Retail Redevelopment Planned for Downtown San Jose
Several blocks of mostly empty retail storefronts in the heart of downtown San Jose are slated to be transformed into a pedestrian-centric cluster of restaurants, entertainment venues and shops.
A project known as Paseo Place is in the works for the commercial space on South First Street and South Second Street between East San Fernando Street and Paseo de San Antonio, an area currently known as The Pavilion, a reference to a shopping center that once stood there.
Houston-based Hines has filed a plan with the city to enhance pedestrian engagement, create inviting outdoor dining areas, celebrate technology and innovation, and enliven the area with a blend of modern and historical elements, according to the planning documents.
Paseo Place also aims to provide a stronger connection between nearby San Jose State University and the greater downtown area, the Mercury News reported.
Hines paid nearly $60M in 2021 for the downtown property, a collection of two-story buildings encompassing a total of about 180K SF in the area in proximity to 150 South First Street.
City leaders in San Jose are hoping to revitalize downtown retail in anticipation of a surge of foot traffic next year, when the Super Bowl, a portion of the NCAA basketball tournament and several matches of the FIBA World Cup will be coming to the area.
Hines’ proposal is designed to “maximize connectivity and activate the pedestrian paseo with dynamic storefronts and engaging signage,” making use of “canopies, trellises, pots and street furniture to create a comfortable and inviting pedestrian scale.” Central to the plan is the creation of large, flexible outdoor dining zones.
Experience-oriented retail “placemaking” is a strategy that has been embraced by Google as the tech giant seeks to jumpstart foot traffic in the urban village it is planning to build near the Diridon train station site in San Jose.
In April 2023, Google slammed the brakes on its project to build an 80-acre mixed-use campus known as Downtown West. Demolition and environmental remediation on the site has been completed.
Google is partnering with Jamestown to transform sections of Barack Obama Boulevard and South Montgomery Street in the Downtown West footprint into a vibrant area filled with retail experiences.
In a program known as Creekside Socials, Jamestown and Google have hosted dozens of community events, bringing food vendors, artists and non-profits to the downtown neighborhood.
The partners announced last summer that they plan to add a series of new food and beverage outlets, health/wellness and other retail concepts at the Downtown West site early in 2025.
“We’re making downtown San Jose the safest and cleanest urban center in the Bay Area so that partners like Google will continue investing,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said, in a statement. “Community events, small business, recreational activities and restaurants are the foundation for downtown’s future growth as a social center.”
When Downtown West was approved by the city council in 2021, the transit-oriented development envisioned more than 7M SF of offices, 4,000 homes, 500K SF of shops and restaurants, a community center and 15 acres of parks.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM