New Downtown Food and Drink Options

Nate LeBlanc did a great blog post a few weeks ago about Downtown's rapidly expanding food and drink options. There has never been a better year than 2017 for Downtown coffee lovers with several new boutique options like Academic Coffee, Chromatic Cafe, The Proper Cup and Devout. As for food, Nate highlights Distric, Enoteca La Storia, and Elyse. That last one in particular is outstanding--easily one of the best date-night restaurants Downtown and a worthy successor to House of Siam.

You can read the post over here.

Knight Foundation San Jose Grants

The Knight Foundation is giving $1 million to 11 San Jose organizations that are positively contributing to San Jose culture and quality-of-life. Their mission is to "foster informed and engaged communities." San Jose Inside has the full list of recipients:

Gehl Studio, Inc. ($249,600) – Providing public life trainings and capacity building for San Jose's city and civic leaders to help them better advance, design and measure efforts to make the city’s public realm more vibrant and people friendly. Gehl will also produce two San Jose-specific reference handbooks containing guidelines and resources for integrating public life into civic projects and work with the community on a vision document to advance this goal.

National Association of City Transportation Officials ($198,000) – Improving neighborhood life by designing an all ages and all abilities bicycling network across central San Jose and sharing lessons learned with a national audience. The organization will work with the city of San Jose to expedite the process of designing, constructing and maintaining protected bike lane projects with a specific focus on central San Jose. 

California Walks ($150,000) – Creating a safer and more walkable San Jose by supporting the launch of Walk San Jose, the city’s first pedestrian advocacy program. Through the program, the organization will work with city officials and community members to advance initiatives that support walkability, organize events that encourage people to explore San Jose on foot, and act as a convener for citizens, community organizations and civic leaders interested in making the city more pedestrian-friendly.

iCivics, Inc. ($75,000) – Encouraging middle and high school students and their parents to get more involved in local government by developing a customized version of the iCivics educational video game, “Counties Work” focused on Santa Clara County. The game teaches players about local government by challenging them to complete activities such as building public spaces, finding the right department to address their concerns, or managing resources.

Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California ($75,000) – Creating more affordable housing in San Jose by piloting new engagement and outreach tools that will open opportunities for residents to learn about, participate in and lead solution-building and other initiatives.

SJMade, Inc. ($75,000) – Increasing work opportunities for people in underserved communities through the creation of Manufacture San Jose, a program that will deliver educational and hiring support to local manufacturers looking for local talent. Through the program, SFMade will also increase outreach to low-income high school students to educate them about careers in manufacturing and place students in paid “makerships” – positions that encourage innovation and entrepreneurship – with local manufacturers.

SV@Home ($75,000) – Supporting housing-ready communities in Santa Clara County through public education, policy and communication efforts that aim to ensure the success of Measure A, a $950 million bond measure for affordable housing approved by voters in November 2016.

San Jose Taiko ($45,000) – Connecting the city’s diverse residents by launching “Yokkosoi,” a project to promote and preserve the unique neighborhood feel of Japantown by welcoming newcomers and actively promoting their inclusion.

SOMOS Mayfair ($30,000) – Advancing civic engagement by expanding the organization’s efforts to engage residents in creating positive change in their communities through programs that educate people on local systems, connect neighbors, advance leadership development and encourage people to voice their concerns.

YWCA Silicon Valley ($30,000) – Building grassroots women’s leadership capacity in San Jose and Santa Clara County by engaging underrepresented communities, especially young women of color, to shape the priorities and implementation framework of a “Women’s Bill of Rights” ordinance for San Jose.

Catalyze SV ($28,837) – Supporting the launch of a grassroots group aimed at increasing community engagement and support for urban, mixed-use and people-friendly projects across Santa Clara County.

1 million SQFT San Jose office project moves forward

The next San Jose office megaproject is gearing up at 440 West Julian St. and Automation Parkway. The city just approved a rezoning of the area from industrial to "Transit Employment Center," enabling the project to move forward. The three office buildings would sit between the San Jose Market Center and the Diridon/SAP area ("GoJo" -- where Google is looking for up to 8 million SQFT of space).

Each building would range from 157,000 SQFT to 500,000 SQFT and floorplates would be massive (27,000 to 90,000 SQFT). There would be four levels of underground parking with 2,264 parking spots. The buildings are clearly targeting large tech companies.

I hope this moves forward as it will put even more jobs in our urban core, which means more tax dollars and theoretically shorter commutes versus traditional campuses.

Source: SVBJ

Sondheim on Sondheim @ 3Below

3Below Theaters and Lounge (the newly renovated Camera3 Theaters) is about to host their first premier live Stage Show, "Sondheim on Sondheim." Musical theater geeks will love this show and have the privilege to be one of the first to experience the new auditoriums and lounge.

Tickets are $41-58 and you can learn more about the three-week engagement over here.

3Below Theatres & Lounge to Produce “Sondheim on Sondheim”
as its Premiere Live Stage Show

Jan. 3, 2018 - SAN JOSE, Calif. - Take a stroll into the mind of a master. Hailed as “a funny, affectionate and revealing tribute to musical theater’s greatest living composer and lyricist,” Sondheim on Sondheim is being produced for the first time since 2015 at downtown San Jose’s newest entertainment venue, 3Below Theaters & Lounge, Jan. 18-Feb. 4.

Video footage plays an integral part in this live stage production. Through exclusive interviews, audiences will get an inside look at the personal life and artistic process of the famed composer.

“When we received the video content that will accompany the actors in this production, Shannon and I both watched together and instantly felt like teens at the stage door waiting for an autograph from one’s idol,” said Scott Guggenheim who is co-directing and producing Sondheim on Sondheim with his wife and creative partner, Shannon Guggenheim. “Watching Mr. Sondheim in his living room, seeing his couch, what’s on his walls, his mantle - it really made the ‘theater geek’ inside us rather giddy. We can’t wait to share that kid-in-a-Sondheim-filled-candy-store feeling with our audience.”

Who: Guggenheim Entertainment
What: Sondheim on SondheimWhen: Thursday, Jan. 18 - Sunday, Feb. 4, Thursday-Sunday 7:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 2 p.m.Where: 3Below Theaters & Lounge, 288 S. Second Street, San Jose (on the corner of Second and San Carlos)Tickets: $41-$58, https://3belowtheaters.com/events/sondheim-on-sondheim-3/, (408) 404-7711

Conceived and originally directed by Sondheim’s decade-long collaborator James Lapine, 3Below’s production is produced, directed and choreographed by Scott Evan and Shannon Guggenheim with musical direction by Stephen Guggenheim.

“I originally wanted this show to be titled: An Evening with Stephen Sondheim, but there was a concern that our New York audience would actually think that Sondheim himself would be on stage every night,” said Lapine in his production notes from Mar. 26, 2012. “Of course, with Sondheim on Sondheim, Steve is there, and I know that when you get to the end of the show and your cast sings ‘Anyone Can Whistle’ accompanied by the master himself, you and your audiences will feel as if you have indeed spent an evening with Stephen Sondheim.”

Both beloved and obscure numbers taken directly from the Sondheim songbook supplement the stories told by the stellar cast. Starring Amy Bouchard, Stephen Guggenheim*, Susan Gundunas*, Jeremy Kreamer*, Hayley Lovgren, Jim Ambler*, Martin Rojas Dietrich* and Theresa Swain, Sondheim on Sondheim showcases music from 19 of Sondheim’s shows throughout its 100 minute production.

“At the callbacks for this production, we asked each auditioner to share their favorite Sondheim memory,” said Shannon Guggenheim. “Perhaps the request could have been viewed as a device to weed out those actors not familiar enough with the material to be part of such a challenging new work, but we were pretty sure everyone in the room would be able to recount at least one defining moment when they fell in love with Sondheim. Not only did each person have a crystallized memory of the first time they were exposed to ‘Sunday In The Park With George,’ or when they realized ‘Anyone Can Whistle’ isn’t about whistling at all, but they spoke with great reverence about how this master’s compositions and lyrics have changed their life. They know what a privilege it is to be able to sing Sondheim’s work and share the words and music with audiences equally enamored by the content, or even better, to introduce Sondheim to people unfamiliar with the remarkable anthology of songs we’ll present in this revue.”

ThinkBiggerSanJose: Downtown building sales

Our friends at ThinkBiggerSanJose.com have created a new map that shows recent office building and hotel transactions in Downtown San Jose. This data is relevant as it show interest and investment in San Jose's urban core. As the price per SQFT and the number of transactions increase, so will the likelihood of new projects being proposed, getting financed, or breaking ground.

To access the new map, click here.

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the most expensive city to move to

Unfortunately, not all of our top stat rankings are positive. Even though the San Jose metro has the highest median salaries in the country, we also have some astronomical living expenses. 24/7 Wall St. did a study on moving costs, and we won--in a bad way. The San Jose metro is the most expensive area in the country to move to with an average total moving cost of $5,798. Despite that, our population continues to grow year after year (there are many other reasons to move here despite the costs).

Source: 24/7 Wall St., hat tip to Barclay Livker

WhatUp Silicon Valley podcast goes daily

One of the best local podcasts is switching from a weekly to daily cadence starting this week. WhatUp Silicon Valley focuses on local happenings and professional development (it's also pretty entertaining). In addition to Sam & Serg, three new hosts are being added to the lineup. All of the details are below and you can listen to episode #56 detailing the changes over here.

Starting January 1st, 2018 WhatUp Silicon Valley is moving to a network format.
Every Monday through Friday we will bring you a Podcast all about professional development and what’s going down in Silicon Valley. This special episode is an introduction to our new once a month pod featuring all the hosts – Hustle Valley. WhatUp with Sam & Serg will continue to stake their claim on Wednesdays! Below are the rest of the shows…

Our Weekly Line-up
Mondays: SwagSam is energetically kicking off the week and getting rid of those Monday Blues with “Mojo Mondays”!
Tuesdays: On Tuesdays, Hannah Duchesne is taking the reigns and talking all things branding and marketing with immediate actionable tips with her show “South Bay Social”
Wednesdays: Sam & Serg will continue to do their thing and bring you an inside glimpse into the lives’ of movers and shakers in the South Bay with their show “WhatUp”.
Thursdays: Coach Jessness, no stranger to hosting pods, is hosting “That Valley Vibe” and her take on channeling your inner voice of wisdom.
Fridays: “Sweet Home Silicon Valley” is hosted by long time friend Aubrie Avina… the Queen of the Staycation and our Real Estate weekend warrior!

AND… HUSTLE VALLEY: The wrap-up show with all the WhatUp Pod Hosts – our little version of a Mastermind.

In addition to the podcasts, expect more live networking events, a YouTube mini series and much more.

WhatUp.

Saturday Stats: 2017 Meta Post

It's that time of year again to look back and see the top "Saturday Stats" of 2017. The list is pretty impressive yet again. San Jose ranked as the top city for productivity, tech jobs, and economic momentum. Happiness and health are also up there. 

You can also see the full list of "Saturday Stats" (including previous years) with article links over here.