Content Pick-Up Party 12.4 "Profiles"

San Jose's premier art & culture magazine is resuming their "pick-up parties" with issue 13.4 on September 3rd--conveniently coinciding with the First Friday Art Walk. You can pick up your latest issue at Parque de Los Pobladores between 6pm-8pm and then check out the galleries and restaurants of SoFA. They'll even have live music, visual art, and mini auto show. What sort of magazine does that for their subscribers?

Speaking of which, if you're not already a subscriber you can learn more about the magazine over here.

In partnership with First Friday Art Walk - Content Magazine celebrates the release of issue 13.4 "Profiles" at Parque de Los Pobladores.

About this event

Join Content Magazine for the first outdoor Pick-Up Party of 2021 on Friday, September 3rd from 6:00-8:00pm in partnership with First Friday Art Walk.

This Pick-Up Party celebrates the release of Issue 13.4 "Profiles."

Featuring:

Low Conspiracy | Warren Chang | San Jose Foos | Annmariz | Aulala Design | 2021 West Valley Fashion Designers | Kaylee Dougherty | Barely Funktional | HeadHunter Crew | FlipSide Lovers | Francisco J Zarate | Google Downtown West | Needle to the Groove Album Picks

Connect with one another in this open outdoor setting and experience a blend of music by Barely Funktional and FlipSide Lovers, along with special guest performances, and visual art by Warren Chang, Francisco J Zarate, Jackelin Solorio, and more. Plus a special visit by Low Conspiracy Car Club.

It is a packed two hour event. We hope you will join us and stay and explore First Friday Art Walk. Open from 5-10pm.

We have missed you and cannot wait to see you!!

This event is made possible by Heritage Bank.

Sundays in the Park with Arts: Hamiltunes

Every Sunday, St. James Park will host FREE performances by our talented arts organizations in the area. Viva Parks Downtown and Filco Events have come together to present this great series called "Sundays in the Park with ARTS" and it runs all the way until October 24th.

Each week, the event will run from 2-5pm on the grass in front of the Corinthian Building at St. James and Third. A professional stage, sound, and production system will be there each week. It's recommended that attendees bring chairs, a picnic basket, and blankets.

This week's event on August 29th features the San Jose Popup Choir leading the audience in HAMILTUNES -- the official public sing-along to the Broadway musical. SJ Popup Choir is the only officially licensed presenter of HAMILTUNES in the bay area, so it's one event you won't want to miss if you're a fan of the smash-hit musical. You'll be able to access all of the lyrics on your phone. Again, it's from 2-5pm this Sunday at Saint James Park.

SoFA will never be the same if these 6 towers get built

Feast your eyes on two projects consisting of three towers each in Downtown San Jose's artsy SoFA district. I love how these proposals continue to get more and more impressive with natural elements and rooftop amenities.

The first five renders below are a joint residential venture between Urban Community and Terrascape Ventures with 386 units. Two towers would be around 420 S. 2nd Street and clock in at 12 and 22 stories plus 8,000 SQFT of retail in a public plaza between the buildings. This is where the Dai-Thanh Supermarket and Dakao Sandwich shop currently stand. A third 20-story would rise on 420 S. 3rd St. and replace an old apartment complex. At least two towers would have an outdoor rooftop deck and lounge with trees and plants. The entire project would be built using mass timber and cross-laminated timber and operate with net-zero carbon emissions.

The next five renders are Westbank's "The Orchard" mixed-use project at the very entrance of SoFA from San Salvador Street. The towers looks great, but the ground-floor retail looks phenomenal! Currently, most of this proposal covers what today is a giant outdoor parking lot.

If just one of these projects moves forward, it will transform the area. If both make it, it'll be a revelation. It would triple the amount of foot traffic on most days and likely turn SoFA into an even more thriving area than San Pedro Square or the Historic District.

Sources: SVBJ, Aphelion2100 from the SJ Development Forum

August 2021 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The AUGUST 2021 Downtown Dimension is now available for download.   This month's newsletter highlights:   Fan favorite J BOOG will headline the only Music in the Park event this summer. Mark your calendar for Aug. 27 at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Tickets are available.  Mayor and downtown councilmember make optimistic comments at Scott's Chowder House's second downtown grand opening. Promotion for SJDA's Chloe Shipp to director of public space operations. Sarah Billings takes over as street life manager Frank Chavez, Groundwerx's Employee of the Month, talks about the importance of cleaning downtown. San Jose Jazz Summer Fest joins Music in the Park and SV Pride and plenty of other events this month. Light rail to return this month. San Jose's Office of Economic Development releases federal and state loan numbers to San Jose businesses during the pandemic.

 

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2021

One of Downtown San Jose's largest events is back this week. San Jose Jazz's Summer Fest runs Friday to Sunday with multiple stages and options for every budget (including $5 streaming passes for one of the stages). The main stage will be centered in Plaza de Cesar Chavez but various events and the overall atmosphere will encompass large portions of Downtown San Jose. It will be a fun weekend to be in the area even if you are not attending the full event.

The full blurb is below and you can access the full roster and tickets over here.

Celebrate the Rebirth of “Live” at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, August 13–15. One of the first significant live music events in the Bay Area in 2021, the Fest reclaims its place as "one of the world's great urban jazz festivals" (DownBeat Magazine) with a more compact footprint centered on the Sobrato Organization Main Stage in the Plaza de César Chavez. We'll bring you six stages with the same great vibe and a mix of international stars, emerging artists and local gems playing jazz, blues, R&B, New Orleans, Latin and more, including Grammy / Emmy / Academy Award winning artist Common, Latin jazz legend Pete Escovedo, fast-rising soul singer Judith Hill, funk powerhouse Morris Day and The Time, Latin urban party starter Ozomatli, Blue Note recording artist Kandace Springs and 70+ more.

Celebrating its 31st festival year in 2021, Summer Fest is an eclectic musical celebration that inspires family reunions, gathers old friends and brings music to every corner of downtown San Jose. Tickets and info at summerfest.sanjosejazz.org. 

ArtWalk SJ + STREET MRKT

This month, South FIRST FRIDAYS is supersized with the return of our annual summer street market. All art venues will be open for in-person visits from 5pm-9pm, as will the indie urban street market featuring over 50 artists, performers, and creatives. You can't miss it since the market will take over a chunk of SoFA. Of course there will be great food and drinks as well.

For more info head over here.

Participating Artists & Indie Creatives:

Atiso Garden

Delilah Bender

Bolo Vintage

Caesura

Calpulli Tonalehqueh Aztec Dance (7:30pm)

Calli Miquiztli

Arely Cardenas

Classic Loot

Content Magazine

Jhovany R De Ala

Sharon Deibert

Kirsten Dorsey

Ruben Escalante

Faerie Goatmother

Kristin Fjeldheim 

FUSE Presents

Mark Gomez

Cynthia Gonzalez

Hand in Hand Henna

Matty Heimgartner

Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery

Christine Hofstetter

Maureen Holcomb 

Inside Out Clothing

KathyKay Shirts & Kimonos

Nao Kondo

David Krase

Le Joe

LGBTQ Youth Space

The Local Creative Show

Frankie McFly

Joe Mandrick

Jodi Mascarenas

David Mejia

Poet Mighty Mike McGee + Friends

Bruce Miles

More Más Marami Arts

Sean Nash

Jean-Luc Pedanou

Leslie Perez Designs

Petite Galleria 

Plant Theory

Poetry Center San Jose

Al Preciado 

Francisco Ramirez

Marilyn Roaf 

SJ Institute of Contemporary Art

Second Hand Hustle

South Bay Burners 

Stay Tuft Rug Co.

Tochtli Wear

Willow Workshop Collective

Works San Jose

Zonkey Toys

In addition to neighborhood restaurants being open, we’ll have the 3 Brothers Kitchen and Road Doggs food trucks on site.

Beer Garden sponsored by LVL Uproar an independent brewery, gastropub and arcade now open in the SoFA District. Music provided by DJ Flipside Crew.

July 2021 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The JULY 2021 Downtown Dimension is now available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• With the pressure and stress of Covid somewhat relieved, downtown businesses are now on the road of recovery.  By the end of August, most of downtown's biggest entertainment venues -- including SAP Center and the Convention Center -- will be back in business.
• Remember to Dine Downtown July 1-18 at your choice of 26 downtown restaurants and cafes.  Enjoy chef specials, prix fixe three- and four-course menus or special drink-and-food pairings.
• SJDA also announces the return of Music in the Park and Starlight Cinemas this summer.
• Downtown property owners present the SoFA Pocket Park, a unique urban oasis featuring dog park and demonstration garden. Below, find some scenes from yesterday's opening.
• Bjarke Ingels' Serpentine Pavilion is headed to downtown San Jose.
• James Wheeler is feted as Groundwerx's Employee of the Month.

Unique office and housing tower could transform Downtown skyline

The word iconic gets thrown out a lot, but there is a proposal at 35 S. Second St. whose design would truly be iconic for the Downtown San Jose skyline. "Energy Hub" is a curvy office and residential tower that features multiple cutouts for trees and plants--not to mention a full living roof. Have a look at the second and third renders below to see how this concept looks in the context of other Downtown buildings. The change would be pretty dramatic.

The tower is actually two connected buildings that rise 21 floors. Retail and restaurants wrap around the ground floor, followed by residential space across 10 floors (194 units total), and topped with 314,000 SQFT of office space. There is also an atrium-like urban room on the ground floor accessible to the public. 

The roof is essentially a giant park with amenities for both residents and office workers. There are trees, hills, lounge areas, places to picnic, and even an full-blown running track. It has to be one of the most unique amenities proposed for the roof of any Downtown building (hopefully there is a pool or lake up there as well).

This proposal goes to show you don't have to have height in order to make a project stand out and change the entire landscape of an urban neighborhood.

Source: The Merc