Spotlight:

 

Urban Village #6

History, Continuity & Transformationof San Jose's 2040 General Plan

San Jose , California

2013 will mark the 10th year of Ken Kay Associates engagement in supporting the master planning, entitlements & design evolution of 332 acres of land in South San Jose. Our efforts for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Inc. (now HGST) have and continue to transform the former IBM hard-disk manufacturing facility from an underutilized working campus into a mixed-use transit oriented urban village. This accomplished two goals: 1. Reduced the industrial footprint of the 1957 former IBM Campus, which saved operating costs and 2. Allowed the remainder of the property to be re-entitled as a model land use example of a compact, mixed-use, transit oriented community. The result dramatically increased land values, utilized the City of San Jose’s transit related infill redevelopment policies and will shape how thousands of employees and residents will work, play, shop and live.

Working with Hitachi/HGST’s head of International Real Estate as well as many stakeholders including the surrounding community and the City of San Jose, Ken Kay Associates established an overall vision for a complete corporate campus and urban village rooted in promoting a variety of uses including retaining its employment base and providing new opportunities for neighborhood service and retail along with a spectrum of housing choices from higher density apartments and condominiums to townhomes and single family dwellings. All of this is accomplished within a framework of a strong public street and open space/parks network making pedestrian and bicycle connections throughout the village and to the property’s adjacent local (VTA) and regional rail (Caltrain) transit stations.

As the first wave of construction is beginning on the residential and commercial portions of the village, Ken Kay Associates has the opportunity to reflect on the various roles we have played in helping guide the process. All of these efforts were conducted within the framework of working with the owner to stay true to the village’s vision and principles, building value, working with City policy makers and staff and shaping its course through the realities of the development market.