A woman who suffered serious facial and oral injuries when a scooter she was riding struck a broken lamp post base in downtown San Jose is set to receive a $337,500 payout from the city. The San Jose City Council will consider approving the tentative settlement agreement with Andrea Ortega at its Nov. 14 meeting....
Google’s mega campus in San Jose hits a snag
Amid ongoing turbulence with office space vacancies, Google and an Australian development firm are ending their agreement to create four work and live districts in the South Bay worth $15 billion, including Downtown West in San Jose. The tech giant on Friday said its split with Sydney-based Lendlease is not the end of its master-planned...
‘Burning Man meets Golfland’: Urban Putt San Jose will change the game
Aliens, mysterious spirits and time machines are about to collide in the most unexpected way, and it has nothing to do with Halloween. A new entertainment destination will soon open in downtown San Jose. Urban Putt San Jose will bring interactive miniature golf, food and craft cocktails to the city’s core in 13,000 square feet...
San Jose landmark faces pushback from Chavez family
It’s been four years since officials unveiled an ambitious proposal to build a world-class landmark in Silicon Valley, but a new dispute over who should manage Plaza de Cesar Chavez may further delay the project. The organizers of the “The Breeze of Innovation”—a design that would use hundreds of swaying rods powered by wind to...
Crosswalk coming to deadly East San Jose street
One of San Jose’s most dangerous streets will be getting new safety features to protect children going to school. Councilmember Peter Ortiz and a group of parents from Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep, led by community organizer and teacher Blanca Carbajal, hosted a town hall Thursday to talk about a new crosswalk coming in front of...
San Jose greenlights hotel conversion for student housing
San Jose leaders have reluctantly agreed to a plan to convert hundreds of hotel rooms into student housing amid concerns it will harm tourism. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a deal yesterday between San Jose State University and the owner of the former Fairmont Hotel, rebranded as Signia by Hilton last year, to sell...
State suspension law creates conflict at East San Jose school
A state law created to protect vulnerable student populations from disproportionate levels of suspension and expulsion is complicating matters for an East San Jose high school. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 274 that bars willful defiance or low-level behavioral issues from suspending students in grades 6-12. The new law, which goes into effect...
San Jose leaders say downtown is entering ‘a new era of promise’
The tone of an annual meeting on the state of downtown San Jose was hopeful, despite the city core’s slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. San Jose Downtown Association members met today at the Hammer Theatre Center, along with city leaders who rallied support for a “vibrant, community-driven” downtown. The area is facing a number of setbacks, including the...
Downtown San Jose office vacancies hit 10-year high
Downtown San Jose’s commercial vacancy rates are the highest they’ve been in more than a decade, according to a new report. While development is slowly increasing across the city, real estate agents are struggling to find renters or tenants to fill the spaces. About 24% of commercial space in San Jose was empty during the...
Apartments could fill empty downtown San Jose storefronts
The owners of a luxury downtown San Jose apartment complex want to transform the building’s commercial space into more housing after struggling to find business tenants. Houston-based The Hanover Company is seeking approval at a San Jose Planning Director’s hearing on Wednesday to make the change in its building at 715 W. Julian Street, just off...