[siliconvalleyjoe]

Odd details emerging from one of the sites of Fry's Electronics. The over 13 acre site in Sunnyvale is owned by the heirs of Robert Wise (had one son). He was the director of The Sound of Music, West Side Story & Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 13 acres x maybe $4M = a lot. .... the hills are alive... with the sound of moolaahh....

 

[SanJoseBorn]

@aphelion2100 The entire site (which you showed in red) consists of approximately 22.5 acres. There are two existing parcels, pretty much split evenly - about 11.2 and 11.3 acres, respectively. I believe the 11.2 acre parcel - the one which is closest to Trimble/Montague - is the subject of the development. Appears to be under contract, but not 100% certain on that. All told, there are at least three ownership entities (two for one of the parcels and one for the other parcel), but underlying ownership runs to a single family (name) that has owned the land for decades.

 

[pesto]

Odd details emerging from one of the sites of Fry's Electronics. The over 13 acre site in Sunnyvale is owned by the heirs of Robert Wise (had one son). He was the director of The Sound of Music, West Side Story & Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 13 acres x maybe $4M = a lot. .... the hills are alive... with the sound of moolaahh....

Maybe they'll start work tonight, tonight. Life is good in America.

 

[siliconvalleyjoe]

"Odd details emerging from one of the sites of Fry's Electronics. The over 13 acre site in Sunnyvale is owned by the heirs of Robert Wise (had one son). He was the director of The Sound of Music" ..........

Maybe they'll start work tonight, tonight. Life is good in America.

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember I own 13.6 acres in the middle of Silicon Valley
And then I don't feel so bad

 

[aphelion2100]

Some photos for The Vespaio Apartment

A few selected shots of the Vespaio Apartment from various apartment rental services, Instagram, Yelp:

Nice views of DTSJ from pool area

Nice view of SAP Center & Downtown from this corner unit

Floor to Ceiling windows offers terrific views from this unit

I think the corner units pictured above may rent for a premium due to the great views of the surrounding area.

Overall other interior images for this apartment complex looks great.

 

[jawz]

Parking garage roof could become downtown San Jose gathering spot (mercurynews.com)

 

[pesto]

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember I own 13.6 acres in the middle of Silicon Valley
And then I don't feel so bad

Alright, last post before Bernstein, Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein sue me:

Dough, my dear; we make it here.... .and that brings us back to dough!

 

[Dirk_Birkin]

Parking garage roof could become downtown San Jose gathering spot (mercurynews.com)
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i've been saying this for years! i was always told the garage wasn't built to hold the different weight load. this is the exact kind of creative thinking we should see downtown. how often does the opportunity present itself to plop a two acre park in the middle of the liveliest district in the city?

if this is successful, there's two other prime spots for similar parks: the post street garage above 55 south and the second and san carlos garage across from the graduate. the later of which already had a trial run as an outdoor movie theater last year.

 

[jgordo32]

i've been saying this for years! i was always told the garage wasn't built to hold the different weight load. this is the exact kind of creative thinking we should see downtown. how often does the opportunity present itself to plop a two acre park in the middle of the liveliest district in the city?

if this is successful, there's two other prime spots for similar parks: the post street garage above 55 south and the second and san carlos garage across from the graduate. the later of which already had a trial run as an outdoor movie theater last year.

This is definitely a cool idea that could help extent the vibrancy of the San Pedro area.

At the same time, I have to question the prioritization of park improvements when the St James Park revitalization effort has been slowly crawling along. That seems like a much more strategically and historically impactful project which has been in the works for awhile.

Perhaps there are different sources for funding and project management, but if any overlap it’d be disappointing to see this take resources away from St James Park which is in dire need of those improvements. Especially since with the opening of The James, Ludwigs and Devine Cheese/Wine, and some other developments to the east like Miro, St James neighborhood is quickly becoming another potential hotbed of activity in DTSJ.

 

[aphelion2100]

Preliminary Review Permit for mixed-use development at 0 Seely Ave. in North San Jose

Since there isn't much information on the permit application, it's impossible to know which part of Seely Av. this development is supposed to occur.

I'm wondering if this is part of this property that was written about in the Mercury on March 7, 2019 as follows:

Mega north San Jose village becomes more urban and nature-friendly

A huge village that’s being proposed for the corner of Montague Expressway and Seely Avenue in north San Jose would contain one million square feet of offices, 2,000 homes, 320,000 square fee…

www.mercurynews.com

If this new preliminary proposal is part of the same parcel, it sure is a much less ambitious proposal than the one from Silicon Sage Builders.

Since the Mercury article was about SiliconSage Builders that is now under indictment by the Feds, this is not likely to be part of any development of that company.

Real estate: South Bay developer in SEC fraud case files for bankruptcy

A Bay Area developer who is at the center of allegations of securities fraud has filed for a Chap. 11 bankruptcy, listing large debts.

www.mercurynews.com

More than 700 homes and supermarket could sprout in San Jose tech hub

Housing, grocery, retail eyed at big north San Jose site

A project by a Texas-based developer is being planned for a site near the corner of Montague Expressway and Seely Avenue, across the street from the Cadence Design Systems headquarters.

www.mercurynews.com

The project by a Texas-based developer is being planned for a site near the corner of Montague Expressway and Seely Avenue, across the street from the Cadence Design Systems headquarters.

Hanover Co., based in Houston and with a regional office in Danville, has proposed the mixed-use project, which has an approximate address of 2620 Seely Ave. in San Jose, city documents show.

The development would consist of 735 residences that would be built in two phases, according to the very preliminary proposal on file with the city.

The retail would total roughly 33,000 square feet and would be located at three sites in the project, the preliminary proposal shows.

The largest component of the retail would be a potential grocery store or other retail totaling 27,000 square feet. Two other much smaller retail sites in the development would each total about 3,000 square feet.

 

[Dirk_Birkin]

This is definitely a cool idea that could help extent the vibrancy of the San Pedro area.

At the same time, I have to question the prioritization of park improvements when the St James Park revitalization effort has been slowly crawling along. That seems like a much more strategically and historically impactful project which has been in the works for awhile.

Perhaps there are different sources for funding and project management, but if any overlap it’d be disappointing to see this take resources away from St James Park which is in dire need of those improvements. Especially since with the opening of The James, Ludwigs and Devine Cheese/Wine, and some other developments to the east like Miro, St James neighborhood is quickly becoming another potential hotbed of activity in DTSJ.

valid points that i totally agree with. the article states they're looking for private funding for this. the st. james renovation is being funded by park fees from new development. the issue there is that the city waived so many developer fees that the funding is coming up short. the balooning budget and neighbors obstructionism at st. james doesn't help either. the real question is: why can't we have both?

 

[robertee]

More than 700 homes and supermarket could sprout in San Jose tech hub

Housing, grocery, retail eyed at big north San Jose site

A project by a Texas-based developer is being planned for a site near the corner of Montague Expressway and Seely Avenue, across the street from the Cadence Design Systems headquarters.

www.mercurynews.com

The retail config and surface parking seems like a waste. Put the retail/grocery on the ground floor and build office on top (since it's right on Montague) and you have a winner.

 

[arturo]

The retail config and surface parking seems like a waste. Put the retail/grocery on the ground floor and build office on top (since it's right on Montague) and you have a winner.

EXACTLY! I don't understand why this isn't done. Is land still too cheap for this?

 

[CAAndrew]

More than 700 homes and supermarket could sprout in San Jose tech hub

Given the location, a) it's a bit underwhelming that the whole site isn't proposed for residential, at least on upper floors and b) it's a great site to go hard on bikes and scooters.

Maybe a) is a zoning/NSJ thing. Or maybe it's something to do with impacts across the border? But if you're going to put any housing in NSJ, each parcel should reach high.

WRT b) the Coyote Creek trail and River Oaks Parkway give excellent access to NSJ. And, frankly, having a car in this location just encourages people to work in Santa Clara.

 

[Astronaut921]

Given the location, a) it's a bit underwhelming that the whole site isn't proposed for residential, at least on upper floors and b) it's a great site to go hard on bikes and scooters.

Maybe a) is a zoning/NSJ thing. Or maybe it's something to do with impacts across the border? But if you're going to put any housing in NSJ, each parcel should reach high.

WRT b) the Coyote Creek trail and River Oaks Parkway give excellent access to NSJ. And, frankly, having a car in this location just encourages people to work in Santa Clara.

I think it's important to note that the site doesn't have good access to transit - unlike lots of other places in NSJ. IMHO build-out of the parcels on 1st and Zanker would be much better.

I would argue building all that mid-rise along River Oaks has not been great because of the missing transit connection and because it doesn't have a grid street network unlike the residences on 1st. All commutes have to bascially use the same 2-3 outlets every morning/evening.

 

[jgordo32]

‘Pelosi’s subway’: BART to San Jose funding pulled from COVID stimulus package

Republicans seized on $141 million in stimulus funding for the BART extension into downtown San Jose.

www.mercurynews.com

Ridiculous that Muni moves forward, which is actually in Pelosis district, while BART to downtown San Jose funding gets pulled which has nothing to do with Pelosi.

Fortunately this is chump change compared to what we’ll be getting from DoT.

 

[gillynova]

More than 700 homes and supermarket could sprout in San Jose tech hub

Housing, grocery, retail eyed at big north San Jose site

A project by a Texas-based developer is being planned for a site near the corner of Montague Expressway and Seely Avenue, across the street from the Cadence Design Systems headquarters.

www.mercurynews.com

I'm disappointed it's not the mega San Jose village that was previously mentioned

 

[siliconvalleyjoe]

360 Residences:

 

[siliconvalleyjoe]

At least Sobrato finished something in SJ. After 20 years last River Corporate Center building along 87 built.

 

[sjn]

‘Pelosi’s subway’: BART to San Jose funding pulled from COVID stimulus package

Republicans seized on $141 million in stimulus funding for the BART extension into downtown San Jose.

www.mercurynews.com

Ridiculous that Muni moves forward, which is actually in Pelosis district, while BART to downtown San Jose funding gets pulled which has nothing to do with Pelosi.

Fortunately this is chump change compared to what we’ll be getting from DoT.

Not trying to get political here, but it makes some sense honestly, this current bill is specifically for COVID-19-related relief. That said, the Senate & White House are reportedly also working on a second bill, of somewhere between $2T and $4T (yes, T) over 10 yrs as an infrastructure stimulus. SJ BART is a perfect candidate for funding for that bill.