The Future of the Bay is San Jose
San Jose is on the cusp of a serious revival, with over 25 new towers currently planned for its historic downtown. Here are five reasons why investors are betting on San Jose’s success.
From America’s most forgettable city….
Just over an hour south of San Francisco, San Jose is nestled in the rolling hills of Silicon Valley, near infamous tech-towns like Palo Alto and Mountain View. Despite its strategic location and size — with over 1 million residents, San Jose is the 10th largest city in the country — polls have repeatedly found that it’s the “most forgettable major American city.”
What happened? San Jose began as a Spanish colonial city, and it boomed from the 1850 to the 1930s, even briefly serving as the state’s capital. But after World War II, San Jose began to expand out from its downtown, not up. In 1920, San Jose was 17 square miles. By 1970, it was 120, as it annexed nearby rural areas. Like many other American cities, San Jose’s growth was dependent on cars and faceless suburban sprawl — it became “forgettable.”
….To the Capital of Silicon Valley
But as quality of life in San Francisco declines, homeowners, investors, and companies seeking an urban alternative are taking a second look at San Jose — and in particular its downtown. In the past 10 years, San Jose has seen some of the highest home equity appreciation in the country. In response to demand, more development is coming. The City recently rezoned its downtown to allow for mid- and high-rise buildings, while maintaining some of the nation’s strictest green building codes to ensure that development happens responsibly. More than 25 towers and a new Google Campus are planned, largely in and around SoFA (South of First Area), which was San Jose’s main retail corridor during its historic boom years (fun fact: a vintage street car from the 1890s still runs on South First Street).
San Jose is on the cusp of what is perhaps the largest and most rapid urban regeneration in the country. Let’s break down the reasons why now’s the time to bet on the so-called capital of Silicon Valley.
5 Reasons to Bet On San Jose
1. San Jose has a European-style walkable downtown with heritage buildings. San Jose has the 19th century “bones” of a great city. Its downtown maintains its Spanish-era street grid, with wide tree-lined sidewalks. SoFA earns a 96/100 on the Walk Score Index, making it a rare “walker’s paradise” (and putting a premium on its real estate, according to Redfin data). Walking around SoFA, you’ll find a medley of mission revival and art deco buildings, many of which are undergoing restoration. The Bank of Italy Building, for example, a 14-story renaissance revival structure from 1925, is being renovated into a contemporary mixed-use complex of offices, retail, and dining, with a social club on the ground floor. The California Theater, a lavish 1927 movie palace, was restored and now hosts the local opera and symphony.
2. San Jose has a thriving cultural scene, with a strong emphasis on public art. During the 1990s, small independent businesses, primarily in the nightlife, entertainment, and creative fields, moved into SoFA due to its low rents. Today, cultural life is increasingly organized and blossoming: The SoFA Partnership, a non-profit started in 2016, puts on South First Fridays, when galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses open their doors to the public late into the night. Public art pieces like the Serpentine Pavilion have taken over parking lots between new eateries like Petiscos — a Portuguese restaurant run by Michelin star chef David Costa — and Nirvana Soul — a coffee shop and art space run by two San Jose sisters. Murals from local artists dot the area, including one of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who watches over Santa Clara Street.
3. San Jose is a great place to work — and grow a company. San Jose is less than a 30 minute drive to companies like Apple, Facebook, and Tesla, and the buzz of Stanford’s campus. Its downtown is walkable to the global headquarters of Adobe, Zoom, eBay, and, soon, Google, which is building its largest campus yet to accommodate 25,000 workers by 2032. Want to start a tech company? San Jose sees the second highest venture funding per capita in the country — at $13,430 — with easy access to nearby investors on Sandhill Road. Talent is close, too: San Jose State, adjacent to SoFA, graduates more software engineers than any other university in the country.
4. San Jose is < 1 hour to the beach, < 2 hours to wine country, and < 3 hours to Yosemite. There are plenty of places to play in and around San Jose. Local hiking and bike trails extend out from the city. Renowned natural attractions are just a short drive away: in less than an hour’s drive west, you’ll find yourself in the famous surf town of Santa Cruz, or on the cliffs of the stunning beach at Half Moon Bay. Drive two hours north, and you’ll arrive in Napa, globally renowned for its vineyards and picturesque towns. Drive three hours east, and you’ll be approaching Yosemite, one of America’s greatest national parks, home to giant sequoia groves, the country’s tallest waterfalls, and daring hikes, like the Half Dome trail.
5. San Jose has great transit connections to and from the rest of the country. San Jose has its own airport — SJC — a 5-minute drive from downtown, the fastest commute to an international airport out of any major U.S. city (there is even a bike path that goes to the airport, for the brave and suitcase-less). San Francisco International airport (SFO) is only 45 minutes away. If rail is more your thing, you’re in luck: the Caltrain and Amtrak already serve downtown. Not only that, but Diridon Station, a multi-modal transportation center under construction, will be the largest mass transit hub west of the Mississippi — some transportation planners are comparing it to Rotterdam’s famous central station.
Curious to do your own walking tour of the City? Check out our ’72 Hours in San Jose’. Want to know how a Nabr home compares with typical South Bay housing? Read this.
