Retailers are showing interest in the long-empty Camera 12 site in downtown San Jose, where visions for the property have morphed several times, from student housing to a revamped theater and now office and retail space. But this time, it seems plans for the project will come to fruition, and real estate insiders say Urban...
Inside Valley Fair’s glitzy $1.1B expansion: Fine dining, fire fountains and a ‘digital district’
Valley Fair officials on Thursday unveiled the new $1.1 billion no-expenses-spared expansion to the popular mall, which spans more than 2 million square feet and will eventually be home to about 360 storefronts. The 500,000 square-foot expansion unveiled this week comes after about four years of work on the westside mall. It includes a new...
Nonprofit seeks developers to take first bites of Apple’s $2.5B housing commitment
Nearly four months to the day after Apple Inc. promised $2.5 billion to spur housing and address homelessness in the Bay Area, the first $150 million of that commitment is up for grabs by developers. Cupertino-based Apple in November granted San Jose-based nonprofit Housing Trust Silicon Valley the $150 million to use for low-interest loans...
Plans for San Jose’s El Paseo de Saratoga shift as residents weigh in
Plans for a major redevelopment of San Jose’s El Paseo de Saratoga retail center are evolving as local leaders and residents gear up for a major feedback session on the future of the site this weekend. The most recent plans submitted by developer Sand Hill Property Co. includes the hundreds of homes, amenity space and...
Downtown San Jose office construction drought lifts as tech scouts places to grow
When Adobe broke ground on its new office tower in downtown San Jose last year, it marked the end of a decade-long drought for office construction in the city’s downtown, and now things are only speeding up. Next week, developer Boston Properties is set to break ground on Platform 16, a 1.1 million-square-foot office development...
Silicon Valley leaders highlight growing inequality during annual State of the Valley
During the annual State of the Valley conference on Friday, top Silicon Valley leaders highlighted how the gap between rich and poor is widening in the region and how workers may find themselves stressed to death, even as the regional economy continues to grow. The sold-out event, which featured a keynote address by iconic journalist...
Survey: Developers don’t love rent control, but like the ‘certainty’ of new law
Six months ago, developers were seeing major headwinds when it comes to developing new multifamily housing in Silicon Valley, but now confidence has jumped, according to a new report. Ironically, the reason confidence has now increased is the same reason some developers were feeling uneasy about multifamily building in mid-2019: rent control. “It seems counter-intuitive,”...
Marijuana sales banned in Santa Clara; temporary councilmember to be appointed
Santa Clarans won’t see the budding commercial cannabis industry bloom in their city any time soon. The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday approved a permanent ban on all cannabis-related activity in the Mission City with a 5-1 vote. Mayor Lisa Gillmor cast the lone no vote, saying there’s room to discuss options other than a...
San Jose program for free college gets $250K eBay donation
A program that provides free college to hundreds of underprivileged San Jose students on Monday has received a boost from a longtime local tech business. Through its foundation, San Jose-based eBay is donating $250,000 to the San José-Evergreen Community College District Foundation to support San José Promise, the program that offers up to two years...
Access v. Abuse: Decades of attempts to reform ADA have fallen short
Access v. Abuse: The ADA’s Impact in Silicon Valley Part 3 California often sets the precedent by passing progressive policy, championing everything from climate change initiatives and health care policy to leading the country with fair accessibility laws. But the Golden State has become a breeding ground for controversy, as it far outpaces the rest of the country in...