San Jose Fry's Electronics will become a tech hub

The beloved Fry's Electronics on Brokaw road finally has a new destiny. Super Micro Computer, which is headquartered in San Jose, wants to build a 333,400 SQFT manufacturing and tech center in its place. This would be part of a future tech hub replacing the Fry's store and office building.

Fortunately, they would keep the Mayan facade from Fry's and somehow incorporate it into the project. The total project could encompass a couple million SQFT, but it could be years or decades before that comes to fruition.

Source: The Mercury News

Cisco is consolidating San Jose offices at Santana Row

After acquiring Splunk in 2024, Cisco is now working on consolidating office space. While the company has 30 buildings across its North San Jose campus, you could argue that their flagship building is sitting at the end of Santana Row. 

Cisco is planning to close four buildings at 3750 Zanker Road and 260, 300, and 350 East Tasman Drive and moving those lucky employees to the former Splunk headquarters at the Row in mid October.

The space--which I'm assuming was already pretty nice to begin with--is also undergoing a renovation. The best way to encourage people to head back into the office is to make the office an amenity. The location will certainly help here.

Source: SVBJ

Porsche is setting up shop at Santana Row

Santana Row made history as the very first location for a Tesla Store. It disrupted the entire auto market with a direct-to-consumer model and a buying experience similar to an Apple Store--perhaps because the person responsible for Apple Stores was behind the initial Tesla Store concept. Several auto makers followed suit including Lucid and Polestar which have similar stores across the street in Valley Fair. The Santana Row Tesla Store has also become so popular that it significantly expanded it's original square footage into a neighboring retail pad a few years ago. 

Now traditional automakers are getting in on the action. Porsche is opening their very first Porsche NOW concept at Santana Row.

The store will enable visitors to interact with the Porsche brand in a lounge-like environment and tinker with one of Porsche's electrified models such as the Taycan or Macan Electric. This would make sense given San Jose is the largest market for electric vehicles per capita of any large city in the US.

The Porsche NOW store is located near Hotel Valencia at 355 Santana Row and had their soft opening last week.

Source: SVBJ

African American Cultural Center with housing proposed in San Jose

The African American Cultural Center is being proposed at 2001 The Alameda, right before San Jose turns into Santa Clara as you head away from Downtown San Jose. The project raised $3 million in funds August last year and another $4.1 million in federal funding this March. In total they have already raised $30 million.

The center is designed to serve as a hub for education, music, theater, dance, science, athletics, and business. The building itself will have meeting halls, banquet facilities, youth development facilities, a library, museum gallery, senior and youth programs, child care, a theatre, and even some retail.

Now there is also a major housing component to this project as well. EAH Housing is planning to build about 150 units, 135 of which would be affordable. 12 to 15 of the units would be for-sale condos. EAH Housing is a nonprofit that has already developed 107 properties and 8,700 residential units.

There is no ETA as a bit more fundraising needs to be completed, but this looks like a great mixed-use project for San Jose.

Source: SiliconValley.com

Mosaic Festival today at History Park San Jose

The Mosaic Festival celebrates the diverse cultures in our own neighborhoods. The purpose of the event is to welcome and honor everyone's unique history while also creating a vision of our shared future. There will be music, dancing, vendors, food, and activities.

The event is free and open to all ages. It takes place from 10am to 6pm today at History Park San Jose.

7th Annual Little Italy San Jose Italian Festival

The Little Italy San Jose Italian Festival is back this Sunday, October 6th. This is an action packed event going from 11am to 7pm, with an afterparty at the Italian Cellar Speakeasy from 7pm to 11pm.

The festival includes one of the largest Italian car shows in the United States, tons of authentic Italian cuisine, wine tasting, nonstop live music, arts & crafts, children's activities, and tours of the brand new Italian Museum (San Jose's first new museum in ages).

For more information, head over here.

Blossom Hill housing project moves forward

A parking lot at the Blossom Hill VTA station is getting one step closer to becoming a 328 home project. The six-story building will have 239 market-rate homes and 14,000 SQFT of retail on the ground floor. A five-story building across the street will have 89 affordable housing units. The project would also create a new transit plaza for South San Jose VTA riders and a walking/biking trail along Canoas Creek.

While the project was approved in 2022, not a lot has happened. The affordable housing component just received a $5.5 million boost from the government.

In a best-case scenario, the affordable housing piece will start construction in the summer of 2025 with the market rate portion to follow.

Source: SVBJ

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk October 2024 + STREET MRKT

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week with exhibits across multiple galleries in three different districts. Everything is open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, San Jose Jazz, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

It all goes down on Friday, October 4th. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across all three different districts.

Some of the more unique items this month include an open rehearsal with Symphony San Jose at the California Theater from 7:30-10pm and an immersive video mapping exhibition at Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

This month is also the last STREET MRKT indie urban art faire of the year. This overlaps with the art walk and runs from 5pm to 10pm. This bonus event features dozens of vendors and artists, turning the streets of SoFA into an outdoor art gallery. It also includes live music, food trucks, and a beer garden with local breweries (more details below).

LAST STREET MRKT of 2024! 

Join us out on So. 1st St. as 50 artists transform the SoFA District into a unique and bustling outdoor gallery with their creative energy! Imaginative paintings & sculptures, glass art demos, classic tattoo art, counterculture zines, chic fashion and an AR community gallery hosted by Membit are just some of the rare experiences you’ll find when you come out and support our amazing arts community. 

We’ll also have a great variety of delicious food trucks and a lively beer garden sponsored by & featuring: Clandestine Brewing Co., Fox Tale Fermentation, & Strike Brewing Co.

FEATURED ARTISTS:
Anthony Alva 
Rebecca Anguiano
Delilah Bender
The Blunt Letters
Julianne Bonnet
Emmanuel Cervantes Mejia 
Crossroads Trading Co.
Dario Cruz
Current Tattooing
Christina Del Alto
Jennifer DeChenne
Deep Legends Bus
Joseph Demaree
Mario Dimas
Lorenz Dumuk
Mahsa Emoventur
Force129
Cynthia Gonzalez
Hand in Hand Henna
Higher Fire Clayspace
Maureen Holcomb
Jodi408
Look into the Future, with AI (James Morgan, Thomas Asmuth and Kathryn Funk at KALEID Gallery)
Sarah Loyola
Valentino Loyola
Joe Mandrick
Martha Gardens Arts
David Mejia
MEMBIT Inc.
Gianfranco Paolozzi 
Leslie Perez 
Betty Proper
Francisco Ramirez
Steven Reece
Steven Regalado 
Marilyn Roaf aka Purl Bailey
Jacob Sandoval
Ricardo Sandoval 
SJSU Reed Magazine
South Bay Ceramics
Suha Suha
Sundry 3D Treasures
Nikkea Takagi
Heylu Wheat
plus great music provided by
Deep Legends Bus out on S 1st Street

–>  BEER GARDEN 
5:00 – 10:00pm Great music provided by DJ No Way José!

Beer Garden sponsored by & featuring local & regional breweries: Clandestine Brewing Co., Fox Tale Fermentation, and Strike Brewing Co.

All ages welcome, must be 21+ w/ valid ID to drink beer.