The San Pedro Square Market Re-Opens Today!

Bit-by-bit, more of the San Jose economy is opening up. Several vendors at the SoFA Market have continued to stay open for pickup and delivery, such as Habana Cuba, Pizzetta 408, and Umi Hand Roll. Now the San Pedro Square Market is finally opening up again.

Participating eateries include:

• Anchors
• Bread Brothers
• Gameday
• JORA Ceviche Bar
• Pizza Bocca Lupo
• Pasta Fresca
• Phonomenal
• Taco Bar
• Urban Momo
• Voyager Craft Coffee

Initially these will be open only for pickup and delivery. Given the abundance of outdoor seating at the San Pedro Square Market, I think this will be one of the first places in San Jose where you will be able to have a somewhat "normal" dining experience in the coming months since they will be able to easily conform to California guidelines.

It might be a good idea to shut down all of San Pedro Street between Santa Clara and St. John and use this area for socially distanced outdoor dining for all the San Pedro Street restaurants. It is not unprecedented as we did something similar during Super Bowl 50.

I will definitely be visiting sometime this week!

Today's Coronavirus situation in San Jose is shockingly similar to the Spanish Flu 100 years ago

San Jose Inside has an enlightening article comparing our current situation with that of 1918. The Spanish Flu killed as many as 100 million people, double that of World War I casualties. 430 people died in San Jose alone, which had a population of less than 100,000 back then.

In response to the flu 100 years ago, Santa Clara County officials closed schools, halted public gatherings including church, and asked everyone to wear face masks. Sound familiar? History tends to repeat itself, so hopefully we can break the cycle this time around with better solutions for the next pandemic.

Source: San Jose Inside

San Jose wants to allow more business outdoors

In order to maintain social distancing while slowly reopening the economy, San Jose officials would like to allow more businesses to utilize sidewalks, parking lots, and streets. This will help businesses that will have to drastically limit the number of patrons inside, especially restaurants.

Currently, over 46,000 restaurant workers have lost their jobs in Silicon Valley. The industry has been devastated and many restaurants will be closing their doors for good. It's expected that restaurants will reopen with no more than 25-50% of their previous interior capacity, so any change we can make to cushion further blows to the industry I'm sure will be greatly appreciated.

City officials are also trying to offset application costs and provide quick-build infrastructure. These include barriers and potted plants.

Hopefully some of the changes will become permanent so that we can have more al fresco dining and retail in the community when all of this is over.

Source: SVBJ, San Jose Inside

May 2020 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The latest addition of Downtown Dimension is now live. Below is a summary of the content this month.

The MAY 2020 Downtown Dimension is now available.

In this edition:

• As part of the process for Diridon Station Area Plan planning, city transportation staff disclosed a proposal that would close the northbound off-ramp from Highway 87 onto Santa Clara Street, much to the surprise of many key stakeholders.  The purpose of the plan update is to include Google's Downtown West (DoWe) proposed development. 
• BART and VTA have decided to take one step backward to move forward on how it will dig BART tracks underground through downtown San Jose.  The big tunnel idea has been scrapped in favor of the original idea to place stacked tracks through downtown, which requires a smaller, less-costly dig.
• Business survived the second month of shelter-in-place by giving themselves a pep talk.
• SJDA plans to open its Friday Downtown Farmer's Market June 5, 10 am-2 p.m.
• Groundwerx management answers questions about cleaning and keeping downtown safe during shelter-in-place.
• Urban Community and Swenson keep buying property downtown.
• A new scooter company moves in.
• The popular From the Archives feature summarizes downtown highlights 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years ago.

Other ways to stay connected to Downtown:

The Downtowner Online continues to be sent out on Wednesdays.  This weekly email features downtown businesses including virtual events and ways to support downtown. Subscribe

SJC moves ahead with expansion despite downturn in travel

Before COVID-19, San Jose International was one of the fastest growing airports in the country. To keep up with demand, 8 temporary gates were added to Terminal B, and a major expansion plan was put into motion to create 14 new permanent gates, a 300,000 SQFT hotel with 330 room, and 5,300 new parking spaces.

As traffic was down 97% at the airport compared to last year, I think most people assumed the expansion plans would be on hold. However, the San Jose city council unanimously approved the plans.

Eventually, things will get back to normal. When they do, it is better to build in a downturn then when resources are extremely expensive. It's clear that Silicon Valley isn't going away anytime soon and our abundance of work-from-home-friendly tech jobs means we will likely recover faster than other parts of the world. The airport is a critical resource for us, and I'm glad we're still going ahead with this important long-term investment.

Source: The Merc

April 2020 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The latest addition of Downtown Dimension is now live. Below is a summary of the content this month.

The APRIL 2020 Downtown Dimension is now available.

In this edition:

• Downtown businesses cope with a pandemic as losses mount during shelter in place. This month's lead story covers the thoughts and emotions of business owners, and how businesses plan to continue serving their customers and keep their commitment to employees.
• Other stories include:
  • Groundwerx during shelter-in-place
  • SJDA's plan of action
  • San Jose State University's course of events
  • San Jose City Council action
• Downtown news not pertaining to COVID-19:
  • ADA compliance grant available
  • Bus stops removed from San Fernando Street
  • Two property acquisitions 
  • Two new businesses

Other ways to stay connected to Downtown:

The Downtowner Online continues to be sent out on Wednesdays.  This weekly email features downtown businesses including virtual events and ways to support downtown. Subscribe

3.8 million SQFT office campus proposed in North San Jose

Bay West Development has proposed a 3.8 million SQFT office project at the former Fry's Electronics headquarters in San Jose (550 E. Brokaw Road). This would be one of the largest office projects of any kind in Silicon Valley, second only to what Google is proposing in Downtown San Jose.

The configuration would be seven large buildings and two parking structures, enough for 10,000 employees. The buildings would cap out at about eight stories or 120 feet. Unfortunately it does not appear like there is any attempt to make this a mixed use project combining residential and retail, but there is plenty of that in the area already.

Source: SVBJ

San Jose Goes Virtual

Searchlight San Jose has a great post about how San Jose businesses are now providing virtual experiences. Great America has virtual rides, Happy Hollow is providing photos and Zoom backgrounds, History San Jose is posting historical artifacts (including a terrifying Chuck E. Cheese animatronic). Museums like the SJMA, The Tech, and the Winchester Mystery House are doing virtual tours.

When it comes to shopping, SJMade has put together a very cool online storefront designed like a 16-bit video game. All of the items sold here are made by San Jose craftsmen.

Head over to Searchlight San Jose to see the full list of virtual experiences to keep you entertained for the next for weeks.