17 East Santa Clara Street

We have our first render of a residential tower at 17 East Santa Clara Street. This is the infamous site of an adult book store that burnt down between 1st and 2nd Street.

When a developer first announced they would like to build a high-rise here, there was quite a lot of speculation on what could actually be built on such a small and narrow space less than 9,000 SQFT. However, I have to say this initial design looks fantastic and is a welcome change from the super wide towers that are in the works. The narrow side creates an optical illusion where it looks 40 stories tall instead of 28.

The tower is going to have 96 residential units, with 17 of those restricted for moderate-income residents. It's not clear whether the units will be for sale or rent. Unfortunately it does not appear to feature any retail on the ground floor, but with such a small lot that is to be expected.

I hope we see other towers with this type of narrow aesthetic going forward to add more variety Downtown.

Source: Lawrence Lui on Twitter

Mixed-use "Fountain Alley" project moves forward and includes a surprise

Urban Catalyst, which is quickly becoming my favorite Downtown developer, is moving forward with a special project in the historic Fountain Alley district. They are turning what used to be Lido Nightclub into a six story building with retail on the ground floor, five stories of office space, and a rooftop bar. Since Scott's seafood relocated, there are no options I'm aware of where you can grab food or a drink more than a floor off the ground besides the Capital Club.

The office lobby will start in the historic Knox-Goodrich building next door, which is 130 years old and will be fully incorporated into this development. This is an excellent way to preserve our history while still developing Downtown San Jose. It reminds me of how our historic post office was utilized for a cafe and exhibit space in the San Jose Museum of Art.

Another exciting surprise feature that Urban Catalyst is included in the project is a unique fountain. It would seem appropriate for a place called Fountain Alley to have an actual fountain. The goal is a place-making landmark and they have done a ton of research on cool fountains they could bring to the area. The current plan features a fountain modeled after the spectacular Apple store fountain in Milan (last image below).

While it is not the largest development project in Downtown San Jose, it's packed with character. Everything from historic preservation to unique amenities that don't exist in the area are being packing into this five story building that is just a couple hundred feet from the future BART station. This will reshape the historic district forever.

The ground breaking is currently slated for Q2 2021 and completion is expected by mid-2023.

Source: SVBJ

Developing Downtown San Jose

Several executives at local development companies got together to discuss future project Downtown. The tone throughout the presentation was optimistic despite the COVID pandemic. The walk-through of each major project starts around 2:30, but if you have the time it is worth watching the whole video. The companies represented in the call are investing billions of dollars into San Jose and many of the projects discussed are under construction right now.

Source: Urban Catalyst Blog

Developing Downtown San Jose from Hoge Fenton on Vimeo.
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to stifle the economy, Urban Community Fund, Urban Catalyst Fund (an Opportunity Zone Fund), Bayview Development Group, and Jay Paul Company are developing key construction projects in downtown San Jose. Our panelists include:

• Erik Hayden, Founder, Managing Partner (Urban Catalyst Fund)
• Ted McMahon, Chief Investment Officer, (Bay View Development Group)
• Matthew Lituchy, Chief Investment Officer (Jay Paul Company)

Moderated by Sean Cottle, Real Estate Attorney at Hoge Fenton, our panelists discuss:

• Current status of development in Downtown San Jose
• Current rent and vacancy situation
• Long-term impact of the pandemic on Downtown San Jose development

New flights coming to SJC

Thanks to COVID, we went from having the fastest growing airport in the country and 11 international flights to a ghost town with only six international flights, all to Mexico.

Our fortunes may be slowly changing, the first new international route since COVID has just been announced by Volaris. They are adding a new nonstop between Mexico City and SJC that will fly three times per week (Mon, Wed, and Fri). This is the first time we'll have a direct flight to Mexico City in about two years.

Below is our revised list of international flights:

As an added bonus, Alaska Airlines is adding a seasonal nonstop to the ski town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming on December 19th. This will be a twice-weekly flight until April and will be the first time this route has ever appeared at SJC.

Source: SVBJ, SVBJ (2)

Santana Row gym and nail salon now providing outdoor services

Santa Clara County may be in the "purple" zone when it comes to California COVID restrictions (the worst one), but that isn't stopping two Santana Row businesses from providing approved services outdoors. Both Barry's Bootcamp and Lavande Nail Spa are now open. Given that it will be at least 3 weeks before indoor gyms and nail spas are allowed in San Jose, these may be your best options.

Indoor restaurants are also off the table for at least 3 weeks, but Santana Row has shut down several streets to expand outdoor dining considerably. It's perhaps ground zero for some sort of normalcy in the South Bay. Many indoor stores have also reopened with a 25% capacity limitation.

Downtown San Jose mini-boom

San Jose Inside has an uplifting article about how Team San Jose rallied together 14 hotel owners to provide discounted rooms for fire victims and evacuees. These visitors are in return giving back to the local community. Despite the questionable air quality, restaurants along San Pedro and San Fernando Streets have been booming--giving a ray of hope to San Jose restaurateurs. Read the article over here.

As an added bonus, here is another San Jose Inside article about developers staying bullish on Downtown San Jose. Even with COVID19, many large-scale residential and office projects are still moving forward. Perhaps 2021 will be our year.

Valley Fair Open-Air Market

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Valley Fair has been closed for months, so they have gotten creative and launched an outdoor pop-up to allow some of it's tenants to continue operations. If you find it ironic that people are shopping in tents right in front of Valley Fair's shiny new (and deserted) $1.1 billion expansion, you're not the only one.

The outdoor market is open from 1pm to 7pm from Friday to Sunday in the Outdoor Plaza and North Valet Lot. Below are the list of participating retailers and eateries. The department stores are now fully open as well (masks required of course).

PARTICIPATING RETAILERS

• Athleta (Thursdays & Fridays only + the weekend of 8/21)
• California Pizza Kitchen: outdoor dining on their patio, adjacent to Forest Avenue (open 7 days a week)
• Champs Sports
• The Waffle Roost Food Truck (@thewaffleroost | Saturday's only from 12 - 3:30)
• Coach
• Cotton On
• Cotton On Kids 
• David Yuman
• Din Tai Fung: outdoor dining on their pop-up patio, adjacent to Forest Avenue (open 7 days a week) 
• Foot Locker 
• Fresh Society
• Haagen Dazs (open 7 days a week in the North Valet) 
• Hugo Boss
• Johnny Was (only Sat & Sun) 
• Kay Jewelers 
• Koja Kitchen Bar
• Levi's
• Lovesac
• MCM
• Mex Cal Taco Truck
• Pac Sun
• Pottery Barn 
• Quay Australia
• Rabbit Rabbit Tea 
• Salt & Straw (open 7 days a week on the plaza)
• Shoe Palace
• Talbots 
• UNTUCKit (open 7 days a week on the plaza)
• Young Art Lessons 
• Zales
• Zumiez

Source: San Jose Inside

Japantown mixed-use development proposal

Downtown San Jose receives most of the attention when it comes to dense high-rise development these days, but there are some interesting proposals outside of the area. For example, there is a new project on the table in Japantown that would include multiple towers on the area bound by Taylor Street, Miller Street, George Street, and North First Street. It would include a 210 foot tall tower with 244 apartments, 61,000 SQFT of office space, 5,560 SQFT of retail, and 731 parking spaces.

The project would also be right in the middle of the North 1st Street Local Transit Village Plan, which will hopefully accommodate thousands of new homes and jobs in the future. Currently the area houses a surface parking lot and a one-story office building. This would be a major upgrade for the area.

If all goes well this could be approved by the City Council later this year or in Q1 of 2021. It would then take at least a couple more years to build.

Source: SVBJ