South FIRST FRIDAYS

With some of the highest vaccination rates in the world (more on that in another post), it's time for San Jose to come back full-force this summer. Today will be the biggest South FIRST FRIDAY since the pandemic started. There are in-person exhibits to enjoy at ANNO DOMINI, Art Ark Gallery, KALEID Gallery, MACHU PICCHU Gallery of the Americas, MACLA, and the SoFA Market. For directions to each gallery and all of the details head over here.

As a side note, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles will be reopening this month with a members and artists weekend on June 11-13 and a full reopening on June 18-20.

June 2021 Downtown Dimension Highlights

 The JUNE Downtown Dimension is now available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• Dine Downtown returns starting July 1.  The "Restaurant Week" won't be as long as it was last fall, but it has been extended to 18 days this time around.  Some of downtown's best restaurants have already signed up, and more are expected to join the fun this month. Get ready to explore new places and visit longtime favorites.
• Two new entertainment venues are set to open in downtown San Jose.  San Pedro Social Club opens with bowling lanes, a first for downtown.  And in SoFA, you will find the best gamers in the area battling it out for bragging rights.  The experience includes food, drink, games and a lot of social. Post-pandemic, it may be just what the doctor orders.
• The North San Pedro housing area is starting to fill up, with the opening of The Julian, added financing for an affordable housing project set to be finished this year, and a land sale that may lead to the start of another residential project sooner than anticipated.
• Santa Clara County Supervisors adopted Laura's Law, an important step in assisting individuals with untreated severe mental illness.
• ParkSJ parking meters and garages now offer contactless payments. Just tap your credit card or ApplePay device over the receiver and you are good to go.
• Happy 50th anniversary to Togo's, which started in San Jose and has grown to almost 200 locations throughout the West.
• William Quevedo is celebrated as Groundwerx's Employee of the Month.
• For the ultimate boba and tea drink, try Dr.Ink off San Pedro Square.
• Fall will be a transition semester at San Jose State, with students in classrooms, at home online and some hybrid classes.  Faculty returns in July and classes begin Aug. 18.

SJDA’s next public meeting will be Friday, June 11 at 8:15 a.m. via Zoom. The agenda includes a presentation by Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez on mental health and homeless solutions. Register in advance for this webinar at tinyurl.com/sjda-june-11.

Supporting VTA shooting victims and their families

I'm still in shock over the tragedy that happened today in the VTA Light rail station. The incident made national news and even received a personal statement from President Biden. Government facilities across the country will be flying their flags at half mast.

Likely the most direct way to help the victims and their families is to make a donation. You can con contribute through Working Partnerships USA over here.

San Hauntse: Mysteries of San Jose

Manuel Ávalos and Carmen Sánchez have teamed up to host San Hauntse, which is "the only actively running podcast that seeks to document every haunted place and urban legend of the San Jose area." I'm blown away at how much content there is on the site (and I love the logo). 

I still remember hearing the San Felipe Road urban legends as a kid, not to mention the many Winchester Mystery House stories. Manuel and Carmen go in depth into the history of many famous San Jose landmarks and popular stories. It's entertaining and well produced, check it out over here!

Large-scale art is featured on new Regional Wastewater Facility building

Artwork and murals are now abundant throughout Downtown, but other parts of San Jose are getting artistic love as well. A now Cogeneration Facility in San Jose features a massive artwork installation with lights to brighten would could be a bland industrial facility at night.

It's a nice touch that serves as a reminder that we shouldn't have to settle for cookie-cutter buildings anymore in San Jose. We're a global city, it's time to start looking like one!

For more info on the art by Buster Simpson, click here.

Urban Catalyst replacing Garden City Casino with a large mixed-use project

The former Garden City Casino and Harry's Hofbrau area in West San Jose is going to get a significant overhaul. Urban Catalyst would like to build a mixed-use project combining office space, residential, a senior living complex, and a hotel.

Each of these four elements would have it's own dedicated building. Along Saratoga you'll find the office building and hotel. The offices would clock in around 300,000 SQFT across nine stories. The hotel would have 175 rooms, with suitability for both for short and long-term accommodations (I think this will mean two hotel brands sharing the same back-of-house resources and staff). One really neat feature is a rooftop deck above the hotel lobby (or lobbies) with the swimming pool and amenity space.

The residential building will house 425-450 apartments across eight stories. A separate senior living and memory care facility will have 165 units.

This seems like quite a nice proposal. The only element missing is retail--it would be great to see some restaurants and stores on the ground floor of all the buildings. However, Santana Row and Valley Fair are less than a mile away so this is not as critical for this particular area.

Source: SVBJ

Google Mega Campus Updates

Google has received unanimous approval from the planning commission to build its massive campus around Diridon. The final step is City Council approval on May 25th, which is all but assured at this point. 

The overall scope of the is staggering--it's the largest proposal in history for Downtown and perhaps all of Silicon Valley. The first phase alone includes 4.17 million SQFT of office space, 3,130 homes, and several new community plazas. That phase is just HALF of the project. Even more impressive, developers will get the opportunity to build up to 6.4 million SQFT of office space, 7,000 housing units, and 536,000 SQFT of retail around Google's project. Collectively, the area will be called "Downtown West."

Building heights will range from 170 feet o 295 feet. Construction on city streets and infrastructure is slated for 2022 and will take until at least until 2031 to complete the entire project. When complete, this will be Google's largest campus in the world.

As a side note, Google has also promised $200M in community benefits if the Downtown West plan comes to fruition. This includes homeless services, job opportunities for local residents, five acres of new parks and trails available to all, and affordable housing.

Sources: SVBJ, SVBJ(2), Urban Catalyst

South FIRST FRIDAYS

South FIRST FRIDAYS are coming back to life! Last month was a success with plenty of socially distanced traffic venturing into several venues in and around SoFA. This month new works will be featured at Anno Domini, Art Ark Gallery, Citadel Art Gallery, KALEID (I love their new space at 320 South First), Machu Picchu Gallery of the Americas, the SoFA Market, and San Jose Jazz. To see the full list head over here.

While you're in the area don't forget to check out SoFA's newest restaurants featuring small plates and craft cocktails: Petiscos by ADEGA and The Good Spot.