Transit-oriented development is the big beneficiary
Looking for business trends in 2019? You need look no further than a New York Times article headlined “Big Tech May Look Troubled, but It’s Just Getting Started,” which ran on the first day of the new year.
Despite some political and trade headwinds, the major technology players in Silicon Valley are continuing to expand. To accomplish their lofty goals, they need “hundreds of thousands of new employees,” according to the Times. Read the full Times article here.
This is benefiting well-placed transit-oriented development (TOD) such as the proposed Google city-center campus surrounding the Diridon Station transit center near downtown San Jose — and Market Park San Jose, adjacent to the Berryessa BART station in North San Jose.
The Move to Transit-Oriented Development
TOD offers a number of compelling advantages — both to businesses and individuals, and to the cities in which these developments are located.
TOD creates dynamic, high livable and sustainable communities. Individuals enjoy a less stressful lifestyle without lengthy commutes — with jobs, shopping, restaurants and other commercial services, and even recreation amenities often within walking distance — and with transit alternatives available to get from one place to another.
Businesses benefit from an ample pool of satisfied, more productive employees who arrive on time and ready to work. Communities gain by getting people out of their cars and reducing impacts on the environment and climate, while revitalizing declining urban areas.
Currently, the largest TOD in Silicon Valley is Market Park San Jose. The 120-acre, $3 billion mixed-use development consists of nearly 4,000 homes, condos and apartments plus approximately 1,500,000 sq. ft. of office space — in addition to a 100,000 sq. ft. shopping center and street-level retail, two neighborhood parks and walking/bicycling paths. And it’s all connected to the soon-to-open Berryessa BART station.
$4 Million for Two Old Houses
Evidence of big tech’s vitality and its willingness to embrace and invest in smart, well-located TOD is abundant. One example cited in the Times article is that Google recently paid $4 million for two century-old houses in a transitioning area west of downtown San Jose, as it acquires property for the trendy urban campus it envisions in the city.
“We’re enthusiastic about and very active in transit-oriented development in Silicon Valley,” said Ralph Borelli, chairman of Borelli Investment Company. “We’re project manager for Market Park San Jose and we’re playing a role for local landowners in Google’s efforts to create their urban San Jose campus adjacent to Diridon Station. Big tech continues to be the engine that drives Silicon Valley, and these communities simply work…for businesses, individuals and the City of San Jose.”
Learn More About Market Park San Jose
Borelli Investment Company is leading project management and office leasing for Market Park San Jose. Retail leasing is being handled by Bruce Frazier at SRS Real Estate Services. The community — which has been under development for nearly three years, with significant residential, street-level retail and infrastructure completed — is a development of TFM, Inc.