Spend $125 at San Jose Downtown Businesses and get a $25 gift card

In the spirit of supporting local San Jose businesses, the San Jose Downtown Association is offering a special promotion this holiday season. If you spend $125 at Downtown San Jose businesses between Nov. 24 and Dec 24th, they will send you a $25 gift card.

Downtown San Jose in this case is defined as the Business Improvement District. Just provide the receipt(s) from any retail store, restaurant, cafe, museum, theatre, or entertainment venue located within the highlighted area in the map below and claim you gift card over here.

There are some exclusions such as touring shows, Sharks tickets, parking, and stays at hotels. 

Winter Wonderland is officially open in Downtown San Jose 🎡🎄

A holiday carnival is now in full swing adjacent to San Jose's Christmas in the Park. Rides include a nearly 70-foot tall Ferris Wheel, a Carousel, an Alien Invasion centrifuge, Tilt-a-Whirl, a Dragon Wagon coaster, and many smaller rides for younger children. Tickets are $5 a ride for the major attractions.

After three years of street closures on Park Avenue (and the whole COVID thing), Winter Wonderland is back in full force! You'll find rides both on Park Avenue and Paseo de San Antonio. The Park Avenue rides will be oriented for older kids, teens, and adults while the Paseo will have rides ideal for younger children.

Winter Wonderland Ride Hours

• November 25 - 26: 12pm - 11pm

• November 27 - 30: 3pm – 10pm

• December 1 - 3: 12pm – 11pm

• December 4 - 7: 3pm – 10pm

• December 8 - 10: 12pm – 11pm

• December 11 - 14: 3pm – 10pm

• December 15 - January 1: 12pm - 11pm

804 new home proposed in Alviso next to San Jose's Topgolf

There are several large parcels in Alviso earmarked for major development, the first of which became Silicon Valley's first Topgolf. Another that was supposed to be an entertainment and retail center has transitioned to become a future data center. Now a parcel that was originally going to be a hotel is pivoting to homes, and quite a large number of them.

Genesis Commercial Capital wants to build 804 new homes on a 3.2 acre site on North First Street right next to the Topgolf--see map below. They are utilizing the state's builder's remedy to expedite and streamline the approval process (the same builder's remedy that is also sometimes weaponized to downsize previously approved projects).

At least 20% of the homes will have to be earmarked as affordable housing. Currently there is no target ETA, but given how badly San Jose needs housing I think it will be a quick approval and more in the hands of the developer on how soon they want to move dirt and get the project up and running.

Source: SVBJ

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Warm wishes to you and your family from your friends at The San Jose Blog!

SJMADE Holiday Fair 2023 - Largest Holiday Craft Fair in Silicon Valley

SJMADE's flagship event is back on Nov 24th and Nov 25th (Black Friday and Small Business Saturday). This free event has over 425 vendors, mostly made up of artists, makers, and local entrepreneurs. This year there isn't a single empty space, every booth is spoken for. Last year it took me over two hours just to quickly walk through and look at every vendor.

Concessions are available outside Halls C & D and additional on-site food and drink concessions can be found near the main entrance outside Hall A. The first 1,000 attendees each day will also get a door giveaway, which is always an item not available for purchase.

Admission is free, parking is free, it's open to all ages and runs from 11am to 7pm each day at the Santa Clara Convention Center (5001 Great America Parkway). There is also a VTA Light Rail stop right outside the event. To see the full vendor lineup and a map--which you'll probably need--head over here.

518 new apartments in San Jose's Japantown are already 95% leased

Shea Properties and Ivanhoe Cambridge launched Sixth and Jackson luxury apartments in Japantown earlier this year, named after the cross streets where you can find the 518-unit complex. Even though it just opened pretty recently, the property is already 95% leased. This goes to show how strong the San Jose housing market is right now, even with floorplans starting at $2,656/mo for a studio and scaling to $5,200/mo for a three bedroom unit.

The project is split between two seven-story buildings with tons of amenities like a yoga room, rooftop lounge, dog run, co-working spaces, meeting rooms, a spin room, outdoor entertainment areas, Shea Properties also built a new public park between the buildings called Heinlenville Park, named after the person that helped transform the neighborhood in the late 19th century. The park will eventually have a $30 million arts incubator and community center, but construction on that project hasn't started yet.

It's quite an upgrade for Japantown, one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Jose. It's great that they were able to integrate so many community elements into the project and there is still quite a bit of retail on the ground floor available for lease to further enhance the area in the future.

Source: SVBJ

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 2023, a San Jose Thanksgiving tradition

This is the 19th edition of the annual 5K/10K run/walk that benefits five local charities: Healthier Kids Foundation, Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Second Harvest Food Bank, The Health Trust and The Healthier Kids Foundation Santa Clara County. 

This is your chance to burn some calories before indulging in a delicious Thanksgiving feast, while also supporting a great cause. Plus, you'll get to enjoy the beautiful scenery through Downtown San Jose, Japantown, and The Alameda; live entertainment along the course; and a swag bag that includes a long-sleeve tech shirt, a finisher medal, and a reusable water bottle. 

Don't worry if you're not a seasoned runner. The Silicon Valley Turkey Trot is open to everyone, regardless of age or fitness level. You can choose to run or walk at your own pace, or join a team with your friends, family, or coworkers. You can also register your kids for the Kids Fun Run, which is a half-mile loop around Plaza de Cesar Chavez. And if you're feeling extra festive, you can dress up in a turkey costume or any other creative outfit. Trust me, you won't be the only one!

The Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 2023 will take place on Thursday, November 23rd, starting at 7:30 a.m. at Santa Clara Street and Market Street. The registration fee is $45 for adults and $20 for kids until November 15th, after which it will increase to $50 and $25 respectively. You can register online at www.svturkeytrot.com or in person at any of the packet pickup locations listed on the website. Don't miss this opportunity to join thousands of your fellow San Joseans in a fun and meaningful tradition that makes our city so special.

See you at the starting line!

  

Break Stuff - San Jose's "stress relief demolition center"

I have heard of "rage rooms" before but didn't actually know of one that existed in San Jose. Before getting into a flurry of Thanksgiving and Christmas posts, I figured I would plug one option for getting your stress out before the holidays.

"Break Stuff" is a place that celebrates exactly what the name implies. It's the Bay Area's first and only stress therapy demolition center. Their purpose is to provide a venue that encourages controlled chaos, and by that I mean you get to break all sorts of old TVs, computers, glass bottles, garden gnomes, etc... whatever your heart desires.

Their packages range from $100 for 30 minutes of B.Y.O.B. (bring your own stuff to break) to $200 for 6 electronics and 60 glass items that they will provide for you. They have two rooms that can each hold 5 people at a time. If breaking things isn't your cup of tea, they also have axe-throwing.

Break Stuff has a Yelp rating of 4.8/5 with 256 reviews, which is very impressive. If you are looking for a unique corporate event or alternative way of hashing out family drama, it's worth a shot! Break Stuff is located at 860 S. 1st Street (between Camino and Clandestine Brewing) and is open Thursday through Sunday. You can read all of the rules and make reservations over here.