Rant, rant, rant. Sorry.
I don't like it, the angles and perspectives are not nice, proportions are all wrong it does not complement the area at all. The top portion is awkward and very top heavy, with those large oversized overhangs, weird. Also, it will just be dangerous with wind, snow and ice. Just no no no, they should return to the drawing board.
![Yuck](images/smilies/yuck.gif)
If this aspect was done to remove the height aspect, it doesn't do it. It just plain ugly.
The lower portion is ok-ish, it's brick and not prefab panels at least, well I hope, but the top portion is just... they need more natural light on the mid levels (5-11) and more glass, those small square windows are too small for residential units that could otherwise have great views.
Overall the ugliest part of the building is the top heavy feature (floor 11-14), it's not elegant or refined, it could use a crown feature instead. Building should go smaller as they rise and not increase, a wedding-cake style would be nice looking, the other way around is not, basic architecture 101... Look it up. The setbacks needs to be there even if not drastic, or just do it as a box with little or no ornementation at all on the top 2-3 levels. I'm not sure if very minimalist design would work well in Uptown SJ though...
The minor height permission is not what worries me in this case, I hope the Commission & Council talks about the design itself...
This is a landmark corner if there is one in SJ, get back to the drawing boards. They should bring at least 3 options so the public and city can discuss. Nicer doesn't always mean more expensive so please I hope the architect firm can welcome some feedback.
On a positive note, I do like the bronze color of the top floors.
End of rant.