Wednesday Wishlist: Loops

It has been ages since doing a Wednesday Wishlist, and I can't think of a more timely one than this one. Transportation is constantly one of the top complaints of living in the San Jose area. We are plagued by levels of traffic that give even LA a run for it's money. We're spending billions on road improvements and public transit, but it does not seem like the net results will ever keep up with the increased demands of a growing population. We live in the innovation capital of the world, there has to be a better way.

Elon Musk has recently given a presentation on the first "Loop" tunnel, which is currently being built in the LA area (full video below) by The Boring Company. A loop is a lower-cost variant of the Hyperloop proposal a few years back. Stations 1-2 parking spaces wide would allow up to 16 people to enter a pod, which would then descend into a tunnel. The pod would then autonomously travel point-to-point to another station at up to 150 MPH. Rides are targeted to cost $1 per person, less than existing public transit stations.

Critical to making this concept successful is reducing the cost of tunneling by a factor of 10 from $1 billion per mile to $100 million per mile. This is possible by using autonomous boring machines with electric motors and batteries (surprisingly the same motors as the Tesla Model 3) that are faster and more efficient than existing machines. Most of the engineers working on the machines are from SpaceX--if anyone can figure it out, it'll be them. After all, they did figure out how to land rockets back on earth on a moving barge.

Given that we are at the precipice of next-generation transportation technology, San Jose should be doing everything possible to make sure we're one of the first cities to get access to Loops. Instead of investing in transit systems of the past, we should look to the future. Can you imagine connecting SJC, Diridon Station, and Downtown to every other part of San Jose within a 10min trip? Now's the time to start thinking bigger--or lower--for San Jose.

SJC is the fastest growing airport in the Bay Area

There is good reason why San Jose continues to get additional flight routes month after month. The airport has grown passenger traffic an astounding 18.5% year-over-year. It will only be a matter of time before SJC passes Oakland as the 2nd largest airport by passenger volume. In February, San Jose's year-over-year passenger growth was an even more impressive 20.8% while it was 11.5% at SFO and 5.3% at Oakland. That puts SJC and OAK neck-and-neck for 2nd place.

In March, international travel was up by 23% year-over-year. This is the most lucrative market for the airport and city, as international trips tend to bring the largest economic impact and taxes to the city. It also helps support San Jose companies while giving residents more travel options.

With a major $1 billion expansion in the works, the future looks bright!

Source: SVBJ

MOMENT at San Pedro Squared opens today!

One of the most exciting retail improvements to Downtown San Jose in years is launching today. San Pedro Squared is a Knight Foundation-funded project that adds four micro-retail spaces on the ground floor of the San Pedro Square garage. San Pedro is arguably the most lively street Downtown right now, but has always been held back by only having restaurants, bars, and the occasional shop on one side of the street due to the massive parking structure. 12 parking spaces have been converted into four 400 SQFT businesses for local entrepreneurs.

It gets better. The four businesses are all women-owned ventures with strong ties to San Jose offering unique and innovative products. You can see the descriptions of each below along with links to their websites.

San Pedro Squared is having their grand opening today at 11am. Please patronize our new local businesses--this is the type of grassroots project that adds character to Downtown!

Innovative retail destination reinvented in Market-San Pedro Garage, continuing people-first development efforts in downtown San Jose

SAN JOSE (April 30, 2018) – With the conversion of parking into micro-retail shops at the Market-San Pedro Garage completed, four locally owned retailers will be part of the new destination’s grand opening May 18.

The shops collectively will be known as MOMENT at San Pedro Squared.

MOMENT exercises a new approach to retail that allows temporary shops to coalesce with traditional brick-and-mortar experiences.

“We want MOMENT to serve as a platform for small businesses to make the leap from part-time to full-time,” said Kevin Biggers, chief strategist for San Jose Made, which is curating the vendors and managing the spaces for San Jose Downtown Association.

The conversion of parking spaces into retail shops was called San Pedro Squared because it adds activation and street life to the garage side of San Pedro Street on one of downtown’s most popular blocks.

The SJDA proposal to turn 12 parking spots on the San Pedro Square side of the garage into four 400-square-foot business spaces was a winner of the 2015 Knight Cities Challenge, an initiative of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that seeks to make the cities where Knight invests more vibrant places to live and work.

“The parking garage has been transformed into a vibrant venue that promises to bring new life to the community and serve as a destination for residents of all kinds to meet and connect,” said Danny Harris, Knight Foundation program director for San Jose. “The new MOMENT retail stores are a great example of people-first development, aiming to address resident needs and advance the economic vitality of the neighborhood.”

The Knight Foundation, along with the Downtown San Jose Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) and City of San Jose – owners of the garage – funded the project, including a new parklet that extends along the sidewalk into a seating and social area in front of the shops.  The parklet replaced five street parking spaces.

“With MOMENT, the entire block of San Pedro between St. John and Santa Clara streets becomes more active at the perfect time when new residential developments around the square near completion,” said Chuck Hammers, PBID president.

The initial roster of MOMENT tenants includes four women-owned businesses:

• Bobo Design Studio:  Angie Chua has created a lifestyle wanderlust brand featuring brilliant designs crafted on everything from pins and patches to bags and graphic apparel, handcrafted and made in California.  bobodesignstudio.com
• Fractal Flora:  Through Fractal Flora, Yuri Lee and Sarah Lim have a mission to reconnect people to nature, be it through their wonderful curation and care for the plants and flowers they sell or their popular DIY terrarium workshops. fractalflora.com
• Blooms Privé:  Sarah Coronado and Marie Coronado of Blooms Privé have created the next evolution of women’s underwear (patent-approved), prioritizing an empowering and inventive design for women anywhere. bloomsprive.com
• Sea Senorita Studios:  For Sea Senorita Studios, Sofia Arredondo uses her incredible artwork to power a diverse range of products, featuring everything from paper goods to T-shirts to accessories.  seasenoritastudios.tumblr.com/

“For small business owners like myself, MOMENT provides an opportunity for us to get back into our community, engage with our customers and build a presence that is increasingly more difficult to do online,” said Angie Chua of Bobo Design Studio, a San Jose native who quit her job in a tech-based startup to pursue her dreams as a creative business owner.

San Pedro Squared was designed by Gensler and Eaton Hall Architecture, and built by TICO Construction.  The project’s evolution has been documented atsanpedrosquaredsj.com.

“This project achieves a number of collective community objectives – incubating local talent, transforming the public realm and creating a cluster of destination retail in our city center,” said Blage Zelalich, downtown manager in the city’s Office of Economic Development.  “We’re confident that MOMENT is going to be great for San Pedro Square and downtown San Jose.”

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About PBID

Established in August 2007 and managed by the San Jose Downtown Association, the Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) provides cleaning and tree-trimming services, beautification and street life projects, downtown ambassadors and secondary police enforcement units, and business development assistance. http://sjdowntown.com

About MOMENT

MOMENT is a set of four dynamic micro-retail spaces designed and programmed to advance, grow and celebrate creative retail. Powered by San Jose Made, MOMENT embodies the urgency, immediacy and verve of today’s new retail and creative culture, featuring makers, creatives, artists and emerging brands for varying short-to-mid-length durations. The first four shopkeepers will occupy the spaces through August 2018.  Visit  moment-sj.com

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit http://knightfoundation.org.

About the San José Department of Transportation

The San José Department of Transportation (DOT) plans, develops, operates, and maintains transportation facilities, services, and related systems that contribute to the livability and economic health of the city. Our goal is to provide a transportation system that is safe, efficient, and convenient for all modes of transportation, and which supports San José’s livability and economic vitality.

Downtown Doors student art exhibit “Class of 2018” announced

20 new pieces of student art added to downtown landscape in 2018

SAN JOSE (May 3, 2018) – The 20 students selected for 2018 Downtown Doors exhibition shared personal insights and emotions to create artworks with themes ranging from the portrayal of strong women to the comical, all the while splashing vibrant colors and utilizing an abundance of techniques and styles on downtown San Jose’s urban landscape.

These compelling pieces of art will add aesthetic relief to San Jose’s core by being attached to downtown service doors and utility boxes located mostly on key thoroughfares.  The artworks also offer food for thought to thousands of pedestrians.

The winners of the annual competition -- now in its 13th year -- were among 170 submissions from students at 20 different San Jose-area high schools.  Downtown Doors are produced by the San Jose Downtown Foundation at 110 sites in the city’s core stretching from SoFA to north of San Pedro Square.  Using the same application seen on some light rail trains and buses, their pieces are enlarged, transferred onto vinyl decals and affixed tosingle- and double-panel service doors of large buildings, and a number of utility boxes throughout downtown San Jose.

Since the program began in 2003, 272 student works have been selected.

“Success is often measured by the amount of wealth, however, true success is measured in how we make the world a better place,” said Diana Beechie, past president of the San Jose Downtown Foundation.  “Our students have achieved great success by creating a more beautiful vibrant downtown.”

One central theme in this year’s collection of selected pieces celebrates women such as “Who We Are Is Who We Were” by Joann Nguyen (Piedmont Hills), “Cyber Story” by Elizabeth Thach (Evergreen Valley) an untitled work by Alexa Hernandez (San Jose HS) and “My Mother” by Keleila Taylor (Del Mar).  

Other works focus on nature and environmental awareness, such as the odd “rabbitsparrow” by Jennifer Deng (Pioneer), “Exploration of Impossibility” by Sunny Liu (Westmont), “Lured” by Lauryn Sugai (Leigh), “Belly Up” by Serendipity Tinsley (Del Mar), “Red-Shanked Duoc Monkey” by Ana-Gabriela Cadenas (Lincoln), “Tropical Toucan” by Romelia Zarate (Lincoln), Jakoby Leonard’s (Andrew P. Hill)  “An Avian Stare,” and “Summer Days” by Alan Camolinga (Leigh).

Techniques and styles ranged from watercolors to acrylics and abstracts to digital mosaics. Downtown Doors highlights include Emily Won’s (Leigh) “The Boy and His Umbrella” watercolor, Sam Rios’ (Andrew P. Hill) digitally produced “We Tread on,” “Abstract Still Life” by Cloe Smith (Del Mar), “Love at First Bite” by Hannah Cho (Santa Teresa), untitled work by Michelle Luu (Independence), Dillon Mulvany’s (Willow Glen) modern nighttime streetscape “Into the City” and “ARCANDYA” by Identically named friends Michelle Pham (Yerba Buena).

Downtown Doors has proven to be a stepping stone toward better grades, graduation, college and a leadership position in society.  Students often claim that the Downtown Doors competition confirms their talent as artists. Every person selected shows excitement at being included on the prestigious list of Downtown Doors winners.

A private reception honoring the artists and their works will take place May 10 at the San Jose Museum of Art.

Program sponsors include: Catered Too!, City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, Cornish, Carey, Newmark & Knight, Kimley Horn, KQED, Offices of Councilmembers Dev Davis , Chappie Jones, Johnny Khamis, and Don Rocha, Orchard Commercial, Pestana Properties, Republic Services, Silicon Valley Community Foundation – Donor Circle for the Arts, and SV Creates.  In-Kind contributions by Adobe, Catered Too!, Juan Borrelli, Mangold Designs, San Jose Museum of Art and University Art.

2018 site hosts include: Imwalle Properties (former Camera 12 Cinemas), Fairmont Hotel, Westin San Jose, City of San Jose, The 88, Digital Realty, Harvest Properties at 60 S. Market St. and Hammer Theatre Center,

This year’s new installations and a walking map of the art sites are posted at sjdowntown.com/foundation.  The students’ work will be viewable for several years before being replaced.

The Downtown Doors Class of 2018:

Andrew P Hill High School

Title:  An Avian Stare

Artist:  Leonard Jakoby, 10

Location: CSJ Utility box at the southeast corner of Market and Santa Clara streets

Title: We Tread On

Artist:  Sam Rios, 11
Location: Imwalle Properties, on the former Camera 12

Del Mar High School

Title: My Mother

Artist:  Keleila Taylor, 11

Location: Imwalle Properties, on the former Camera 12

Title: Belly Up

Artist:  Serendipity Tinsley, 11
Location: Digital Realty

Title: Abstract Still Life

Artist:  Cloe Smith, 11
Location: Hammer Theatre Center

Evergreen Valley High School

Title:  CyberStory

Artist:  Elizabeth Thach, 12

Location:  Fairmont San Jose

Independence High School

Title:  Untitled

Artist:  Michelle Luu, 12

Location:  Westin San Jose

Leigh High School

Title: Summer Days

Artist: Alan Camolinga, 12

Location: The 88

Title: Lured

Artist: Lauryn Sugai, 12

Site Host:  Fairmont San Jose

Title: The Boy and His Umbrella

Artist: Emily Won, 11

Location:  Westin San Jose

Lincoln High School

Title:  Ana, the Red-Shanked Duoc Monkey

Artist:  Ana-Gabriela Cadena, 10

Location:  CSJ Utility box at the southeast corner of Third and San Carlos streets

Title:  Tropical Toucan

Artist:  Romelia Zarate, 11

Location:  Fairmont San Jose

Piedmont Hills High School

Title:  Who We Were Is Who We Are

Artist: Joann Nguyen, 11

Location:  Fairmont San Jose

Title:  Untitled

Artist:  Hannah Le

Location: Hammer Theatre Center

Pioneer High School

Title:  Rabbitsparrow

Artist:  Jennifer Deng, 11

Location:  Fairmont San Jose

San Jose High School

Title:  Untitled

Artist:  Alexa Hernandez, 12

Location: Imwalle Properties, on the former Camera 12

Santa Teresa High School

Title:  Love at First Bite

Artist:  Hannah Cho, 12

Location: Digital Realty

Westmont High School

Title: Exploration of Impossibility

Artist:  Sunny Liu, 12
Location:  Harvest Properties, 60 S. Market St.

Willow Glen High School

Title: Into the City

Artist:  Dillon Mulvany, 12
Location: CSJ Utility box on Santa Clara Street, between Second and Third streets

Yerba Buena High School

Title:  ARCANDYA

Artist:  Michelle Pham and Michelle T. Pham, 12

Location: Fairmont San Jose

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About:  The San Jose Downtown Foundation (SJDF) promotes cultural awareness and civic participation in San Jose and Santa Clara County through youth education programs, public events and art exhibits.  SJDF is the 501c3 arm of the San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA), whose mission is to represent business and property owners to improve downtown and enhance downtown’s vitality and livability.

 School tally of Downtown Doors Winners (2003-2018)

East Side Union HS District

(19) Piedmont Hills – 09, 09, 09, 10, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12, 13, 13, 14, 14, 15, 15, 17, 18, 18

(17) Santa Teresa – 06, 09, 11, 11, 12, 12, 14, 14, 14, 15, 15, 15, 16, 17, 17, 17, 18

(15) Evergreen Valley – 09, 09, 09, 09, 10, 11, 12, 12, 13, 13, 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 18

(11) Andrew P Hill – 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18

(9) Independence – 12, 13, 14, 15, 15, 16, 17, 17, 18

(9) Mount Pleasant –  04, 05, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 16, 17

(8) Yerba Buena – 10, 14, 14, 15, 16, 17, 17, 18

(3) James Lick – 11, 12, 16

(3) Oak Grove – 07, 07, 07

(2) Silver Creek – 12, 13

(97) East Side SubTotal

(50) Lincoln (includes Saturday Art Academy) – 03, 03, 03, 03, 04, 04, 04, 04, 04, 05, 05, 05, 05, 05, 05, 05, 05, 06, 06, 06, 06, 06, 06, 06, 06, 06, 06, 06, 07, 07, 07, 07, 07, 07, 09, 09, 09, 09, 09, 09, 09, 10, 10, 12, 12, 13, 14, 14, 18, 18

(32) Notre Dame – 06, 07, 07, 07, 07, 07, 07, 09, 09, 09, 09, 09, 09, 09, 09, 10, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 13, 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 17

(13) Leigh – 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 15, 16, 17, 17, 17, 18, 18, 18

(12) Homestead – 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 14, 16, 17, 17

(12) Pioneer –12, 12, 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 14, 14, 17, 17, 18

(9) Gunderson – 14, 14, 14, 14, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16

(9) Willow Glen – 12, 14, 14, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16, 18

(8) Del Mar – 12, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 18, 18

(6) Cupertino – 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11

(5) San Jose High Academy – 04, 05, 05, 05, 05

(3) Downtown College Prep – 04, 07, 07

(3) San Jose High – 16, 17, 18

(2) Bellarmine College Prep. – 10, 17

(1) Leland – 16

(1)   Westmont – 18

(1) Castillero Middle – 12

(167) All other districts Subtotal

(2) Okayama, Japan – 14, 16

(2) Pune, India – 14, 16

(2) Tainan, Taiwan – 14, 16

(1) Dublin, Ireland – 14

(1) San Jose, Costa Rica – 14

(8) International Subtotal

(272) TOTAL

Guest Post - A Crisis Means Opportunity

Below is a thoughtful post by Leslye Corsiglia on affordable housing in Silicon Valley. This is one of the most significant issues San Jose currently faces and I have personally seen a lot of great San Joseans that have contributed to the local community leave town because they could no longer afford to live here. While there is no simple solution, there are several ideas to move the needle in the right direction below.

A Crisis Means Opportunity

Last month, the Mercury News published stories about a burned out house in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood that sold for more than $900,000 and a condemned house in Fremont that fetched $1.2 million. These stories are vivid reminders of the Bay Area’s housing crisis and exemplify the dilemma faced by our residents, where even families earning six figures have trouble finding a decent place to live.

A new study by the California Housing Partnership found that Bay Area residents need to earn more than four times the minimum wage or about $60 an hour to afford Bay Area rents.  And even that might not be enough. Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development classified a family of four earning $105,000 as low income.

But in every crisis there is opportunity, and right now we have two options: (1) allow the housing crisis to fester, turning the Bay Area into a gated community, where only the wealthy can live, or (2) start laying the foundation for economically diverse communities through the development of affordable housing, so that all people have a chance for success.

Option one seems oddly un-American. Option two is closer to what the promise of America represents. So how do we get there?

First, we need a more regional approach to the housing crisis. Luckily, there is no shortage of ideas, and some are already hard at work on the problem. CASA—the Committee to House the Bay Area—is working on regional solutions that would increase residential production, preserve existing housing, and protect current residents facing displacement. CASA will complete its work later this year. Check it out: https://mtc.ca.gov/our-work/plans-projects/casa-committee-house-bay-area

We need our local communities to step up with solutions. Many are. San Jose has a plan to add 25,000 new homes, including 10,000 that are affordable, in the next five years. Mountain View just approved the North Bayshore Precise Plan, which includes 9,850 new homes. Palo Alto just approved a progressive Housing Work Plan to significantly increase housing production, and, of course, there is the County’s Measure A, which voters approved last year to create more than 5,000 new homes, a significant percentage for homeless families and individuals.

We need help from the state. Our Bay Area Legislative Caucus was instrumental in passing an historic 15-bill housing package last year, which included Senator Bob Wieckowski’s bill to increase accessory dwelling units (granny flats) and Senator Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 35, which is streamlining housing development in cities like Cupertino in exchange for making 50% of the units affordable. But more tools and more money must be forthcoming.

We need the assistance of the private sector. New start-up companies like RAD Urban and Factory OS in Vallejo are using modular construction techniques to reduce the cost of building safe, attractive homes for people of all income levels.  

And we need you. We now have an emerging consensus that the housing crisis is bad for the Bay Area and California, and we need to offer ways for residents to do something about it. This week’s Affordable Housing Week provides that opportunity. The week is designed to educate, inspire, and engage the public about the housing crisis and what we can do about it with 27 different activities. Check it out: bit.ly/svhousingweek2018.

To create opportunity from crisis, we must act locally, community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, person to person.

Leslye Corsiglia is executive director of Silicon Valley at Home.

May 2018 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• The BART Board of Directors has officially joined the VTA Board in recommending a single bore subway under Santa Clara Street, greatly reducing the impact to Downtown businesses as well as construction time.
• Four micro-retail spaces at the Market-San Pedro Garage will open on May 18th. Collectively these will be called MOMENT.
• A temporary dog park will open at St. James Park later this month, further expanding uses for the park. A full remodel of the park is still in the works with a stage (50 music events per year), two dog parks, children's playground, and a lunch grove.
• Google purchased the San Jose Water Co. site from Trammel Crow. This has already been entitled for 1 million SQFT of offices, 325 residences, and 35,000 SQFT of ground-floor retail.
• Miro is adding 20 more units to their high-rise at 33 N. Fifth, across from City Hall.
• A 14,000 SQFT 18th floor is being built out at 50 West San Fernando, right above the Capital Club. Elevators are currently being extended and the Art Deco circles at the top will soon be replaced with windows.
• Cinnaholic is now open at 115 E. San Carlos St.
• Habana Cuba has moved from Midtown to the SoFA Market and is now open.
• Formula Nutrition is now open and selling supplements at 15 N. Second St.
• Music in the Park returns June 22nd.

To read the newsletter, click here!

Happy Mother's Day!

Rick Jensen has some great Mother's Day suggestions from the latest edition of the Downtowner Online. Check out the full weekly over here.

Mother's Day
Sunday, May 13 | Celebrate in Downtown San Jose!

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Spend some quality family time in Downtown San Jose this Mother’s Day. Enjoy a Pre-Mother’s Day wine tasting with pop-up shops at Enoteca La Storia this Wednesday at 6 pm. This Wednesday or Thursday at the Hammer Theatre, go see The (M)others, which highlights the stories of four mothers brought together after losing a loved one at the hands of the police. Show Mom your appreciation by taking her to a Mother’s Day Brunch also at Enoteca La Storia this Sunday from 10 am – 3 pm. Or take Mom out for great food, beer and music at Forager Tasting Room & Eatery, where the SoFA Street Fair will be presenting a LoveSeat Session with local artists performing classic rock from 4 pm – 8 pm! More downtown dining options.

The San Jose Blog's 9th Anniversary!

It is hard for me to believe that the blog has been running for 9 years. I still remember writing the initial post fueled by the desire to prove San Jose is worthy of being the 10th largest city in the county and the capital of Silicon Valley (I re-posted it below, just for fun). Since then, there have been 3,406 additional posts and 3.34 million visitors to The San Jose Blog.

There is still much we can improve as a city, but it is no longer a challenge to argue San Jose is a world-class city. Rarely does a week go by without San Jose being in the national news. We are getting new development proposals weekly and across all sectors (office, housing, hotel, etc.), major infrastructure improvements such as BART and an airport expansion are moving forward, new landmarks such are a modern Light Tower are now an actual possibility--and most importantly--we have a culture that revolves around innovation. That means a willingness to grow, recognize where we can do better, take risks, and try things that push the world forward. As long as we keep innovation as a core value in our culture, the future will always be just a little bit brighter.

Thank you all for supporting this blog over the years. Special shout out to Jennifer Bullock and Kimberly Vacca who have moved out of San Jose for their next adventures. We appreciate all of their contributions to the blog and wish them the best on their future adventures--hopefully they will find their way back to SJ in the future ;) 

Now for a quick step back in time...