A quick review of San Jose’s Santana Row
Santana Row in San Jose, CA does not have any housing that can be afforded by a majority of the creative class, nor does it sport independent businesses, favoring upscale chains instead. For those two reasons alone, it’s nowhere close to being a ‘cooltown’. However, it does have some of the best new placemaking and urban design anywhere in the entire San Francisco Bay Area, and for that it deserves merit. In other words, just imagine how amazing it’d be if 87% of its retail were independents and the housing didn’t have luxury as an adjective.
It does have theaters, which have fixed prices, a public farmers market, no charge for window shopping, and some affordable menu options in its swank restaurants (like your obligatory burger or salad), so it’s worth a visit. The best third place? The plaza (pictured) where you can bring along a picnic lunch and with a bit of imagination, pretend you’re in a piazza in Italy.
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Everyone I know who lives and shops there is 100% in the creative core.
Not according to Richard Florida’s definition of that creative core, nor according to this recent article, stating that its luxury condos are setting records in price. While this is good for re-energizing the downtown overall, it’s not exactly for the creatives, as one resident in the article says it all, “I’ve never seen so many Ferraris in my life.”
I’m not offering an opinion. My friends — engineers, coders, designers, marketing leads, entreprenuers — are the ones who one the Santana Row apartments. They are creative core (Florida’s definition, and most others), and yes, they happen to drive some really nice cars, along with Honda Civics.
I’ll grant you this – of all the people who can afford what are the most expensive luxury condos ever built by the upscale developer ($750/s.f.), they are probably some of the most creative of the group. They’d also either have to be making over $160K/yr. to qualify to buy the smallest unit they have at 700 s.f., $440K/yr. for the ‘average’ units, or have inherited a small fortune. These are not numbers associated with typical members of the creative class, nor gen xers, yers, and people just starting out their first businesses. Still, there are some that do, and Santana Row is ideal for them, unless they prefer a neighborhood with socioeconomic diversity and locally-owned businesses as well.
This must be super expensive to shop and or lease space in this center. Neil, to earn wages over 100,000 dollars you must have a high degree or be an entrepreneur of some sorts. Its very difficult to make those sorts of sums in todays environment