Partnership Envisions A New Kind Of Urban Campus For Downtown San Jose

Thirty acres near Diridon Station could be transformed into an urban retail and activities destination under a plan pitched in a report from developer Swenson, Studio Current, CMG Landscape Architecture and Mayberry Workshop. The report creates a new design for an urban campus in downtown San Jose.

The study offers tangible renderings for the community to focus conversations on the revitalization of the Diridon Station area, and as Google continues discussions with the City of San Jose about its own urban village. The report provides suggestions on how the community could use the right amount of heights and densities through a public-private partnership with San Jose and the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy.

Named The District for study purposes, the area is on the steps of a future BART Station, encompassing Little Italy, SAP Center and Guadalupe River Park & Gardens. It could become San Jose’s Central Park.

“We believe San Jose deserves a world-class parkside activation strategy integrated with shopping, hotel accommodations, residential buildings and office space,” Swenson President Case Swenson said.

The District imagines a vibrant center where people can stroll with friends along meandering bridges, learn something new at the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy Wildlife Center, grab a bite to eat with colleagues in one of 50 new restaurants, cafés and bars or relax on one of the main lawns.

“The west side of downtown has too much potential to develop piecemeal. The District represents the kind of urban master planning San Jose deserves — thoughtful, creative, fun and future-looking,” San Jose Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies said.