May 24, 2007

Downtown San Jose continues to grow.  On May 24, 2007, a neighborhood meeting was held by the San Jose Planning Department and Barry Swenson Builder to discuss downtown San Jose’s next high-rise condominium complex, Carlysle Tower.  The development is slated to be a 20-story condo tower with approximately 347 residential units and approximately 11,350 square feet of retail space.  Current plans include for Carlysle Tower to incorporate work/live units along the Notre Dame Avenue side of the development.  Carlysle Tower is currently in the planning and permitting stage.  The devleoper, Barry Swenson Builder, is seeking to obtain a building permit in October/November of this year with hopes to begin construction in Spring 2008. 

The site of Carlysle Tower is The Press building located between North Almaden Avenue and Notre Dame Avenue, and between St. John Street and Carlysle Street in the heart of downtown San Jose steps away from San Pedro Square. 

May 18, 2007

Parking in downtown and the Property-based Business Improvement District (PBID) assessment were the two main topics of discussion at the San Jose Downtown Residents Association meeting last night.  For those of you who haven’t heard, the PBID is a self-imposed and self-governed property assessment to raise funds for additional cleaning services, safety programs and beautification projects in the downtown core area.  The proposed residential assessment rate is $0.0703 per square foot (lot + bldg square feet) per year in the core area.  So if you own a 1,300 square foot condo on a 1,400 square foot lot, you would pay a $189 PBID assessment ($0.0703 x (1,300+1,400) = $189).  For more information on the PBID, check out the San Jose Downtown Association newsletter:  www.sjdowntown.com/pdf/dtd_march_07.pdf.

May 9, 2007

Just returned from a community meeting about Tower 88 at Central Place.  This is the new development at San Fernando Street between Second and Third Streets.  The meeting was held by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and Block 3 Development Partners (Wilson Meany Sullivan and CIM Group), the project developer.  The developer indicated that Phase 1 of the project was on schedule and should be completed in the first quarter of 2008.  They are hoping to have a sales office open in the beginning of the year. 

Greetings to everyone reading this blog.  This blog is another means for us to utilize the internet to help inform and educate people about what is happening in downtown San Jose.  While this blog will primarily focus on the the real estate aspects of downtown, we’ll also have plenty of information about what’s going on in downtown San Jose, such as events, new restaurants, or other newsworthy tidbits.  This blog is for informational purposes only.  We hope you find the blog useful, informative, and enjoy reading it. 

If you have any suggestions, comments, or topics you think would be beneficial, please contact us at info@siliconvalleylofts.com.