New mixed-use project proposed off Bascom and Southwest Expressway

Bay West Development is proposing a significant residential and office development right next to Bascom Light Rail station. The 6.4-acre project would have 447 residential units and 200,000 SQFT of commercial space. Today the site is a half-empty strip mall and smog testing station. The residential building would be eight stories (respectable density outside of Downtown) while the office building would be seven stories. There would also be an undisclosed amount of retail on the ground floor and a landscaped public space connecting the two buildings.

Source: SVBJ

December 2017 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• The City Council is buying six pieces of land by the SAP Center that will help ensure enough parking supply for Sharks games while the Autumn Parkway is completed (the road will connect Downtown to I-880 via Coleman).
• VTA fares will increase by a quarter to $2.25 on regular routes and to $4.50 for express routes. Youth fares are dropping from $1.75 to $1 and day passes are increasing by a dollar to $7.
• Bills Backyard has opened behind the Children's Discovery Museum, giving kids a new place to dig, roll, climb, build, and explore.
• The Vacant Storefront Registry is an 18-month pilot program to activate long-vacant ground-floor spaces.
• Four new businesses have opened in the San Pedro Square Market in the past month:
• Barber Bar - haircuts and cocktails, need I say more
• Urban Momo - South Asian fusion
• 2W Salads - healthy salads, wraps, and stuffed potatoes
• Crepes and More - eggs served four ways, smoothies, and crepes
• Two more tech companies moved Downtown:
• Pek Pongpaet (466 S. First) - UI / UX design
• Kika Tech (8 N. San Pedro) - Artificial Intelligence

To read the newsletter, click here!

Downtown for the Holidays

There is no better place in the Bay Area to get into the holiday spirit than Downtown San Jose. To learn about all of the events and attractions going on right now such as Christmas in the Park, Downtown Ice, and Winter Wonderland... head over to the Downtown for the Holidays website.


Downtown for the Holidays Showcase from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Fountain Alley Fridays

Today, experience a new event in Downtown San Jose's Fountain Alley neighborhood (between 1st and 2nd Street near Santa Clara Street). Fountain Alley Fridays feature live music, ping pong, stand-up acts, and live painting. If you have fun tonight, this is happening again on December 15th as well. For more info and a list of specific acts, head over here!

Broadcom is moving its headquarters to San Jose

Broadcom is a Singapore-based semiconductor company that purchased Brocade for $5.9 billion late last year. The company had decided to take advantage of that acquisition and officially move its headquarters to the US, and even more specifically to San Jose. The announcement was actually made by Trump at a White House press conference. Why is this so significant? It means $20 billion (with a "b") in revenue will be pouring into the US. Only a fraction of that will impact the economy, but it is a significant announcement nonetheless. It also could mean more jobs in San Jose.

Broadcom has become one of the largest companies in the world with a total market cap of $110 billion.

Source: SVBJ

The Great 408

On San Jose's 240th birthday last week (November 29th), Mayor Sam Liccardo and Mercury News Columnist Sal Pizarro launched a campaign to celebrate San Jose's story. Below is their letter to the community:



Dear Neighbors,

As two longtime San Jose residents, we feel fortunate to live in a community with a rich history and a unique, sometimes quirky, character. So, today - on San Jose's 240th birthday, we've come together launch The Great 408: a campaign to celebrate the gems, history, and culture that have helped make San Jose the great city it is, and set the tone for our future. 

Each week, we'll unveil interesting, unique tidbits on the campaign's website - great408.org - that we hope will both fuel San Josean pride and inspire others to learn more about the city we call home. 

While we've gotten the ball rolling with an initial list of 10 fun facts, we want you to join in by submitting your ideas on the Great408 website. We'll add public submissions to our weekly reveal to help ensure that The Great 408 remains a community-wide campaign. As our list grows, we hope you'll share all that's great in the 408 on social media, using #Great408. 

We're excited to share San Jose's story, and we hope you'll join us on this adventure. 

Sam Liccardo, San Jose Mayor 
Sal Pizarro, Mercury News Columnist 

In addition to the letter you can see their video introduction to the project over here. I love this idea and hope you will all contribute lots of ideas to great408.org!

NETGEAR flagship pop-up at Santana Row

NETGEAR is a San Jose-based tech company that specializes in internet hardware. They make some of the best wireless routers available and I have owned many of them over the years. This holiday season they have decided to open a flagship pop-up store in their backyard. The Santana Row shop will let consumers test out NETGEAR's three key product lines: Arlo, Orbi, and Nighthawk.

The popup is open now through the end of the year.

San Jose's future tallest high-rises broke ground!

MIRO is San Jose's latest luxury housing project. It was originally proposed as a combination of offices and housing across the street from our iconic City Hall with one tower dedicated to offices and another dedicated to residential. The current plan focuses primarily on residential with only 20,000 SQFT of retail and commercial space (the entire project is 1,000,000 SQFT).

Each tower is 28 stories and 298 feet tall, so you are looking at the future #1 and #2 tallest buildings in San Jose. For reference, the San Jose City Hall is 285 feet tall and The 88 (our current tallest building) is 286 feet tall.

The project has a total of 600 units split among one, two, and three bedroom layouts. 16 of those will be extra-fancy penthouses. As far as amenities go, this might be the most impressive residential project in the Bay Area. 50,000 SQFT of indoor and outdoor amenity space is reserved for residents. That includes the standard fitness centers, loungers, pet facilities, and concierge. However, MIRO takes it to the next level with a rooftop pool (!) and rooftop lounges that will provide a spectacular view of Silicon Valley. There is also a spa in the building.

MIRO should be completed in 2020. It is way too early for pricing, but expect these units to set new records for San Jose condos.

Source: The Registry