Summer 2022 Update

It’s been a busy spring and summer for the Downtown West team!

We hosted an Open House in the spring and were thrilled at the response and attendance. More than 200 community members joined us in-person — residents, families, students, small business owners, local artists, community leaders and more. After such a long time since in-person gatherings, it was inspiring to hear directly from community members, many of you passionate about topics ranging from affordable housing and micro-mobility solutions to ecology and historic preservation.

Our Downtown West project team also engaged in small group conversations to answer questions and share more details about the early planning work around infrastructure improvements, street, bike and pedestrian designs, parks and open space, and programs aimed at shaping the experience for people who live in, work in, or visit the neighborhood.

To those who were able to attend, thank you for taking the time to attend and share your thoughtful questions, feedback and comments.  For those who were unable to attend, here are a few of the big topics we covered:

• History and culture. We're preserving historic buildings and cultural resources, including the Hellwig Ironworks building and the iconic Stephen's Meat Products sign.
• Nature and open space. We're creating 15 acres of parks, plazas, and open spaces; restoring natural habitat around the Los Gatos Creek; planning for 2,200 new trees; and more.
• Housing. We're helping the City reach its housing goals by planning for 4,000 total units, with 25% affordable housing.
• Community benefits. We're kickstarting a new $154 million Community Stabilization Fund that will be governed by local residents and give at-risk communities real power over the resources.

As we continue this work, it’s important to us that you’re familiar with our team.  Here’s a bit more about us, the project leads:

Sheela Jivan here. I'm the new Downtown West lead for Google, working closely with Alexa Arena, who will continue to play an active role in the project. I’ve worked in real estate development throughout California for the past 25 years, including the development of neighborhood and community housing. Working on this project is a dream for me: Downtown West merges all my passions in community development, with the potential to have a positive impact that goes way beyond what you can do with a single building.

And I'm Rob Deck. I'm the new lead for Lendlease, working closely with Sheela to make sure all the parts of Downtown West come together in the best way possible: the housing, parks and open spaces, retail options, and infrastructure, as well as the Google offices. I’ve spent my career working on large-scale neighborhood projects in cities around the world, and what excites me most about working on Downtown West is the potential to create a place that reflects the unique history and culture of San Jose.

Delivering a sizable project like Downtown West requires extensive planning. The next 12-18 months will include a series of site preparation activities to enable the installation of underground utilities and infrastructure improvements later this summer and throughout the fall.

Please continue to check the updated FAQs for additional context and information as the development continues to progress. You can also subscribe to receive periodic email updates, notices about future events and opportunities to engage with our team. If you have any questions, feel free to email DowntownWest@google.com.

Thank you for all your support! We hope to reconnect and meet more of you in the weeks and months ahead.

Sheela Jivan
District Director, Google, Downtown West

Rob Deck
District Director, Lendlease, Downtown West