Alley on San Pedro Square earns Golden Nail Award for outstanding design and architecture
New public space creates a new destination within an already successful downtown San Jose destination
SAN JOSE – The new Alley on San Pedro Square today was recognized for its outstanding design and placemaking. The Downtown Design Committee of the San Jose Downtown Association honored the builder and architect of the mid-rise Modera on San Pedro Square project with the Golden Nail Element of Distinction Award.
The S-shaped alley creates a new and inviting connection between San Pedro Street and Almaden Avenue in the heart of San Pedro Square, one of the most popular destinations in downtown San Jose. On one side of the alley is a new residential apartment building with new retail spaces and on the other are several businesses such as Five Points and The Brit set in historic buildings that now offer their customers reinvented and expanded patios facing the alley.
The committee was impressed by the alley’s walkability, connectivity and the way it promotes socialization, said Brian Corbett, chair of the Downtown Design Committee.
"The new link adds to the already-successful San Pedro Square district,” Corbett said. “The former hidden gem Tabard Theatre becomes the focal point on the alley.”
“By drawing in people and spurring interaction, this is exactly the kind of design we need in San Jose. It is now a truly unique urban experience,” he said.
“We are pleased to bring additional housing to downtown," said Don Peterson of Mill Creek and Modera San Pedro Square. “We had hoped that this signature element of our project would enliven and enrich an already focal point of San Jose."
Rob Steinberg, chairman of Steinberg-Hart, accepted the award on behalf of his architecture firm.
“I’m pleased with how the alley turned out, including the inviting entry on South Almaden with column detail supporting the overhang,” Steinberg said, adding his appreciation for the project’s scale and how lower and higher elements of the residential building step back from the alley.
“The texture, palette colors, accents of the tile, the railing pattern and the variety of materials really add a richness to what I believe will be a great urban space in downtown San Jose.
“The only thing missing is the people, and they are coming,” Steinberg added. “I know they will.”
Modera has already attracted two new restaurants and an urgent care facility into retail space along its side of the alley.
“That is proof that great places attract people and new investment,” Corbett said.
Each year for more than two decades, the Design Review Committee has rewarded projects that contribute excellence and vibrancy to downtown’s built environment with the Golden Nail.
