excited to help support this initiative and believe this project will have a meaningful impact on the community.”

Charlotte Park Apartments gained an efficiency of management thanks to two other ROEM developments – Oak Grove Apartments and LEX Apartments – being constructed simultaneously within about a half-mile radius. Although these are separate projects managed by separate teams, ROEM was able to share resources from time to time because of their close proximity.

“With Alliant’s investment of nearly $15 million, Charlotte Park Apartments will provide an additional 200 units of much needed safe and affordable housing to the San Jose Area,” said Brian Goldberg of Alliant Capital, Ltd. “We are proud to be a partner in the development of this property and excited for the residents who will benefit from it for years to come.”

With ROEM’s emphasis on sustainability, Charlotte Park will be pursuing USGBC LEED Gold certification. Because both solar thermal heating and solar photovoltaic power sources are being installed, Charlotte Park has the potential to save up to 85% on utility bills when compared to electric water heating. Per LEED standards, all apartments have high-efficiency flush toilets and faucets as well as “Evolve Roadrunner” showerheads that are thermostatically controlled. In addition, Charlotte Park integrates efficient landscape design by using native species and zero turf on a lot designed to capture and treat all stormwater.

The amenity-rich, four-story apartment building (with 230-parking space garage) includes a courtyard with outdoor barbecue, dining area, tot lot and lounge area; community room with media alcove, kitchen and entertainment area; storage area; homework and computer room; and laundry facilities. Apartments will be equipped with Energy Star refrigerators and dishwashers, blinds, carpet, coat closets, and electrical four-burner stove/ovens.

With completion slated by the end of June, Charlotte Park is already fully leased.

About ROEM Corporation
ROEM Development Corporation, ROEM Builders, Inc., and their affiliated entities are a full-service development and construction organization that has specialized in the acquisition, planning, financing, new construction, renovation and asset management of market-rate and affordable housing throughout California for more than 30 years. Ranked in Affordable Housing Finance magazine’s Top 50 Affordable Housing Developers of 2015 list and a registered member of USGBC and Build It Green, ROEM is dedicated to creating wholesome communities that are not only sustainable but also designed smarter to ensure that residents are healthier, happier and safer. ROEM has completed more than 3,000 affordable housing units with more than 1,000 units currently under construction. For more information, visit www.ROEMcorp.com.

Wednesday Wishlist: Lucas Museum in San Jose (Part 2)

Well, it's official. Chicago is no longer in the running for an iconic museum housing George Lucas' expansive art collection. The leaves San Francisco and Los Angeles to fight for the $1.5 billion project. That includes $700 million in construction costs, a $400 endowment, and $400 million worth of art, educational materials, and movie memorabilia. That would be the largest single philanthropic gift by a private citizen to any city in the US.

I think now would be the time for San Jose to throw its hat in the ring. George Lucas has received boatloads of opposition from both San Francisco and Chicago. Their loss should be our gain--let's welcome Lucas with open arms!

There are several locations in or near Downtown San Jose that would work, not to mention Kelly Park. I'm sure we could arrange to give him total creative freedom and some sort of incentives in exchange for having another world class museum in San Jose. These are the types of projects that will help elevate San Jose's culture and brand to the next level. We have a million well-educated, diverse, progressive residents and these are the types of projects we need to fight for!

Source: SVBJ