Latest concept plans for Diridon Station

In order to mitigate the traffic nightmare in the Bay Area, we have to locate jobs and homes close to transit. There is no better transit location in the South Bay than Diridon Station. Millions of square feet of office space, residential units, retail, and hotels are destined to be built near or next to the station. Needless to say, there is a lot of pressure to make the station live up to the attention it is getting. The centerpiece of Downtown San Jose's next phase of urbanization needs to be world class.

Below are some of the latest drawings from Dutch planning firms that are working on the next big redesign of the station. These need to incorporate BART and potentially High Speed Rail, as well as easier access from every direction.

Part of the concept is elevating the tracks for all lines except for Light Rail and BART, which will both meet the station underground. There will also be two main concourses beneath the rail lines with multiple entrances on both Santa Clara Street and San Fernando Street.

The drawings are quite impressive compared to the current layout of the station. I'm optimistic the final product will do the Capital of Silicon Valley justice.

Source: SVBJ

Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

Hope you all have a wonderful time and lots of delicious eats today. Warm wishes to you and your family from your friends at The San Jose Blog!

Black Friday at Santana Row

Below is the list of Black Friday offers and specials at Santana Row this year:

An insider scoop on Black Friday festivities on The Row

Santana Row has planned a true ‘shoppers paradise’ for Black Friday this year! First, spend $1,000 or more on Friday, November 29 and receive a pair of tickets to Cirque du Soleil AMALUNA performing at Oracle Park! Secondly, enjoy complimentary gift wrapping, live holiday music and more throughout Black Friday on The Row. *See link for details.

As you shop for the season’s gifts and must-haves, don’t forget to leave a new or gently used coat behind for a neighbor in need. One Warm Coat Charity Drive begins on Black Friday – drop your coats in the barrels located outside the Santana Row Concierge, CineArts Theatre, and Crate and Barrel (throughout December). Plus, enjoy the sound of live music and spectacular holiday décor with larger than life animal installations, mistletoe and more.

Here’s the exclusive list of this year’s Black Friday deals from Santana Row –

Store	Offer
100% Pure	Opening at 9 a.m. with exclusive offers.
Atelier Salon	Open on Black Friday from 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. for a holiday sales event! 20% off all items! *Valid for full-priced items only – excludes gift sets, which are already marked 20% off.
Barry’s Bootcamp	Barry’s SHOP & POP – Black Friday only! Swing by the Santana Row studio for a chance to win some special Barry’s prizes. For every $100 spent on retail, packages, or gift cards, you’ll have the chance to pop a balloon containing retail gifts, free passes, shakes & more!
BellaU Spa & Wellness	Buy 2 get 1 Free (Signature facial, Eminence facial, Swedish massage, Eminence massage). Buy 3 get 1 Free (Hydrafacial, Microchanneling). All products 10% off.
Blue Bottle Coffee	Opening at 7 a.m.
BoConcept	Black Friday Week: 11/25/19 – 12/1/19 Special offer on our Osaka Sofa – for one week only! Black Friday Week only, from $1,099 USD + 15% off our entire collection!
Bonobos	35% off exclusive to Guideshop’s ONLY.
Crate & Barrel	Opening at 8 a.m. with exclusive offers!
DryBar	Get $10 off your Black Friday blowout and a $10 off digital bounce-back for a blowout in January. Plus, 20% off products, tools, and kits.
H&M	Opening at 6 a.m. with door buster discounts.
Lululemon	Opening at 8 a.m. with markdown celebrations.
Makers Market	20% off purchases of $100 or more.
Marine Layer	Extra 20% off Retired Styles, and complimentary gift wrapping for all purchases.
Native Shoes	Up to 60% off select merchandise.
Pressed Juicery	Check out the juiciest deals out there at Pressed Juicery! Get a juice or Freeze+ shot for $8 AND. the first 50 people at each store get 2 Juices + 2 Shots + 2 Snack Grab Bags for $10.
SoulCycle	Don’t miss the 90-minute “Turkey Burn” at SoulCycle, starting at 9:30 a.m. on Black Friday!
Tea Collection	Tea Collection will be offering select styles at $20, $15, and $10 starting Monday, 11/25/19! Black Friday event applies to select styles only. Offer ends on 11/30/19. Limited stock on hand. Restrictions apply.
Ted Baker London	Enjoy 30% off everything in the store, with up to 40% and 50% off select items. *Terms and conditions apply.
TravisMathew	50% off all racks (select merchandise). Buy one get one 50% off!

San Jose is a top city for public transit ridership increase

Between 2010 and 2017, public transit ridership increased by 11% in the US while car use only increased by 6%. What is more interesting--and perhaps shocking--is that San Jose's use of public transit shot up by 46.7%. This was the largest increase in the country during this time period.

Now 46.7% of a small number is still a small number. San Jose didn't rank in the top 10 cities for actual public transportation trips even though we are the 10th largest city in the US. In fact, much smaller cities like Portland, Baltimore, and Boston pushed us to 13th place when it comes to actual usage. That being said, the growth rate is reassuring that things are headed in the right direction and one day we will have more options of getting from Point A to Point B.

BART may finally open in December and that will definitely help our standings. Traffic is getting out of hand, a robust transit system will benefit everyone including those that still want to drive.

For more info and stats, hit the link below.

Source: STORAGECafe

Massive residential project proposed near Diridon Station

Miramar Capital and Pinion Property Company are proposing 762 new residences between McEvoy St. and Dupont Street. This is just a little south from Diridon Station, which will eventually become Northern California's transit center.

The exact height and massing are still under consideration, but it will include one or more midrise buildings with courtyards like the rendering below. The housing would replace one and two-story commercial and industrial buildings.

Source: SVBJ

New office and fitness center proposed for West San Jose

Not all of our major development proposals are in Downtown or Midtown. Cypress Equities submitted a proposal for a 12-story office building and 24-hour gym in place of five low-rise buildings in West San Jose.

The 6.3-acre project at 3806 Stevens Creek Blvd includes 275,000 SQFT of office space, a 150,000 SQFT Life Times health club, 15,000 SQFT of retails, and a massive eight-story parking garage that takes up 495,000 SQFT [???]. For the urbanists out there, obviously this much parking is not ideal. Hopefully they will design the garage as flexible space that could be converted to another use in the future.

The project also includes a plaza at the intersection of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Northlake Drive.

Source: SVBJ

Two new waterfront San Jose hotels are now open

Marriott has just opened a brand new Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites in San Jose's northernmost district, Alviso. This will add 261 much-needed rooms to Silicon Valley's pool of hotel facilities. The hotel is within a few miles of most tech companies in the Golden Triangle, as well as Levi's Stadium.

The location is a bit interesting since it is tucked deep into the America Center (Great America Parkway north of Highway 237). A major benefit is it's quiet and you actually get a bay-front view. Not many San Jose hotels can say that.

Residence Inn features all-suite rooms with kitchens, making them ideal for longer trips. Meanwhile the Fairfield Inn & Suites portion of the project is a more traditional hotel with king and double queen rooms.

Amenities include a putting green, basketball court, pickleball, a saltwater pool, fitness center, and a BBQ pit. When driving by I was happy to notice an abundance of EV chargers at the new hotel as well. There also appears to be direct trail access to really take advantage of that bay-front location.

Source: SJ Economy Blog

Google expanding in North San Jose

Google is looking into The Assembly campus in North San Jose for possible expansion. They could take somewhere between 800,000 and 900,000 SQFT according to the Business Journal. That should be enough for 4,000 employees or more.

In addition, they have already acquired eight buildings over the past couple years in North San Jose near Alviso. Those investments add up to over $400 million. If there was ever any question on whether Google was serious about investing in San Jose, I think these actions are pretty clear.

Source: SVBJ