SAN JOSE | Projects: Under Construction, Approved, and Proposed

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/...-draw-concern/



Depending on whether it is office or apartment buildings that is almost as tall as downtown.

I know this forum thinks it is a poor place to build up, preferring another park and ride station, but I think this is a good place for development given the BART station.

There seems to be a lot of hate for this kind of TOD in this forum, and would love to understand why? I think the South Bay really needs this kind of development instead of the Santa Clara, Sunnyvale office parks far from transit as of late.

But I'm not understanding the support for that and opposition for this, especially since it is touted as building close to transit, when it is miles from BART or Caltrain, but this development is literally adjacent to a BART station.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/...e-development/



Jay Paul has bought out Dinapoli from the lot across CityView Plaza (kitty corner from Adobe HQ) apparently paying $100M for a tiny vacant office building parking garage to assemble more lots. Presumably the next step might be to buy out the rights to build on Parkside Hall.

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/..._news_headline

New renders and talk about plans by Jay Paul to combine the two.

[cardinal2007]

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/...opment/591991/

On Tuesday, Google announced plans to invest $1 billion dollars in land and money to construct housing in the Bay Area over the next decade. The search giant is the third major tech employer this year that has pledged to address an acute housing shortage in its surrounding community. Yet Google’s commitment is different, not only for its size, but also for its focus on land.

The bulk of Google’s investment will come in the form of property that’s worth $750 million, the company says. This is land that Google already owns around the Bay Area and that it now plans to repurpose for residential use, CEO Sundar Pichai explained in a blog post. Parts of the company’s present and future office campuses in cities such as Mountain View, San Jose, and San Francisco would be rezoned and converted to “new homes at all income levels ... including housing options for middle and low-income families,” Pichai wrote.

...

Given that there largest expansion will be in San Jose this will likely mean something like 10k new housing in San Jose, but the question will be where? They are not just talking downtown anymore Google has bought land in Alviso and is leasing offices near the airport too. Though only the land they are buying downtown can be zoned for multiple uses and they have been buying residential land.

But presumably this will include several mixed-income high rises, if not mixed use office/residential. More to come from them.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

There seems to be a lot of hate for this kind of TOD in this forum, and would love to understand why? I think the South Bay really needs this kind of development instead of the Santa Clara, Sunnyvale office parks far from transit as of late.

But I'm not understanding the support for that and opposition for this, especially since it is touted as building close to transit, when it is miles from BART or Caltrain, but this development is literally adjacent to a BART station.

when you say 'hate for TOD' are you referring to the generally negative reaction to the stuff that is going up near the Milpitas BART station?

I am VERY much in favor of TOD, but Milpitas BART area is just executed really poorly. doesn't seem like it will encourage the new residents not to get around with their cars at all. the station itself is surrounded by a moat of either parking or traffic lanes, literally walled off from the nearest existing houses, if I am not mistaken.

but maybe that's not what you meant!

[JMKeynes]

Apparently, many people have learned the way to San Jose.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by timbad

when you say 'hate for TOD' are you referring to the generally negative reaction to the stuff that is going up near the Milpitas BART station?

I am VERY much in favor of TOD, but Milpitas BART area is just executed really poorly. doesn't seem like it will encourage the new residents not to get around with their cars at all. the station itself is surrounded by a moat of either parking or traffic lanes, literally walled off from the nearest existing houses, if I am not mistaken.

but maybe that's not what you meant!

I meant the opposition in this forum to all the development planned by the Berryessa BART. Did you read the article? They only talk about the development around the Berryessa BART station, that is my main concern, the opposition to building up the area around Berryessa, but yet supporting other developments that are far from transit and have a lot more office space.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

I meant the opposition in this forum to all the development planned by the Berryessa BART. Did you read the article? They only talk about the development around the Berryessa BART station, that is my main concern, the opposition to building up the area around Berryessa, but yet supporting other developments that are far from transit and have a lot more office space.

ah, OK. I do remember thinking the Berryessa area was also not laid out optimally, with the closest things to the station being huge parking lots/garages, but I'd have to go back and look at it again - that's just a recollection. I'm not sure which article you mean - could you point me to it?

my take generally is: the South Bay in particular in the Bay Area is tough for this, due to its growth during a time when all the thinking was car-centered. we have the daunting task of trying to undo/retrofit 50+ years of development in that mind-set (and work to create awareness that things don't have to, and probably shouldn't, continue to be that way, which sometimes seems equally as daunting).

so when we get these opportunities like a major transit station, the thinking is still, well, we need to make it easy for people to drive here. so they build 2000 (random large number) parking spaces and wide roads right next to the station. but you can accomplish the same thing (attract 2000+ potential riders) by building 2000 units of housing (or mix of equivalent office space) with a walkable street grid right around the station too, with all the other benefits for health and environment the latter provides. if Berryessa does that, or even something approaching that, then woohooo.

(and I don't mean there should be no parking, but much less, and it should not get in the way of access to the station by other means)

the thing in Santa Clara (which I think you are also referring to) I'm not super familiar with. I got the general impression it was increasing density and walkability in an area that does have some existing transit options, particularly the light rail, which I think runs along one edge of it. I'm often thrown off in scale in the South Bay, though, where things are farther apart than I think, so could be that this is the case here.

[gillynova]

Adobe broke ground on their new tower today in downtown San Jose

SAN JOSE — Adobe officially broke ground Monday on a gleaming new office tower in downtown San Jose that is expected to be large enough to accommodate 4,000 employees and to become a dramatic addition to the skyline of the Bay Area’s largest city.

Slated to be completed in 2022, the 18-story Adobe North Tower will total 700,000 square feet and be connected to the tech titan’s existing three-building campus in downtown San Jose with a pedestrian bridge that will arc over West San Fernando Street.

The last office high rise in downtown San Jose was the River Park Tower 2, which rose on West San Carlos Street in 2010.

Source:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/...h-real-estate/

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by timbad

ah, OK. I do remember thinking the Berryessa area was also not laid out optimally, with the closest things to the station being huge parking lots/garages, but I'd have to go back and look at it again - that's just a recollection. I'm not sure which article you mean - could you point me to it?

my take generally is: the South Bay in particular in the Bay Area is tough for this, due to its growth during a time when all the thinking was car-centered. we have the daunting task of trying to undo/retrofit 50+ years of development in that mind-set (and work to create awareness that things don't have to, and probably shouldn't, continue to be that way, which sometimes seems equally as daunting).

so when we get these opportunities like a major transit station, the thinking is still, well, we need to make it easy for people to drive here. so they build 2000 (random large number) parking spaces and wide roads right next to the station. but you can accomplish the same thing (attract 2000+ potential riders) by building 2000 units of housing (or mix of equivalent office space) with a walkable street grid right around the station too, with all the other benefits for health and environment the latter provides. if Berryessa does that, or even something approaching that, then woohooo.

(and I don't mean there should be no parking, but much less, and it should not get in the way of access to the station by other means)

the thing in Santa Clara (which I think you are also referring to) I'm not super familiar with. I got the general impression it was increasing density and walkability in an area that does have some existing transit options, particularly the light rail, which I think runs along one edge of it. I'm often thrown off in scale in the South Bay, though, where things are farther apart than I think, so could be that this is the case here.

Berryessa
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/...opment/591991/


https://www.relatedsantaclara.com/about/
I have to admit it is an improvement over the first plan:

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/...nies-huge.html

I hate to spoil it for you, but very few people use light rail, VTA has a farebox recovery rate of 9%, one major issue is that average speed for VTA is something like 14mph, and even in the worst traffic South Bay traffic is at 15mph average. When you add the parking garage is usually adjacent, while the station is not, you have this problem. Either way you have to look at the map, only one office building is made convenient to transit, all the other ones are towards the back/sides of the development a significant and unfriendly walk from the station (note the Related didn't even bother highlighting the stations this time, you have to cross reference the current map), the ACE/Capitol Corridor station that is the only one adjacent to the development (light rail is adjacent to the "future residential" and further down by the convention center) and it only gets 3 ACE trains in the morning and evening, and a few more Capitol Corridor. Those are nowhere near BART or Caltrain like service, and VTA which is about to go on strike is really lacking here (honestly their stops are way too close for a low density area like the north part of Sunnyvale, SC & SJ, they need to come up with ways to reach the 55mph top speed that it never does north of downtown).

[mwhite3182]

Why are the buildings so squat in downtown San Jose? Is there a height limitation?

I know there’s an airport nearby, but San Diego has an airport close to its downtown, and the buildings are taller than San Jose’s.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by mwhite3182

Why are the buildings so squat in downtown San Jose? Is there a height limitation?

I know there’s an airport nearby, but San Diego has an airport close to its downtown, and the buildings are taller than San Jose’s.

Yes there are, look at the last post of the first page for more information.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

Berryessa
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/...opment/591991/


https://www.relatedsantaclara.com/about/
I have to admit it is an improvement over the first plan:

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/...nies-huge.html

I hate to spoil it for you, but very few people use light rail, VTA has a farebox recovery rate of 9%, one major issue is that average speed for VTA is something like 14mph, and even in the worst traffic South Bay traffic is at 15mph average. When you add the parking garage is usually adjacent, while the station is not, you have this problem. Either way you have to look at the map, only one office building is made convenient to transit, all the other ones are towards the back/sides of the development a significant and unfriendly walk from the station (note the Related didn't even bother highlighting the stations this time, you have to cross reference the current map), the ACE/Capitol Corridor station that is the only one adjacent to the development (light rail is adjacent to the "future residential" and further down by the convention center) and it only gets 3 ACE trains in the morning and evening, and a few more Capitol Corridor. Those are nowhere near BART or Caltrain like service, and VTA which is about to go on strike is really lacking here (honestly their stops are way too close for a low density area like the north part of Sunnyvale, SC & SJ, they need to come up with ways to reach the 55mph top speed that it never does north of downtown).

thanks for the links and perspective, cardinal2007. I understand better what you mean.

also re-dug-up this for Berryessa

it does look like Berryessa has more going for it. fairly encouraging!

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by timbad

thanks for the links and perspective, cardinal2007. I understand better what you mean.

also re-dug-up this for Berryessa

it does look like Berryessa has more going for it. fairly encouraging!

Thanks for the link, I am still hoping they will have more of a model similar to Reston Town Center https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reston_Town_Center which has more of a strict grid within its confines, as well as parking more relegated to the edges of the development (I do think they could've done better with the garages though, 1st level retail?). But the main thing is that they built out over 20 years as demand built up, not having to just lay down whatever density made sense in 1988, and leave it at that.

[cardinal2007]

https://sanjosespotlight.com/google-...ng-commitment/

Google pairs up with developer on Bay Area housing commitment

Mere weeks after Google unveiled a $1 billion commitment to help spur new housing development and preserve existing affordable homes in the Bay Area, the tech titan has partnered with a real estate developer to bring some of that housing to fruition.

Sydney, Australia-based Lendlease Corp. has made a formal agreement with Google to help build up to 15 million square feet of new residential, retail, hotel and other community space over the next 10 to 15 years. Google last month announced it would rezone $750 million worth of land in the Bay Area from land where only commercial and office spaces can rise, to places where residential development could be built.

“This joint agreement between Google and Lendlease will help address the need for new housing in the San Francisco Bay Area,” Denis Hickey, chief executive officer of Americas at Lendlease, said in a statement Wednesday. “We’re eager to contribute our world-class approach to creating unique urban communities, and we are focused on delivering outstanding places that redefine how people choose to live, work, connect and contribute to creating an active community.”

...

Google has committed to building a significant amount of housing in San Jose.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

https://sanjosespotlight.com/google-...ng-commitment/

Google has committed to building a significant amount of housing in San Jose.

Google last month announced it would rezone $750 million worth of land in the Bay Area from land where only commercial and office spaces can rise, to places where residential development could be built.

Google can re-zone?

[JMKeynes]

Someone clearly knows the way to San Jose.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by timbad

Google can re-zone?

LOL, right. The completely skip on the idea that Google will have to basically persuade all 3 cities to allow housing in those areas, I think it has already happened in MV. So there is SV and SJ, SJ is a pushover when it comes to land use, I don't know about SV, but the entire area north of 101 and north of 237 is all office parks and it sucks trying to get in and out.

[cardinal2007]

http://www.marketstreettowers.com/

https://sanjosespotlight.com/sobrato...-office-tower/

Sobrato unveils new plans for big downtown San Jose office tower

The Sobrato Organization has submitted a formal application to San Jose to remake a prime downtown parking lot in the heart of the city into a glassy new tower geared toward tech tenants.

Market Street Towers, a proposed 19-story tower that appears from the outside to be four separate towers of varying heights, is expected to rise on a 1.5-acre lot at the northeast corner of South Market and West San Carlos streets, a site known colloquially as Block 8.

“There’s iconic architecture in the design,” Chase Lyman, vice president of leasing and acquisitions at Sobrato, said in an interview Tuesday. “The building naturally, gradually twists as you move up the elevation and I think it will redefine and be the prominent building in the downtown skyline.”

...

Sobrato going into their office plans for Block 8:





As well as block 2!:

[gillynova]

Mural:



Sparq:



Miro:






Silvery Towers:







The Paseo by Modera near San Pedro:


Villas at the Park:





Random pics:





I forgot the name of this project behind Target near downtown?

[cardinal2007]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/...s-planned/amp/

Downtown San Jose gas station is bought, hundreds of homes planned

SAN JOSE — A gas station at a prominent downtown San Jose corner has been bought by an increasingly busy development company that plans to construct a housing tower with hundreds of residential units.

Urban Catalyst has bought the site now occupied by a Chevron gas station at Santa Clara and Fourth streets — one of the few fuel stations in downtown San Jose — and says it is planning a mixed-use residential and retail development on the key street corner.

“We are going to do high-rise residential with quality retail on the ground floor,” said Erik Hayden, founder and managing partner with Urban Catalyst.

...

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/...als-broad.html

Urban Catalyst buys gas station site, reveals broad vision for San Jose development

Urban Catalyst, an Opportunity Zone fund focused on downtown San Jose, has purchased one of the last remaining gas stations in downtown and plans to build a mixed-use residential tower in its place. The acquisition is the third of a projected 10-property blueprint Urban Catalyst has for San Jose, a vision that a firm partner detailed to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

"The goal is to create an ecosystem" downtown, said Urban Catalyst partner Joshua Burroughs. Already, the company has two developments in the works — the Fountain Alley building next to the Bank of Italy, which is intended for offices, and a project called The Keystone, which will be a 170-room business hotel near the SAP Center and Google's planned development near Diridon Station.

Its latest acquisition is at 147 E. Santa Clara Street, where a Chevron station now sits. The lot is across the street from the Miro, a high-rise residential development that's under construction, and is a few steps away from San Jose City Hall. Urban Catalyst spent $15.9 million for the property, which has been a gas station for 50 years.