Could San Jose get their own utility instead of PG&E?

It's a longshot, but plans are brewing for San Jose to potentially build their own power utility to replace PG&E. A theoretical "San Jose Power" would access a new underground transmission line that will expand the amount of power going to San Jose and is expected to be built by 2028.

While there are risks, the benefits could be significant. Just look at our neighbor Santa Clara that owns and operates their own electrical utility--Silicon Valley Power. Their electrical rates are far below PG&E and among the lowest in the state, uptime is incredible with power outages being extremely rare, AND it is still generating revenue for the city of Santa Clara. Not only that, Silicon Valley Power has had a few unintended benefits such as attracting data centers and businesses with cheap electricity and miles of dark fiber optic connections that were added along the utility's right-of-way.

There are downsides. Running a utility is a very different skill than a government and some skeptics will question whether San Jose is able to pull it off. Of course PG&E will want to shut down this idea as quickly as possible. Perhaps there is another option like partnering with Silicon Valley Power instead of reinventing the wheel for San Jose. If the end goal is to build a better service for San Jose at a lower cost and with higher uptime, they have already achieved that and perhaps there is a way to scale their success to San Jose.

Source: The Merc

Egghead Sando opens new locations in San Jose and Santa Clara

One of my favorite sandwich places has opened two new locations. You can now enjoy Egghead Sando Cafe in South San Jose at 6201 Santa Teresa Blvd. and in Santa Clara at 3957 Rivermark Plaza (North San Jose area).

They are known for their fluffy egg-centric toasted brioche sandwiches, which are often paired with bacon, spam, or chicken. My go-to is the B.E.C. sandwich which has thick-cut bacon, an over medium egg, cheddar, and house sauce. They also have a specialty called the Eggy which is a poached egg on top of a potato puree topped topped with bacon and chives. It's a perfect complement to any sandwich, especially with tater tots. 

They're open from 7am to 3pm on the weekdays and 8am to 4pm on the weekends. Egghead also has two other locations off of Capital Expressway and in Downtown San Jose.

Source: The Merc

Alviso/North San Jose entertainment district is now a data center

Next to the Topgolf in Alviso was a grand plan for an entertainment district containing shops, restaurants, and two hotels. Five years later, the area around Topgolf is still barren (although Topgolf is doing very well on its own). 

Now, the owners of the land are coming back to the city with a very different proposal that is likely to be a lot less exciting for North San Jose residents... a giant data center. I'm digging the exterior design with a living wall for the 172,500 SQFT two-story building and it's neighboring 174,400 SQFT three-story power center--but it's still a server farm. 

There is still hope for a 15,000 SQFT retail space, which could house a few restaurants. However, that is nothing compared the the multi-million SQFT projects Santa Clara is planning down the street. In a few years there will be tons of new apartments, office buildings, restaurants, shopping, and at least one new hotel across from Levi's stadium. Not to mention all of Great America will likely be turned into some mixed used mega-property like Santana Row over the next 10-15 years. 

Something is better than nothing from a city tax dollar perspective, but we should question whether this is the best use for this land. Once it's a data center, I don't think it will be convertible to anything else.

Source: The Merc

Famous Korean BBQ spot Baekjeong opens first Northern California location in San Jose

Speaking of BBQ (see previous post today), Baekjeong is opening their very first location in Northern California at Westfield Valley Fair. This is a chain owned by Korean celebrity Kang Ho-dong and is extremely popular in LA and New York. San Jose will be one of just a two locations to accept reservations and they are already going fast on Resy.

While many malls around the country are struggling, Valley Fair somehow is continuing to expand and attract compelling restaurants. Eataly, Din Tai Fung, iChina, Maestro's, Kingfish, and Ramen Nagi are some of the other flagship dining destinations within the mall.

Guide to San Jose BBQ spots

SJ Today has a handy guide for the top BBQ spots in San Jose. Many of my favorites are on there including my personal top choice, Smoking Pig BBQ. Smoked Out BBQ in Santa Clara is also fantastic and in one of the most random places you will ever find a restaurant.

Check out the SJ Today list over here.

 

Content 15.4 "Profiles" pick-up party

Content Magazine is releasing their newest issue on Thursday, August 17th. As is tradition they are hosting a party to celebrate the release, which is taking place at the San Jose Museum of Art (SJMA). Music and entertainment will be provided by DJ Weezmatic, Yosimar Reyes, Ervin Wilson, James Mertke, Paul J. Gonzalez, Together We Create, and more.

The event takes place from 6-9pm and is free to the public. Content Subscribers also get a complimentary beverage and hors d'oeuvres courtesy of El Cafecito by Mezcal Restaurant.

For more info or to become a subscriber, head over here.

Cinequest 2023 ("Energized") kicks off tomorrow

The 33rd Cinequest returns tomorrow, August 15th and runs through the end of the month. It features over 300 films this year, 84 of which are US or world premiers. This has become a top-10 film festival in the US, so it's well worth checking out. My favorites are always the collections of shorts, especially the comedies.

For a short guide, head over to SJ Today. To see the full list of films and buy your passes, Cinequest.org is your best bet.

San Jose office building may be converted to residential or hotel

A 10-story, 113-year-old office building at 2 West Santa Clara St. might be converted to become either a residential building or a hotel.

Like many urban areas today, Downtown San Jose has a very high office vacancy rate. In Q2 it was 26.6%, partially because the massive 200 Park office tower was completed, adding greatly to the amount of available office space in the area. Santa Clara is also at 26.1% and San Francisco has a whopping 31.6% office vacancy.

So it makes quite a bit of sense to take some of the older office buildings and convert them to other uses that have more demand. Some of the plans up for consideration for 2 West Santa Clara are 65 residences, a hotel with 147 rooms, or a 73-unit co-living space (e.g. The Grad). 

The building has a great location in central Downtown San Jose but is only 100,000 SQFT and has small floor plates that are not popular with tech companies these days. Since every office has windows already, it should a pretty easy conversion to residential or a hotel.

Source: SFGATE