The plan to develop the County Fairgrounds has disappeared around a blind curve in recent months, but that’s about to change. The 150-acre parcel, where 4-H members have showed off their prize pigs while hopeful housewives displayed their pies, is now hosting a more serious competition, and the prize could be a quarter-billion-dollar development project.
After a controversial plan to build a concert amphitheater failed, Santa Clara County put out a Request for Proposals, and a preliminary qualification process that was completed in August. The deadline for proposals is next Friday, April 25. Seventeen development teams cleared the first bureaucratic hurdle. These include some of the valley’s (and the nation’s) biggest builders and land developers, from San Jose’s Barry Swenson Builder and Robert Emami’s ROEM Development to the upstart Catellus, formerly Santa Fe Public Realty, which now focuses on mixed-use and green building projects nationwide.
Because of the project’s huge size and financial requirements, many of the finalists in the competition are “development teams”— businesses that have gotten together for the opportunity to build on this valuable piece of public land. Mortgage firms are paired with construction companies; real-estate holding companies are holding hands with construction firms; big builders are doing the do-si-do with nonprofit housing agencies. And so, for instance, we find the team “KB Home/Flea Market/First Community Housing” competing with “Wilson Meany Sullivan/Stockbridge“ and “ROEM Development/Shea/Housing Authority of Santa Clara County.” (The ROEM squad has one advantage: its Corde Terra senior housing project built across the street from the Fairgrounds last year was cited in the count’s RFP as its “benchmark for expected quality.”)
Winning this competition will require the development teams to jump through a series of complex hoops. One hoop (or “primary goal”) is “to create a development that will serve as a model for responsible urban planning and environmental sustainability.” Another requires “a plan that provides a balance of land uses among residential, commercial, retail, government/public use, greenbelt, and infrastructure uses.” Furthermore, the county calls for “an urban, pedestrian and transit-oriented community that contributes to the vitality of the Monterey Corridor.” And: “It is anticipated that the developer may include a new recreational amenity as part of the project.” But: “The County’s primary goal in developing the Fairgrounds is to generate significant new, ongoing revenues for the County General Fund. ... To that end, the County will seek optimal full market value for its land.” And here lies the coming controversy: Will the county ultimately settle for the easy money—and will we see another soulless condo farm on the fields where our forebears celebrated their bucolic bounty?
Eventually, after the county has vetted the process, the Fairgrounds development plan will be sent to the city. (The property, bounded by Tully and Umbarger roads between Seventh and Tenth streets, is set to be annexed.) Councilmember Madison Nguyen believes that the site is large enough to accommodate community uses as part of a large mixed-use development. “I want to see a recreational facility there. I’d like to see some open space. This is an opportunity for the city to provide state-of-the-art amenities for people who live on the East Side.”
People are always talking about how San Jose needs to be taken seriously as a city—
“Frederick Law Olmsted, the granddaddy of American landscape architecture, had little idea how prescient he was when he told the City of New York in 1872 that the midtown Manhattan park he was busy creating would serve as the “lungs of the city.” Today, the urban forests found within city parks across the country serve not only as recreational and social centers, but also as organic sponges for various forms of pollution and as storehouses of carbon dioxide to help offset global warming. Indeed, recent experiences in several U.S. cities have shown Olmsted’s metaphor for what is now Central Park to be far more literal than figurative.”
This could be our big chance.
Let’s look at the requirements:
“model for responsible urban planning and environmental sustainability”—that sounds good.
“balance of land uses among residential, commercial, retail, government/public use, greenbelt, and infrastructure uses”—a balance, good. Right now in this area we have way more “residential, commercial, retail” than “government/public use, greenbelt, and infrastructure”, so to create a better balance this land should be dedicated to the latter.
“an urban, pedestrian and transit-oriented community that contributes to the vitality of the Monterey Corridor”—perhaps as Central Park does to New York or Golden Gate Park to San Francisco?
Let’s not totally turn our back on retail, though. Suppose we look for inspiration at one of the world’s great cities—London. You’re in London and you’ve seen one too many museums—where do you go? Portobello Road!—with its multitude of sidewalk vendors of every kind selling goods from all over the world—a major tourist attraction.
How about following this inspiration by using some of this space for a real “urban, pedestrian” experience—a flea market! But let’s not think small at this point. How about aiming at having the World’s Biggest Flea Market! Perhaps it could also act as an incubator for some local businesses.
An entertainment venue could fit there also. Particularly if it were accessible by light rail from Caltrain.
Here’s an idea. Stratford (UK), Stratford (CT), Stratford (ON) and Ashland (OR) have Shakespeare festivals that attract audiences from hundreds of miles around. Niagara-on-the-Lake (ON), since Shakespeare was fairly well covered already, came up with the idea of a Shaw Festival that is also very successful.
A performance venue accessible by public transportation could be the basis of a festival celebrating … (hmm, Bay Area connections?) … Albee? Harrigan and Hart?
Plus of course it could be used for plenty of other stuff. Plan: how to best combine use of SJ Arena, SJ Civic Auditorium (refurbished), new venue, et al.
You wonder if anyone finds it at all embarrassing that San Jose was much better served in respect to public parks in 1880 than it is today. But many of those were privately owned, for example Col. Naglee’s magnificant estate and Botanical Gardens—long since gone and developed into housing.
Or here’s another idea. We could take that land and put in a lot of condos. Maybe some lofts for the edgy crowd. And a shopping center with loads of parking. We could get Petsmart, OfficeMax, JambaJuice, Target, Kinko’s, Blockbuster, Crate & Barrel, Borders and Best Buy. That will really show the world that San Jose intends to be taken seriously as America’s 10th biggest city.
Part of the reason Central Park works is that is is not “accessible by light rail from the Long Island Rail Road”.
It is smack dab in the middle of the city, accessible from nearly everywhere.
Look at the area surrounding both. The two areas are not at all analygous.
Golden Gate Park is not “smack dab in the middle” of San Francisco, it’s over on the side away from downtown and Caltrain, surrounded by mostly residential neighbourhoods. And there are some very successful festivals that go on there, such as the Not Strictly Bluegrass Festival, despite the lack of a real venue.
When Central Park in New York was created, it was on the outskirts of town.
Look at any city that has large urban parks. It attracts development into the surrounding areas in the long term.
The site has some advantages and some disadvantages, but it is not often that such a large piece of land becomes available. Paving it over with more urban sprawl is just following the same short-sighted policies that got us where we are now.
It’s hard to believe that at one time San Jose was a resort town. People used to come here for vacations because it was such a nice place to visit.
My main concern is that they don’t allow backyard animal breeders and vendors selling animals from puppy mills to start selling animals there, like they used to do at the San Jose flea markets. I also don’t want to see rodeos and circuses with animals there either.
“Look at any city that has large urban parks. It attracts development into the surrounding areas in the long term.”
Well said Alfred! Our city needs to view these projects with a larger lens and encourage our residents to put down roots in the community. There should be many diverse options for the fairground property which in the long run would benefit our city- Everything should be on the table to look at. Question, has anyone involved the community in the surrounding neighborhoods to see what their views are?
Helen in San Jose