In Development 101 we discussed the great growth area of Evergreen. There are three others: the virgin Coyote Valley, North First Street’s rich industrial base, and our downtown. What happens in each affects the other, but perhaps none so much as our spiritual, cultural and historic center of Downtown San Jose.
Very recently a top city official was quoted in the press saying something to the effect that there can be two downtowns, one in North San Jose and the other the real one. High-rise housing and multi-story offices are now being proposed in the north. Long time observers of local planning issues cringed when they recalled the efforts to locate all the pre-Fairmont hotels of downtown in the North First Street corridor, while, at the same time, placing the convention center at the airport and the Arena in Alviso! I’ll leave out the abortive effort in 1992 to construct a baseball stadium on the Milpitas border – it was stillborn, a fool’s errand with only a few lawyers and political hacks making a profit.
Lew Wolff, someone who knows much and has been involved in many hard fought downtown successes, commented: “A second downtown? They forgot to finish the first!” It is a telling and painful analysis by the new owner of the Oakland A’s – a voice that should be listened to carefully.
There is an old San Jose tradition, an unfortunate one, of when the going gets tough, you capitulate to the power brokers and bail on good policy. You can then designate the “new new thing,” the project soup of the day. We experienced it in the late nineties with the creation of the faux downtown at Santana Row. With a bit more patience, and some competence in the Redevelopment Agency of the Schick years (who?), the retail progress that we all hoped for to finish the downtown puzzle would have been possible. Instead, a lack of vision and some dubious lobbying put in place nearly a million new square feet of retail in the not-downtown. End of story for the real downtown’s retail effort for many, many years.
Yes, when looking at the future, it is important to remember the past: good and bad.
What’s to finish with the real downtown? It was “finished” when Susan Hammer permitted Santana Row to proceed, so Tom, you are right when you say it will be many, many years before the real downtown will ever be a shopping destination. Not only did we lose a downtown when Santana Row went in, but we also lost a major piece of neon art when that project forced Courtesy Chervrolet to move.
You cannot blame Santana Row developers for moving ahead with one of the best projects in the city, As for Coyote Valley, I think there should be a greater move to foster child care projects along with the high density developments, to bring in families.
Dale,
What are the names and backgrounds of the new local ballpark stadium investors
that are referred to in the “ Ballpark Tax Watchdogs – Rebuttal letter ( bottom of page 1 )
http://www.ballparktaxwatchdogs.org/ro1.html
“ Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the city from allowing the construction of a sports facility funded by primate investment “
San Jose Insider following it’s journalistic tradition of “ encourage political debate, discussion and change in our city “ by looking “ inside San Jose politics and culture “ has obtained for our readers an exclusive photograph of the new local ballpark stadium investors
http://www.innercity.freeserve.co.uk/See no Evil, Hear no Evil,Speak no evil.JPG
Sorry to stray way off topic but…
Someone on this board commented recently that the Mayor had 21 people on his staff.
Does anyone know how many of the “S.J. budget proposal: Cut 140 jobs” will be from the Council, Mayoral staffs, and VTA staff versus police, firefighters, and librarians?
If reducing the Mayor’s staff slows down the rate at which things get done around SJ, then fine. Going from daily debacles to monthly debacles would be an improvement.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/11550672.htm
It isn’t that downtown is not finished; it’s that it is not fixed. The San Jose Revitalization Plan (tentative name) comprehensively covers downtown and extends throughout the county. We will backbone of the South Bay and beyound.
Could the Downtown Boosters please address this question: How do downtown improvements, ballparks, BART, etc., benefit the vast majority who do not live or work in Downtown San Jose ?
It seems to me that it makes more sense to have offices and shopping closer to neighborhoods, and a transit system that goes to where the jobs and housing really are. As for the ballpark…why not build it where there’s room?
A couple of major high rise hotels at the corner of Steven Creek and Winchester will also provide the finishing touch in order to make SJ a tourist destination. If you’re wondering how shopping centers can do this, see “Pacific Coast Plaza” or “Santa Ana.”
But of course, this is under the assumption that free enterprise will be allowed to prevail instead of some unimaginative planning commission or redevelopment agency.
Harry Tic
A ball park will have major impact on San Jose and our region as a whole.
Example, each Shark’s event or major concert at the HP Pavilion increases business and spending per customer at hotels, restaurants, bars, coffee houses etc.. by a measurable amount. The events simply give poeple a reason to spend money in San Jose.
Note: people will spend money all over our region; having something of interest here will give them a reason to spend money here.
Downtown at this time does not have much of interest for a vast majority of people to go to and spend money. So they are spending money elsewhere. Spending money elsewhere means less development, less jobs, less attractions for San Jose.
Many in our powerful nieghborhood groups clammer for more retail. To make retail work in your neighborhood or downtown, we will need more reasons for people to come here.
I did some checking and found that one of the ‘primate investors’ owns a a number of cineplexes.
Here’s what’s showing at his theatre chain this week – http://www.simiancinema.net/images/sc_home.jpg
Kudos to Tax Watchdogs – too funny!
How come City Council Reps from Districts 1 and 6 never seem to come up with any ideas to develop Stevens Creek-West San Carlos corridor, at least not that I ever heard of. Every time you turn around – David Cortese (District 8) said this, proposed that… Well, may be come election time, we should take a better look at who gets to represent us. You can’t blame the Mayor for having imagination. Or may be D.Cortese is right? Mr. Gonzales intimidated them so much, that they are afraid to even do their job.
The city leaders are just so ignorant in their vision of the city. They’re making San Jose LA without the beach. They’re less than 1/3 done with the old downtown, and they’re talking about 2nd one? They can’t even get nearly done with the first one. San Jose is such a decrepet city. It’s Detroit of the 21 century. It’s such an abandaned city with no substance to it. San Jose is an enormous disaster that no one will ever want to visit it. San Jose is such a lousy city with disgraceful downtown that’s so moribound. The city has absolutely no soul and feels so empy. Dublin, Ireland is a great city with great downtown; Seattle is a good city with a good downtown; they are similar size to SJ, albeit slightly smaller, and that’s why I evoke those cities. San Jose is a terrible city with terrible downtown. Downtown is our living room, and not to have it presentable is so embarrasing. How could they even contemplate a second when not even through with the first one? Just finish the damn downtown and get over with it! We need to throw out all the current politicians and bring in pro-downtown people to make San Jose proud and away from Detroit (cira. 1979) like disaster we see now, although Detroit is much nicer than San Jose today. Detroit has improved so much over the last few years. I’m refering to Detroit 20 years ago, and that’s what SJ is like now!
Could Mr. 101 cite the current state of all these businesses that the Sharks improved this year, built because they thought the Sharks were this key to success?
Oh, Mr. 101, if you build a business that is tied with the Sharks great success, then if baseball goes on strike (bet it has never done that, right?), then what happens?
Please cite the economic boom going on right now at the Arena, please?
amaslov,
No ideas/vision in District 1? Are you kidding?
Have you not seen the Krispy Kreme donuts that just went in next to Prospect HS?
It’s just the first, small step in the visionary “Smart Strip Malls” partnership plan I detailed on this board a while back.
Actually Rowen,
I own businesses downtown and we have been affected by the temporary loss of the sharks.
But as I stated, events at the HP have a significant affect on business when there is an event.
The Sharks will play again, but in the interim there have been a decent amount of events at the HP. I can tell you that downtown without an major event at the HP or in one of the parks is almost a ghostland.
So I believe an arena or baseball venue can have significant impacts on downtown.
Also, many people have visited my businesses on a shark night and become regulars on non shark nights.
Having the arena has done more for business downtown over the last ten years then all other “RDA” projects combined. Many people, because of the arena and the Sharks, have built an affinity with downtown and do visit regularly.
Adding baseball will be worth 4 times the impact of the arena if you look at days with home games and size estimates of the crowds. The impact of baseball will be much larger than hockey (which has worked out really well).
In Closing; this town needs something. And for once there’s a world class idea that is proven throughout the country.
What would you recommend? You never have much of interest to say; many times nobody can understand a word you write.
So everyone else, cover your eyes and wait for the ramblings for Rowen!
Santana Row Theme Song
“We didn’t start the fire” by Billy Joel.
I always thought that side of Prospect Rd. was actually in Saratoga – where the really rich people live.
But that’s not the point.
For those of us, who were not planning on moving to the shores of Lake Michigan or to Saratoga hills, we have to make it work here. San Jose does offer much in terms of natural beauty or “real” culture. We just live here, go to work, on weekends and sometimes on weeknights we go out to eat and may be – do some shopping. Isn’t sales tax a sure source of revenue for the city? One time games and concerts are nice, but nobody seems to be eager to entertain us or move their team here.
Don’t most peple want to live in a safe place with pleasant climate, send their kids to good schools, see their tax money being put to good use and not wasted on costly extravaganzas?
Or may be it’s just me? Well, in that case I may have to consider leaving.
Also…ah..good roads would be nice.
Actually, I am one of those San Jose Sabercat fans that eat downtown, shop downtown, and also shop at Santana Row. Another peanut gallery contributor from, “I am too scared to post directly”
Also, I have been going to athletic events, Mr. HeyBob, longer than you have known how to read and write. Well, maybe not, since I have been doing that for over twenty years and your economic logic, basing things on a major league baseball franchise, which is not what SF did near SBC (as most of the people near 4th and King came there as part of the housing boom), also tells me something else.
Oh, isn’t it nice to hear someone talk about Santana Row who lives and works in Los Gatos, there’s another logical statement there.
Downtown SJ will not take off because of Santana Row, might as well get used to it.
So, for the Hey, Hey, I keep a low profile poster,
a) we have to see San Jose residents pay for a stadium to help you out;
b) we have to watch the market be subsidized in this part of town, and not other parts of town
c) we are not allowed to criticize council members who voted to create
a
Midtown Downtown
Coyote Valley Downtown
North First Street Downtown
Winchester Downtown
and 4th Revision of the Downtown, Downtown.
just checking
Can downtown SJ even be a downtown for its own residents? If not, then how can it be a downtown for the rest of San Jose?
Good question.
By the way, Hey, Hey,
I am paying, as of next year, well over 200 dollars out of my own pocket, to give you over a dozen teams that play games downtown. Not my fault, you all do not Go with the Spartans!!!! If Don Kassing is out there, he can confirm that.
Econ 101,
Do you really believe that a coffee shop in Almaden, a restaurant in the West Valley or a hotel outside of the downtown or airport area is going to pick up more business because there’s a baseball game in downtown San Jose?
There is an underlying issue that people aren’t addressing with the “we gotta have baseball” or “we gotta finish downtown” or “we gotta have BART” etc.
The basic issue is do you trust city hall with billions more of your tax dollars?
My bad. In comment #21 – I meant to say: San Jose does not offer much in terms of natural beauty…
I’m so sick of hearing people say what’s the difference that downtown isn’t finished. What other major city doesn/t have downtown that they love or are proud of? Politicians get hustled and wined and dined and taken out for golf so developers can make millions and ruin cities. It’s happening now in a little city by the coast called Watsonville. the developers have taken over and the downtown is dying fast and so are the beutiful fertile land for crowing crops just like Santa Clara Valley. You have time now to watch it disappear. If we keep the downtown growing we wouldn’t have all these shopping centers everywhere.
On shark nights I’ve seen shark jersey’s in many places in almaden, Japan town, even Los Gatos; and the fans are heading into downtown after eating.
Actually, a large portion of the rep theater patrons eat at restaurants outside downtown before heading to shows. I know this from surveying and or asking them when they come into my place.
Also, about 10 years ago I worked in restaurants and bars in the marina district of San Francisco; well before the SBC park. We got slamed after most home Giants games; even though we were easily a 20 minute drive from Candlestick. People used visiting a ball game as a reason to go out on the town.
My point is an arena or a stadium provides reasons for individuals, groups, or families to go out on the town, have a good time and spend money.
Note to Harry: try going to Starbuck on san pedro or the alemeda before or after any future sharks game; you’ll be very suprised at the volumne of business.
Rowen: get a life! I’d never put my business or name on this site; because I’d hate to have a creep like you go near my business!
TWO downtowns? We don’t even have one downtown, so how can we talk of two?
But then, why should we? Does anybody really believe that more than 10% of San Jose’s residents give a hoot about downtown? This IS suburbia, and people live here because the LIKE suburbia. If they liked urban living, they could move to The City.
Speaking of The City, where is it’s downtown? Is it near City Hall?? NO shopping there, so how can it be downtown? Is it Market Street, or Union Square, or the Embarcadero?
Where is NYC’s downtown? Wall Street? Times Square?? Who can tell me where Manhattan’s City Hall is? Is THAT downtown Manhattan?
I read an issue of the San Jose Downtown Residents’ Association newsletter a while ago. They define downtown as ending at Fourth Street on the east border. So, according to real downtown residents, the Taj Gonzal isn’t even in downtown. OOOPs!
A former partner of mine moved his office out by the airport on Metro Drive, which he describes as Uptown. Boy, will he be hurt when we have a second downtown, and he’s in it!
John Michael O’Connor
Yo, Tax Watchdog on # 8—“…a sports facility funded by primate investment”?
John Michael O’Connor
Wow, Gonzo really has 21 people on his staff!
A camel is a horse built by a committee. How can he possibly sift through 21 opinions? Well, just go to Europe with the Mrs.
John Michael O’Connor
Speaking of ballparks, the city attorney just tried an end-run on the 1988 ordinance banning the use of “tax dollars” on ballparks without voter approval.
His unpublished memo to city council members on 4/22/05 was rebutted in a memo on 4/30/05 by a new volunteer group, and served on the city council yesterday, 5/3/05. To read these documents, go to:
http://www.BallparkTaxWatchdogs.org
It only stands that these bad decisions are made because people make a lot of money and its a lot easier to get land outside downtown. But name any major city that would do this to their core! Its ridiculous – can’t get Gonzo out of here FAST enough!
Your right Mr. Warner; we need to stop any progress in the name of ambiguous bureaucratic rules. Tax relief groups should protect us from paying a few dollars a year each for a ballpark that will be worth the money, provide jobs, provide interests in other developments downtown, and most importantly provide a sense of some kind of style downtown.
So really Mr. Warner, thanks for protecting my pocket book so I can afford a few more sandwiches a year! I really needed the money! Hey I may even upgrade to a burrito on Santana Row!
Isn’t it obvious? Downtown San Jose is not going to happen. Santana Row will only get bigger and better. And by the way, don’t you think Federal Realty Investment Trust (the owner of Santana Row) did the research, before they pumped all that money into the project? They figured out where the folk with the dough live: WSJ, Cupertino, Saratoga, Rose Garden.. not N First or Downtown. So, why not develop Stevens Creek Blvd? Put light rail along West San Carlos-Stevens Creek Corridor. May be you’ll see De Anza College and San Jose City College students actually using it. But we’ll probably put Bart extention to Coyote Valley sooner than that.
amaslov
Valley Fair and Santana Row were designed, funded, and completed. They were built during one of the deepest recession to hit Silicon Valley and inspite of the biggest fire ever in the history of the city. Instead of just talking or keeping their plans to gather dust in some basement somewhere, they executed. The people of San Jose are enjoying them today.
Downtown San Jose is still, alas, a boarded up place- a showcase of the plywood industry.
Downtown needs some life in it. Bringing baseball to San Jose is a great idea. I didn’t support the arena at the time but it was a great idea and I’m glad it was built. I don’t go to Shark games but do attend concerts when a good artist comes to town. When A.M.C. closed down I stopped going downtown again. With the Cameras taking over that facility, I find myself going downtown again. It beats all the other movie houses in town. Free parking on weekends and plenty of room in the theater. Baseball will be another reason for me to go downtown. If it means that I have to pay a few extra dollars to make it a reality so be it. After all, the current mayor and council seems to waste money in other less important efforts so why not baseball?
Actually you do not list a business 101 because you don’t have one. The reason, and you can check on the SF City material, peaches, that SBC (WHICH WAS PRIVATELY FUNDED) was built, was that few patrons were going downtown related to the game.
To claim being in Econ 101, you have to actually passed it.
Let the Light,
Can you share this – or share the numbers of staff per councilmember? Staff bloat info needs to be on the table when city headcount reductions are the issue of the day.
Reducing council/mayors staff I can live with. Laying off police and firefighters I cannot.
OK, the Mayor has quite a large staff who are paid very well. Let’s look at their salaries and it is a shame that so much in this City gets messed up. What are we paying them for?
I have a list of what every 6th Floor employee makes…I’d love for someone (Mercury) to publish it…Boy, would we feel how wasted our money is!
Well, let’s see
A) You are a coward, because you want to shoot a comment without giving a name, while everyone I know that has guts uses their name.
B) The article was in 1996, and this is 2005, so that was nine years ago, so if you have guts, which you don’t and you showed that you don’t, you will be happy to let us examine your problems of nine years ago. Indeed, there are other posters here that had problems in 1996 as well, so where do you start? But you cannot show your issues because you are too much a coward to let us look at you.
C) It was a stupid thing to do, always have listed on it on job applications, commission applications, and everyone knew what happened. To be honest, it did make me turn around a few things and that is that. Ps, I can have a problem like that with plenty of explanations, or not. But, in the end, you are still a coward.
Just wondering why Rowen would be taking the bus. Is it because he’s a firm believer in mass transit or because his license was suspended or revoked?
Everybody brace yourselves for some seriously incoherent ranting. . .
I agree—cutting police and fire positions is ridiculous when there is so much easy cutting that can be done at City Hall. If only they’d start that cutting at the top. Borgsdorf has his head up somewhere that the sun doesn’t shine, your choice—his own or Gonzo’s—but what else is new there?
2010, earlier from 1994 till 2000
Econ 101-
OK, I take your point on a few dozen outlying restaurants. As it happens most of us don’t own, or work in, restaurants. Also, I would EXPECT the San Pedro Square Starbucks to be busy on Sharks night. That means nada to a Starbucks in North San Jose. (For the record I prefer Peets.)
But baseball was just part of the original question. What about BART downtown? What about all of the other downtown development? How does that help the rest of the city or, in the case of BART, the rest of the county? Wouldn’t it make more sense to run BART to where the jobs and housing really are…not where the downtown interests would like them to be?
readers, read this about this loser……
How do you explain this Rowen?
Metro Newspaper reports:
Quite A Row
If he continues to be good, Santa Clara political bottom-feeder James Rowen will successfully complete his one-year court probation this month. Last year police charged Rowen with battery on a transit employee when trying to retrieve a $200 briefcase he left on a bus. According to court records, when a female transit staffer couldn’t help him immediately, Rowen thanked her by hurling a gender-based epithet. The Limbaugh-sized pol, once a high-ranking county Democratic official and campaign hand for Councilman James Arno, then punctuated his verbal flourish by allegedly shoving the recalcitrant female bus servant. Ultimately, Rowen left with briefcase in hand, into the waiting car of his mother, who drove him home from the bus yard. Rowen tells Eye that he never shoved the woman or cussed. Yes, he admits he lost his temper and raised his voice. But he felt as though these bureaucrats were giving him the runaround. Rowen later pleaded no contest to a less grievous charge of disturbing the peace.
I agree Mark T,
Another missing piece is revenue. It takes so long to get a business opened in San Jose because of planning and permit issues. I mean really long!
Wouldn’t revenues go up with easier processes to get businesses opened? The process to open a business has become much slower under gonzo. Wasn’t he going to run the city like a business?
Also, the cost of fees and permits has at least doubled under gonzo. I guess they want their money up front.
I’d say we lay them all off and start over!
Fifteen years ago the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report listed the total Mayor/Council staff at 29. Three years later that number had doubled. What’s the number now?
In the aftermath of the recent Terry Gregory thing, an ethics consultant was brought in to do an ethics audit.
Given the hot streak the city is on (new city hall cost overruns, Cisco fiasco, convention tent, etc) – now we have the budget in the on deck circle.
And given that city hall credibility is at an all time low – wouldn’t now be an especially good time to have an independant audit of city operations and finances?
Its so easy (and human nature) to point out the negative….It seems like this has been done on this blog exhaustively. Even some of the thread starters throw out a problem and then say “ok everyone here is some red meat, now pounce!”
Anyone interested in starting a new thread on some positive steps or proposals for helping San Jose build an identity and a downtown?
I can only speak from my perspective but how about we (the cyber/blog community) assembling a short list of practical ideas which we can submit to the city…I know what you are thinking, “this young idealist is out to lunch…this will never get anything done.” I understand that thought, and you may be right.
But our alternative is continuing on the negative path of A. Gonzales is horrible B. Rowen is crazy (full disclosure, I don’t know the man) and C. Downtown sucks
I have had enough of that. Lets start the list now…
My first item: Appoint Tom economic development ambassador and send him to the corporate headquarters for Borders Books with the goal of getting a great multi-story book store downtown..a-la Portland, OR.
Hey Harry Tic,
“What about BART downtown?”
BART’s a tough one. Gonzales rushed the ballot measure through; that was very apparent at the time. Funding was not well thought out; meaning it wasn’t recession proof in any way. Also, 911 et al hasn’t helped either.
“What about all of the other downtown development?”
Housing, Housing and more housing. By the way it shouldn’t need so much city funding to be profitable! Retail will follow housing.
“How does that help the rest of the city or, in the case of BART, the rest of the county?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to run BART to where the jobs and housing really are…not where the downtown interests would like them to be?”
The bart plan was not really well thought out. I’d have it go through North San Jose to the airport with major upgrades to light rail into downtown, east San Jose, and west gate. Light rail down stevens creek would be outstanding and lead to more in-fill housing and retail.
By the way, bart to downtown SJ will kill off most of the independant businesses; I’d rather it not come down here. Upgrades to the existing light rail would make more sense and could cost less.
On the record; I prefer Pete’s as well.
C’on guys, downtown San Jose is the full deal here. It has all the big ticketed project Mr. McEnery advocated such as arena, Tech museum, city hall, Fairmont, light rail, new main library, convention center, Fox theater, Children museum, museum of art, two flank hotels, riverpark, corporate headquarters, major cinema(camera12), 8.1 million square feet of office space, 8,000 housing units, which includes the new dorm at San Jose State, a new highrise condo, which will get underway next week(CityHieghts), and the Rep. theater. Everytime I go downtown, it’s vibrant. It’s hard to find parking on weekends. We’re even getting new retail there such as Chic Chateu and Black Sea Gallery. There are so much clubs in downtown. You should check the Improv, Paragon at Montgomery and Vault. I personally like SoFa lounge. What else do want. Snap out of it! Mr. McEnery is so lucky to have all the projects, he wished, built. It’s very hard to get them going, and it was a miracle that it happened. He’s still not happy all because of Santana Row got built. Tell you what, these retailers would never have gone to downtown anyway. However, it should not be a detriment to downtown. Take pasadena and Portland, forinstance, they have several malls nearby, and their downtowns are flourishing. We just need to built more highrise housing to solve the equation. Therefore, downtown will succeed in retail.
Hey agreeable guy, your question re: Gonzo, “wasn’t he going to run the city like a business?” reminds me that our esteemed Governator made the same statement about running California. Clearly, if Gonzo was doing likewise with San Jose, we’d be in way worse shape than we already are.
As for coffee, StarSUCKS just for their in-your-face-on-every-last-corner polluting, Peets has its roots in the Bay Area but is hardly a local company anymore, so I buy my beans at an independent roaster in Los Gatos and by doing so I also stay true to my goal of keeping my tax dollars out of irresponsible SJ leadership’s hands. Independents are becoming an endangered species thanks to the Mc Donalds of the coffee world that won’t be satisfied until they have put every last one of them out of business. Don’t spend your money there and feed that monster!
Sorry, I guess somebody’s rubbing off on me!
Yo, Econ 101:
It’s easy to dis someone anonymously. No accountability. I’m not a Rowen apologist, but if you’re going to call someone a creep, have the cojones to use your real name or shut the ( expletive deleted) up.
You could use two separate emails—one, your anonymous opinions on real subjects, two use your real name when calling names.
Econ 1A might be a better handle for you. Econ 101 is upper division.
John Michael O’Connor
Yo, Econ 101, where’s the “Pete’s” you claim to prefer to Starbuck’s? It’s Peet’s, Einstein. Are you really the same guy that talked about “primate” development downtown?
John Michael O’Connor
Econ 101-
I’m glad to see that we agree about more than where to go for a cup of coffee.
The Silicon Valley BART link somehow bypassing Silicon Valley housing and workplaces is mind-bogglingly inept, but it does suggest some rather powerful Downtown interests pulling some well-placed strings.
More housing Downtown? Sure. But first somebody had better figure out where to build a few regular supermarkets (Zonattos doesn’t count) a Walgreens, a few breakfast joints and a place to buy a pair of socks. A few more parks for families with small kids might also be a good idea if Downtown residence is to have any permanence. But somehow these everyday amenities get overlooked in the search for The Big Play…a ballpark, a concert venue nobody really wants, another national chain restaurant, etc., and the results are there to see…a Downtown that ain’t goin’ nowhere and needs ongoing subsidies to remind even San Jose residents that it exists.
When I venture Downtown it’s for the “real” San Jose: Camera Cinemas, a burrito at La Victoria or a play at The Rep. You probably won’t find me at the fancy new fondue place, P.F. Chang’s or any of these other overpriced places that will be boarded up within 5 years. I wish them well, but I’ve seen too many of them come and go through the years.
My point? Maybe if San Jose ever figured out that PEOPLE make a downtown it would make sense to bring BART there. Until then, build BART to where the PEOPLE really are.
Rowen cast the first stone as usual; and I’m sick of it. So I lashed out at him. He continually does that to others.
JMO – I didn’t post the “primate” comment. who the hell cares about the spelling of Peets or petes.
If spelling such an issue, ask the blog to install spell check code. Would be really easy to do!
signed Peaches
Gary, you make some good positive points but I have to put in my two cents regarding your statement about Pasadena. They do in fact have a very large mall right there on Colorado Blvd, and they also didn’t bulldoze huge blocks of their attractive old buildings as was done in San Jose starting way back in the 60’s. I can still remember passing by the empty parcel created across from the current Comerica Bank building on Santa Clara street where colorful institutions like Carl Pacheco’s saloon once stood. This wasteland had a sign proclaiming Park Center Plaza would be coming in 1966. Anybody with a good memory or an eye for architecture can tell you that the phased construction of the ill-conceived Park Center Plaza wasn’t even started until the 70’s, a good 10 years after that whole area was leveled, and it took many years for any of it to be built along Santa Clara St. Downtown is still recovering from the misguided Urban Renewal craze of the 60’s. Pasadena managed to save the heart of their downtown and it has become a thriving commercial center again. This is really apples and oranges comparing Pasadena to San Jose, but that aside, any concentration of retail downtown is going to have an artificial feel to it since so much of the old downtown is gone, or in the case of Hale’s and JC Penney buildings, has been converted to offices. I’ll still take a retail center downtown any way we can get it though. Without it the foundering will continue indefinitely.
So why isn’t there any attempt to market downtown?
Run free hop on/hop off tourist buses (doubledecker?) downtown that take you on a loop of the places of interest. Merchants might kick in some money to subsidize the tourist buses.
Run a recorded tour-guide that is sync’d with the area you are currently passing through to give you:
– insights/history about what you’re currently looking at.
– a TV monitor that displays a listing of stores and shops in the immediate vicinity
Each tourist stop has directions to the merchants in the area.
Run the tourist buses to Santana Row/Valley Fair as well.
Heck, try something radical like making it easy and fun for people to get downtown to see and enjoy what’s there.
>So why isn’t there any attempt to market downtown?
I saw an ad by the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau and they are doing this. But given what’s really in downtown, it’s practically misleading.
Mark T-
On the caffeine issue: No question Great Bear in Los Gatos brews a great cup. Their Blue Note is one of the best blends in the Valley. LG Roasting Company lost it’s edge long ago…just too wimpy if you want the genuine article and you have to trip over too many yuppies to get in and out of the place.
Peet’s has gone corporate but they’re still based in Emeryville and quality-wise there’s just no question that they are far superior to Star-yucks.
A suggestion for Mr. O’Connor: Dude, switch to decaf!
#20
No where in your wonderful commentary about downtown do you mention shopping. Fact is there is no shopping. Downtown can have shopping if we give any or all kinds of incentives or tax breaks necessary to attract a large department store…Bloomingdales for example since the only one close is in Stanford Shopping Center. And make this strip mall vertical 18 stories with a Wolfgang Puck restaurant on the top floor. And give Zanotto’s 3 more stories for specialty food and kichen accesories.
The initiative to redefine the North San Jose area is based on the claim that most of the commercial buildings along First Street are “obsolete”. I have heard this from City and RDA leaders, and the same theme is also now repeated by Assemblyman Coto and Senator Torlakson who introduced bills to help enable the City’s new vision.
This is not undeveloped land. This is not public property. These are privately owned modern buildings that are easily adaptable to office or manufacturing use. The idea of government meddling and trying to declare this area blighted and then subject to RDA and City redevelopment is troublesome. I wish everyone would simply focus on downtown, and let the market and private development, drive the future of the North First Street area. If the City is looking for an opportunity to have a positive impact on an area that is currently “de-developing”, check out East Santa Clara Street, near the former San Jose Hospital.
Novice, a bunch of us who aregraduate students at SJSU Urban Planning also suggested the shuttle between SRow and downtown. good thought.
Mark’s points are good, as historically significant buildings, such as the B of A, could be used for something to attract SJ downtown goers, as the building did attract people in the old days to shop after they banked there.
Finally, why not link VTA light rail to Bart, instead of the other way around.
Response to Post by James Rowen
Wednesday, May 04 at 12:17 PM:
In case you were sleeping at those Sabercat games, San Jose’s HP Pavilion is ranked 8th in the WORLD in ticket sales by pollstar for the first quarter of 2005 WITHOUT the on-strike NHL having games there this year.
I wonder if anyone tried to e-mail any of the ideas to their city council reps or even the ever so intimidating mayor. Their e-mails are actually posted on San Jose City web site. What’s the worst that can happen? They’ll simply ignore them…
Well this thread just doesn’t want to die, does it?
YYY, the “obsolete” buildings you refer to already house offices and manufacturing—that’s what they were built for. Retail is something they were *not* built for. All I can say about developing “downtown north” is that they are at least putting residential in there first so any retail will be supported, but it’s never going to be the Miracle Mile that was depicted in the Merc recently. Not in our lifetimes anyway.
Amaslov, there probably isn’t any need to e-mail Gonzo or any of the Council directly. You’ll likely see that they’ve lifted ideas from this site and claimed them as their own going forward.
Hey! Agreeable!
Bush! is! running! the! UN! into! the! ground?!
Let’s! hear! it! for! the! poor! little! UN! awwww.
BTW, could the moderator of this board kindly wake up filter personal cheapshots like #62?
Mark T
borrow some of rowens pills! You need to lighten up!
Moderate this!
I am not married to these ideas. Anyone can have them.
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