I am currently researching other articles for another class and came across one for the proposed project at 350 S. Winchester Blvd., a small two story office/retail structure that is a remnant from a time when it was adjacent to a strip commercial center that was known as Town and Country Village, which most of you will know better as Santana Row. Anyway, this structure is slated to give way to what was proposed as a 25 story tower but has now been scaled back to 18 stories, none the less, it will be the tallest in the area and will combine housing, office and retail uses with parking below grade.
What strikes me about this project is that it can go multiple ways, it is nice to see a developer want to build out this property at a higher density than most are not willing to do as steel frame construction along with excavating for underground parking can get costly and most are hesitant to take this on in primarily suburban areas, which one can say the vicinity of Valley Fair/Santana Row is still suburban in nature despite the mixed use Santana Row. It could also serve as a future catalyst for higher density projects in the area under the urban village plan, this would not only apply to the Valley Fair/Santana Row area but the Winchester Blvd. area south of I-280 as that is another area prime for increased development projects as much of it is presently low-lying suburban uses and the West San Carlos Street area East of I-880.
But I do think this should be approached with caution too, building out this area away from Downtown, there is not as much of a suitable transit line in the area, buses run down Stevens Creek/San Carlos, Winchester and other adjacent streets, along with a bus transit center tucked away behind the cavernous Valley Fair property, but with buses mixed in with the traffic, will there be as much of an incentive to use transit and can uses in the area support both jobs and shopping habits to ease the need to drive distances for work or shopping? It is still very much a suburban area with a suburban and regional destination called Valley Fair, that parcels use will never change as it is successful in it's present form and brings a decent tax base to San Jose.
However, this does open up the question too, if the City and developers want to have Valley Fair and the Urban Village plan co-exist, how can there be a balance between the two to not over burden the roads further and encourage alternative means of transportation outside of driving. Sure most will want to drive to Valley Fair, especially those that drive there from further distances to go the the mall, but if one is living in the area, how can it be better suited to not have them in the car as much? Implement dedicated BRT lanes on Stevens Creek, encourage ride sharing, further improved bike corridors and lanes to connect with transit? It is still early in the process but these were things that came to mind for me when thinking about having a higher density project adjacent to Santana Row. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see developers do this, but there should be caution exerted with this given the current shape of the roads and suburban nature of the area presently.
Here is the link to the cities planning page about the project as it has the more up to date information on it, reflecting the adjusted plans for the tower now being 18 stories as opposed to 25 stories.
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=5081
No comments:
Post a Comment