If you want to learn more about why NOW is an excellent time to purchase real estate, attend a free housing seminar and webinar on August 5. The housing seminar is designed to help buyers explore various housing options, live closer to work places, and live a more sustainable lifestyle. The innovative first-time home-buyer education seminar is geared to help Silicon Valley workers understand the changing landscape of today’s real estate market and how a more green lifestyle can also help to shorten their commute.

The scheduled keynote speakers at the free seminar are Sheila Bernus Dowd of Lookiloos.com and Quincy Virgilio, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors (SCCAOR). The speakers will cover a number of topics including insights on the home-searching and home-buying process, new web tools to assist in those processes, evaluating financial situations, and current home price and sales trends in the area.

The free “Off The Fence” housing seminar will be held in-person at the San Jose Airport Holiday Inn on August 5 at 12:00 pm with a second session set to begin at 5:00 pm. For those unable to attend in-person, a webinar will broadcast the first session at noon. The program is jointly being presented by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), Santa Clara County Association of Realtors (SCCAOR), and the Greenbelt Alliance.

Off the Fence Housing Seminar
August 5, 2009
Session 1: 12:00 pm
Session 2: 5:30 pm
San Jose Airport Holiday Inn (Live)
1740 N. First Street, San Jose

Webinar:
August 5, 2009
12:00 Noon

To register for the seminar or webinar, please call (408) 802-4765 or visit www.svlg.net.

If you are interested in getting the latest information about the proposed BART extension to the South Bay, public meetings will be held throughout the South Bay over the next few weeks. The public meetings will go over a detailed project overview, schedule, and update on the funding of the project. You will also have the opportunity to review display stations of the project route as well as station areas.

The current proposed BART expansion includes an extension from the East Bay route at the Warm Springs station in Fremont through Milpitas, San Jose, and Santa Clara. There are currently six planned stops as part of the expansion including stops in downtown San Jose and at the current Diridon train station. The downtown San Jose portion of the BART extension will be part of a 5-mile underground tunnel.

BART South Bay Extension Public Meetings

San Jose/Santa Clara
Tuesday, July 28 at 6:00pm
San Jose Unified School District (Board Room)
855 Lenzen Avenue, San Jose

Downtown San Jose
Tuesday, August 4 at 6:00pm
San Jose City Hall (W118-119)
200 E. Santa Clara St.
Downtown San Jose

Berryessa
Tuesday, August 11 at 6:00pm
Berryessa Library,
3355 Noble Avenue, San Jose

For additional information on the propsed BART extension or the public meetings, contact VTA-BART Community Outreach at (408) 934-2662 or email vtabart@vta.org.

The San Jose Downtown Residents Association (SJDRA) will be hosting its Summer Quarterly Meeting this Thursday evening, July 23, at Axis. A full lineup of events is planned for this meeting. At the top of the agenda for this Thursday’s SJDRA meeting is a discussion with Scott Knies, Executive Director of the San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA), who will be talking about “Downtown San Jose: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” Also scheduled for the meeting is the 2009/2010 SJDRA Board Elections as well as a vote on proposed changes to the SJDRA bylaws. There a number of other activities planned for the SJDRA Quarterly Meeting including a bar-b-que with guest chefs from the San Jose Fire Department, tours of model units at Axis (including the penthouse), a raffle with proceeds benefitting Sacred Heart, and an update from San Jose Police Department (SJPD) Lieutenant John Rose. The bar-b-que and meeting will be hosted at Axis’ fantastic pool deck level.

This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about what’s happening downtown, meet and mingle with your downtown neighbors, and to discover great downtown locations. Be sure to get there early since the bar-b-que and Axis tours start at 6:00pm. Meeting items will begin promptly at 7:00pm.

San Jose Downtown Residents Association (SJDRA)
Summer Quarterly Meeting
Thursday, July 23, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Meeting Location:
Axis (Pool deck)
38 N. Almaden Blvd
Downtown San Jose

For more information or to RSVP, please contact SJDRA@yahoo.com or call (408) 535-0123.

The St. James Historic District Neighborhood Association (SJHDNA) will be holding its board meeting tonight, Monday, July 13, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the St. James Park Senior Center. The meeting is scheduled to include a special guest appearance by San Jose City Councilmember Sam Liccardo (District 3). Items on the agenda will include updates on the renovation of St. James Park and plans for Pellier Park. The parks discussion is slated to start at 7:30pm. The meeting is open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend.

St. James Historic District Neighborhood Association (SJHDNA)
Board Meeting
St. James Park Senior Center
Downtown San Jose
Monday, July 13, 6:30pm - 8:00pm