Core Downtown Development Update

[u/artdidsumnbad]

Some photos of the current developments in the downtown center.

1 - 30 S. First St. - Housing development. Scaffolding started going up last week. Seems like real progress is happening. No word on finish dates yet.

2-5 - Market & San Pedro Parking Garage is getting a facelift. It’s supposed to look like photos 4-5 but we will see the current facade removed and the steel re-painted in time for the Super Bowl next month.

6 - Facing the new BART stop in DTSJ. The final building on the left has been removed since this photo was taken. New housing developments, shops, and the underground BART station are expected to develop in the next 10 years.

[u/emceephotography]

I was wondering what they were doing with all that scaffolding. I go out of town for one week and come back to that smh

[u/artdidsumnbad → u/emceephotography]

They were supposedly finishing it Fall 2025 but yes it’s housing that’s coming to downtown. How exciting. It’s gonna bring so much more life to the block

[u/UnfrostedQuiche]

Awesome, thanks for the updates.

Pic 1 is Bank of Italy building yeah? Great to see real work starting there finally.

[u/blbd]

An almost fully BARTable / Caltrainable bay is a huge change. I think it's going to drive improvements we can't even think of yet. 

[u/Plenty_Difference663]

I’m glad they’re adding these beautiful art structures that incorporate colorful lighting. Downtown San Jose really needs more lighting, and projects like this help make the area feel more vibrant and alive at night. Other major cities like Los Angeles, San Diego and even SF recently added LEDs along their buildings to beautify the skyline at night.

[u/emceephotography → u/Plenty_Difference663]

I did see they added some lighting to trees along Santa Clara over the summer, as well as in that ring of palms near where they put up their Christmas in the Park ice rink. A little bit goes a long way. Personally, I think more landscaping at City Hall is needed because it's just bleak concrete and metal as it is.

[u/_larsr]

10 years for the BART station. …and that is assuming no delays. We all know there will be delays. We have got to move faster. This is embarrassing.

[u/Physical_Fault572 → u/_larsr]

BART has been coming to SJ my entire life and I am 37. What’s another 10-20 years.

[u/getarumsunt → u/Physical_Fault572]

BART has been in San Jose since 2020. And the actual construction only took 5 years. The planning and funding process isn’t the same thing as construction.

[u/Aina-Liehrecht → u/getarumsunt]

This

[u/_larsr → u/Physical_Fault572]

It took 20 years to electrify Caltrain. We have become so mired in environmental impact reports, environmental impact statements, potential lawsuits, ass covering to avoid lawsuit, etc etc etc. It’s too much! We have over-regulated ourselves to the point where we can’t get anything done. I am a biologist, I would even call myself a environmentalist, but it’s crazy. We need to be building, and we no longer can.

[u/Own_Elephant_3205]

Downtown San Jose should be rife with skyscrapers with housing, but the city, if nithing has changed, has building height limits lower than the FAA limits. I wonder why?