Downtown dimension

VOL. 27 NO. 5

OCTOBER 2015

SAN JOSE DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION

SJDOWNTOWN.COM

PARK SJ introductions
The City of San Jose is rebranding its parking
facilities with a fresh new look called PARK SJ
that clearly differentiates city-owned from
privately owned facilities.
Four garages were updated in September with
new interior and exterior PARK SJ signs:
u

Market and San Pedro Square Garage

Second and San Carlos Street Garage

Third Street Garage

Fourth Street Garage

These four city garages have more than 3,400

parking spaces, and are clean, well-lit and affordable. Patrons parking in these PARK SJ facilities
can expect the same quality parking experience
every time.
While the new name is sparking change in the
look of the garages, the downtown validation
program is not changing, other than the validation
tickets and the validation window decals now
match the new look.
In addition, a parksj.org website is up and running. PARK SJ is also on Twitter @parksj. The
website has information about the validation and

other downtown San Jose parking programs.

Businesses can help make the new branding a

success by taking the following steps:
Share information about PARK SJ with
employees and customers and keep information
in an accessible place for easy reference.

Include the PARK SJ logo and this tagline

on websites, ads and marketing materials:

San Joses first,

Super Bowls 50th

Downtown Parking Made Easy. Park in a

PARK SJ city garage, bring in your entry ticket,
and well validate your parking. Check parksj.org
for details.

Downtown San Jose is included in the NFLs plans

for Super Bowl 50, to be played Feb. 7 at Levis
Stadium in Santa Clara.

Link the PARK SJ logo on business websites to

parksj.org so customers can access parking
information, maps, validation instructions and
directions.

The PARK SJ graphic can be downloaded from

the new parksj.org website, which also has all
the information validating businesses need. Or,
email sjda@sjdowntown.com to request the
logo or call the San Jose Downtown Association
at (408) 279-1775 with questions or additional
information.

Besides hosting the NFC champion at the Marriott

Hotel (the team will practice at San Jose State
University), the events kickoff event Super Bowl
Opening Night Fueled by Gatorade will take place
Feb. 1 at SAP Center.
Look for the new PARK SJ signs for easy, convenient - and
validated - parking at the Market-San Pedro Square
Garage and other city-owned facilities.

Tech offices proposed near train hub

The Diridon Station area, with its potential as a Grand Central Station of the
West, just took a significant step closer to its promise.
Developer Trammell Crow Co. and real estate investment firm Bentall Kennedy
paid $58.5 million to acquire 8.3 acres near SAP Center, where they plan to
build an urban tech campus of office, retail and housing in excess of 1 million
square feet.
Architect HKS is still drawing the plans, which include offices of 800,000
square feet, comprising two buildings of 10 and 12 stories, each offering floor
plates of 40,000 square feet and 15 feet between floors. The development also
includes retail space and a separate nine-story residential building with 325
units. The developers plan to include 2,400 parking spaces that would also be
available for arena events.
Colliers International is leasing the office space now at colliers.com, calling the
development #Diridon and expecting the first phase of the speculative office
building to be completed in 2017.
They are going to be able to deliver the floor plates, amenity space, parking and freeway access that tech companies want and find in Mountain View,
Sunnyvale and Santa Clara, but it will be in downtown San Jose with the added
benefits of transit and a true urban environment, said Erik Schoennauer,
who serves as a land-use consultant on the project.
The prime site, located between Los Gatos Creek and Guadalupe River and

Santa Clara and San Fernando streets just west of Highway 87, has been
primarily used as a parking area for 800 cars. For two tours in the early 2000s,
Cirque du Soleil located its big top there before outgrowing the site. It was
purchased by Adobe Systems, Inc. in 2006 for $32.5 million. Adobe had plans
to expand its operations across Highway 87, but instead grew its operations and
employee base working within the three towers it already occupies at Almaden
Boulevard and Park Avenue. San Jose Water Co. previously held the property
for decades. The historic Water Company building will be renovated and
repurposed for retail as part of the #Diridon project.
The developers reportedly had been looking for a site along the Caltrain corridor
and were delighted with this location, which also serves as a transit hub for
Altamont Commuter Express, VTA light rail and, in the future, high-speed rail
and BART. When all phases are completed, the project could accommodate
6,000 employees.
Its going to be an excellent addition to downtown, said Councilmember
Raul Peralez.
Dave Sandlin of Colliers International represented Trammell in the deal.
Adobe was represented by Carter Beim, also of Colliers International.
This is the third major office development announced for downtown in the last
three months. Insight Realty previously announced plans for Railyard Place on
10.6-acres off Coleman Avenue at Autumn Street and Museum Place adjacent to
the Tech Museum on Park Avenue.

VivaCalleSJ: go play in the streets Oct. 11

The first VivaCalleSJ will open six miles of city
streets stretching from downtown to East San Jose
for outdoor play.
The car-free, non-motorized event takes place
Oct. 11 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Participants may ride
their bikes, scooters, strollers, in-line skates and
skateboards, or walk the route that links St. James
Park with Emma Prusch Park. The route includes
Market Street to First Street to the Calle Willow Business District, and then Keyes Street and Story Road.
The event is free. It is not a race just open streets

available for play.

Participants can trek
the entire distance or
any portion of it.
Gathering areas called
hubs will have vendor booths, activities
and entertainment. A roller-skating area is planned
for Parque de los Pobladores at Market and William
streets.
A collection of eight Super Bowl Vince Lombardi

Trophies won by the 49ers and Raiders over the years

will be displayed at St. James Park from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
A series of community meetings were held in August
to acquaint residents and businesses with the
concept.
The program is managed by the Citys Department
of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services,
with seed money provided by the Knight Foundation
and outreach support from the Silicon Valley Bicycle
Coalition. For a map, safety tips and list of activities,
visit vivacallesj.org.

We look forward to a special welcome to the

NFC champion team, members of the media, and
thousands of guests to our vibrant downtown,
said Mayor Sam Liccardo.
San Jose will host three Super Community Events
in celebration of the NFL title game:
Through Feb. 7 Hawaiian Airlines / Kristi
Yamaguchi Downtown Ice Guests can enjoy
ice-skating under the palm trees throughout January
and during the week of the game. Normally open 60
days, Downtown Ice will be open 87 days starting
Nov. 13 in the Circle of Palms. Hawaiian Airlines,
Kristi Yamaguchi and her Always Dream Foundation
return for the fifth year as Downtown Ice partners.
Check downtownicesj.com.
u

u Feb. 5 South First Fridays / Winter Market

Artists, craft retailers, live music, DIY activities, and
art galleries will entertain visitors and residents along
South First Street. Check southfirstfridays.com.
u Feb. 7 Super Guadalupe River Run Runners
and walkers are welcome for the annual 5- and
10-kilometer runs along the Guadalupe River Trail.
Sign up at raceroster.com/events/2016/4822/superguadalupe-river-run-2016.

SJDA Annual Meeting

Oct. 16 invitation: The annual meeting
of the San Jose Downtown Association will be
Oct. 16 at First United Methodist Church,
24 N. Fifth St. at 8 a.m. The meeting includes
the State of Downtown by SJDA Executive
Director Scott Knies plus association business
matters such as election of board members,
financial reports and two-minute recaps by
SJDAs committee chairs and representatives.
RSVP with ADreana Quevedo,
aquevedo@sjdowntown.com.

IDA recognizes
jobs program
The Homeless Jobs and Training (HJT) program
earned a Downtown Merit Award from the International
Downtown Association on Oct. 1 at the IDAs annual
conference in San Francisco.
The HJT program, a joint project of the City of San Jose
Housing Department, Downtown Streets Team (DST)
and Groundwerx, offers homeless individuals the opportunity to work side-by-side with Groundwerx in its daily
cleaning and maintenance regimen. In exchange for
their work, participants earn food/basic need vouchers,
receive housing assistance and become eligible for case
management through DST.
The IDA award was among 10 qualified entries in the
Downtown Leadership and Management category. This
category features comprehensive and unique organizational approaches, projects or programs that improve
the effectiveness of downtown management organizations such as San Jose Downtown Association.
Based on the number of cities who have already
contacted us interested in emulating this program, we
have a strong suspicion that this model will be regarded
as a best-practice in efforts to assist the homeless, said
PBID Operations Manager Eric Hon.
In its first year, 28 individuals got training, many of
them finding employment and/or housing. This year
the program expands from five to seven days a week.
The HJT program is a shining example of excellent
downtown management delivering real value to San
Jose, said David Downey, IDA president and CEO.
In 2012, the Downtown Association / Downtown
Foundation won the IDAs Pinnacle Award for Public
Place-making for its Downtown Doors program.
Based in Washington, D.C., the 500-member IDA
is a champion for viable and livable urban centers.
Summaries of the award-winning projects can be
found at ida-downtown.org.

Downtown News

Downtown reflects off 55 Almaden.

Key Almaden buildings sold: KBS Real Estate

Investment Trust III, Inc. intends to purchase the three
buildings at 1, 55 and 99 Almaden Blvd. collectively
known as The Almaden for $150 million, according to
a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The same REIT acquired the 309,000-square-foot
10 Almaden on an adjacent corner of Santa Clara Street
in December 2014 for $117.5 million. The threebuilding office complex of 8-to-12 stories totaling
416,127 square feet of rentable space on 5.8 acres was
built between 1980 and 1981 and renovated in 2006.
It is 94 percent leased by 54 tenants, including law
firms, financial services providers and tech companies.
Collectively, the average lease in the complex will expire
in about four years.
The purchase agreement is contingent upon completion
of unspecified closing conditions. Embarcadero Capital
Partners, LLC, of Belmont previously acquired the
property in 2012 from Legacy Partners.

Top-floors windows opened during construction.

Hotel Clariana: The 27,000-square-foot, five-story

building at 100 E. Santa Clara St. that was last used by
the San Jose Redevelopment Agency to house its various startup centers, is being modified into a 44-room
hotel. Owners RSTP Investments, LLC hopes to have

the rooms at the Hotel Clariana ready and open by the

Super Bowl in February.
According to the owners, Hotel Clariana will be an
upscale boutique hotel with a lobby bar, lounge, gift
shop and travel agents office.
Show more stripes: The interactive light sculpture,
Show Your Stripes, by artist Jim Conti, at Second
and San Fernando streets on The 88, now offers 318
different lighting schemes. Passersby can request a
pattern by entering a three-digit code after calling
(408) 287-0128.
Some of the names of the patterns include: 192 for
Wonderful Avocados, 378 for Sun Smooch, 358 for
Sizzling Chaos, 215 for Flying Hearts, 249 for World
View or 444 Deep Blue Black Hole.
The names and numbers can be downloaded from
sanjoseca.gov/showyourstripes. Since the art piece
was installed in 2008, only 129 combinations had been
programmed. Conti engaged SubZERO festival-goers
in June to give him new ideas for shapes, colors and
patterns. The patterns can only be viewed at night.

Business News
Hotel De Snazzy: Hotel De Anza, A Destination Hotel,
is wrapping up a
$5.7 million renovation
of its public spaces,
meeting rooms, and
100 guestrooms and
suites. The redesign
blends the historic
architecture with hightech amenities. The
new guestrooms
feature a palette of
grays and creams with
splashes of lavender
and deep purples,
Lobby has new meeting area.
coupled with dark
wood and silver
metallic finishes. Check hoteldeanza.com.

U.S. Patent Office pending

The permanent Silicon Valley satellite office of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will open at San Jose
City Hall on Oct. 15.
This office will assist the USPTO in fostering and protecting innovation, said Director Michelle Lee. The office
will benefit local startups by having access to examiners either face-to-face or by video conference that will
speed up the process and reduce costs, Lee added.
The San Jose office will also host classes in patent and trademark education. The first Startup Seminar at
the office will be Oct. 16. San Jose and the Silicon Valley region are known as one of the most prodigious
entrepreneurial communities in the country.
The Silicon Valley office is hiring for patent examiners with expertise in computer, electrical and mechanical
engineering, and will seek patent trial and appeal board judges within the intellectual property and technical
fields.
The USPTO's temporary satellite office has been in Menlo Park since November 2013. The new offices address
is 26 S. Fourth St. For more, check uspto.gov/about-us/uspto-locations/silicon-valley-california.

Downtown Facts
Patent registrations:

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Santa Clara County

NA

12,855

11,490

10,221

10,047

California

40,661

36,193

32,107

28,147

27,336

United States

285,096

287,831

268,782

247,750

241,979

Note: Santa Clara County files more patent applications than any other U.S. county by an almost 3:1 ratio.
Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office

2 8 N . F I R S T S T.
SUITE 1000
SAN JOSE, CA 95113
408.279.1775

return service requested

Prsrt Standard
U.S. Postage
Paid
San Jose, CA
Permit No. 5116

SoFA has new Aura: Aura Kitchen + Bar replaces

Motif at 389 S. First St., said owner Teresa Nguyen.
The new menu put together by executive Chef Martin
Brito, formerly of Nobu London, features Asian-influenced appetizers including prawn tempura and crispy
rice cubes with spicy tuna toppings, salmon skin salad
and main dishes of marinated pork chicken and fish.
Visit aurasj.com.
La Vics III: La Victoria has opened its third downtown restaurant at 291 N. Fourth St. on the border of the
downtown Business Improvement District. Ticos Tacos
had previously occupied the space for 56 years, closing
in 2013. Stop in for a fill-up of orange sauce. Check
lavicsj.com.
HoM-made goodness: Konan Pi recently opened
HoM Korean Kitchen at 76 E. Santa Clara Street. HoM
offers scratch-made Korean favorites with a customizable twist.
Diners can
choose which
banchan
small side
dishes like
kimchi, bean
sprouts
or green
beans will
accompany
their protein
HoM looks way different than the
order.
cheesesteak shop that preceded it.
Vegetarian,
vegan and gluten-free offerings are also available.
Check homkoreankitchen.com.
Catering to foodies: Joe Schumaker decided
to take his decade of experience running a successful
catering company and start SCG FoodSpace, a
consulting firm that focuses on designing food service
amenities for corporations large and small. SCG
FoodSpace can be found at 111 N. Market St. or
scgfoodspace.com.
Learn to use social media: San Jose Downtown
Association will host a free social media panel for
downtown businesses Oct. 28, 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m., at the
San Jose Evergreen Community College District Office,
40 S. Market St. Businesses will share their experiences and learn how to use social media effectively.
Register with Chloe Verrey, SJDA membership and
outreach manager, cverrey@sjdowntown.com.

Coming Up
Oct. 8-10 Creative Convergence Silicon Valley,
c2sv.com
Oct. 10 Pumpkins in the Park; grpg.org
Oct. 15 HERcity Craft Brew 101 social event at ISO
Beers. Sample craft beers, appetizers and desserts, and
learn about brewing and the beer business from women
in the industry; sjdowntown.com/hercity
Nov. 6 Bill Wilson Center Green Light Project: Lighting the Way Home; greenlight@billwilsoncenter.org
Nov. 13 Hawaiian Airlines / Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice opens; downtownicesj.com
Dec. 13 TiVo Santa Run Silicon Valley. A 5-kilometer
run/walk supports Christmas in the Park and Downtown
Ice. New features include mileage markers; baby
stroller decoration contest; kids costume contest.
Fun for the whole family. santarunsv.com

From the Archives

10 years ago October 2005 San Jose celebrated the return of City Hall to downtown with a public
grand opening. City Hall was formerly located on what
is now Plaza de Cesar Chavez from 1889-1958, then
moved to the civic center complex on North First Street.
15 years ago October 2000 San Jose Cleveland
Ballet dropped the Cleveland part of the operation and
added Silicon Valley to the arts organizations new
name: Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley. Of Clevelands
40 dancers, 29 headed west to San Jose.
25 years ago October 1990 Hotel De Anza,
The Grand Lady of San Jose, was reborn. San Jose
Redevelopment Agency had saved the 1931 Art Deco
building from demolition and invested 20 times the
original cost of the building into reconstructing its
101 rooms.

Check sjdowntown.com/events/downtown-events.

At the Convention Center

Oct. 4 Alternative Press Expo (4,800)
facebook.com/alternativepressexpo
Oct. 6-9 California Realtor Expo (7,700) expo.car.org
Nov. 7-8 Home Show (4,500) homeshowsanjose.com

Downtown Dimension is published monthly by the San

Jose Downtown Association, a nonprofit organization
established in 1986 to serve the Downtown business
community. It is printed on recycled paper.
Editor-in-Chief: Scott Knies
Editor: Rick Jensen
sjdowntown.com