Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 @ 07:55 PM
A minaret is an important religious symbol in the Musli
m world. In countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Oman
where the Muslim religion is the majority religion, cities are covered with towering minarets as they are an element of Islamic religious architecture.
Literally translated, "minaret" means "beacon" in Arabic. They are important because traditionally Muslims are called to prayer from a minaret. They range in size (some minarets can be more than 600 feet tall) and can be beautifully designed and decorated.
While these photos depict some of the largest minarets in the world, smaller ones are also prevalent. Santa Clara could be home to one of these.
Santa Clara Planning Commission recently confirmed approval for construction of a new minaret for the Muslim Community Association. The commission denied an appeal made by a local businessman. The minaret is the final touch for a religious and educational campus owned by the Muslim Community Association. While there were 7 days to re-appeal the decision, much anticipation is gathering to commence construction.
Here are some renderings of what the new minaret will look like:
There has been much dialog about the Minaret in the local papers. Many editorials have outlined the project as a positive or negative, but most of these arguments have been centered around more political issues. Little has been written about the architectural details involved with a minaret or even the technical construction that will inevitably be needed for such a unique structure.
If you have any details about unique structures such as a minaret, please share your incite and experiences with us.
Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 @ 12:52 PM
Do you think The Bay Area Real Estate Blog is the best real estate related blog? We do! And I hope you think so too!
Right now Zillow.com is sponsoring a contest of the best real estate blogs. We would appreciate your support by voting for us!
Click HERE to vote for us!
Not familiar with Zillow?
Zillow.com is a key real estate website for anyone in the industry. This is one of the websites I use as a "go to" for any research on properties, neighborhoods, Bay Area home values, construction, etc. The website has a lot of content and information you might not expect. For instance, if you are interested in learning housing prices in your city, find it on Zillow. Check out the San Jose page, click -> HERE.
Another feature of Zillow.com are the photos it contains. For just about any property search, there are photos of either the specific home in the search of at least of the neighborhood itself.
Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Tue, Jul 13, 2010 @ 09:54 AM
The Silicon Valley Business Journal reported on July 9th that Santana Row will have a new restaurant opening February of 2011. Yard House, a national brew house and restaurant, has over 25 locations scattered throughout the US and now San Jose.
From their website, it appears each of the locations has an architectural uniqueness. The entrances are grand; it seems there are spans at least 15 feet tall to each location. They seem to prefer high visibility, corner locations - exactly what they will experience at 300 Santana Row. A similar pattern as they occupy retail spaces in other exclusive locations such as LA Live in Los Angeles and Fashion Island in Newport Beach for example. 
Their new 10,000 square feet of space is positioned at the immediate entrance of Santana Row. They could not have picked a more exposed location for their first Northern California location.
Next will be the restaurant tenant improvements. With a timeline of 7 months until their advertised Grand Opening in February of next year, they have planned well. Extensive tenant improvements in San Jose such as what Yard House will most likely experience will take a considerable amount of time. We will have to wait and see as construction commences.
Tid Bits About Yard House:
Some interesting dishes on their menu include:
Chicken breast, applewood smoked bacon, wild mushrooms, cheddar and parmesan with campanelle pasta and white truffle oil
Over wasabi mashed potatoes, snow peas, carrots and lemon grass beurre blanc
Four mini burgers made from natural angus beef served with fried onions, béarnaise sauce, fries and pickle
Other new locations (both of which have high traffic, good exposure) include:
Hallandale Beach, Florida · Opening September 2010
Denver, Colorado · Opening November 2010
Posted by Josh Burroughs on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 01:23 AM
The Polaris Group puts out a great monthly report on the housing market in different geographical regions, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights for Silicon Valley as a recap for June!
At present, there are 27 projects offering homes for sale. Approximately 65.8 percent of those 3,706 units have been sold or are under contract to be sold. That leaves a standing inventory of 1,267 units. The resale market, in contrast, has 1,055 homes available for sale, 20.1 percent less inventory than the new-home market.
TOP TEN PROJECTS & Units Available!
- Axis by KT Properties; 209/329 Units Available
- 360 Residences by Mesa Properties; 213/213 Units Available
- The 88 by WMS Partners/ CIM; 122/197 Units Available
- City Heights by Barry Swenson Builder; 27/124 Units Available
- Plant 51 by Brooks St; 185/265 Units Available
- Cannery Square At Monte Vista by KB Homes; 10/235 Units Avail
- Willow Glen Place by Toll Brothers; 74/204 Units Available
- Villa Fontanas by Hudson Jones; 23/91 Units Available
- The Works by Barry Swenson Builder; 6/74 Units Available
- Villa Valencia by S&T Props; 5/57 Units Available
Posted by Josh Burroughs on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 @ 12:14 AM
The Urban Land Institute just released a new study on Land Use and Driving that I thought was very interesting. It discusses the role that compact development can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and combines results from three separate studies: Moving Cooler (Land use is an important climate change strategy), Growing Cooler (The Five "Ds" of compact development reduce vehicle miles), and Driving and the Built Environment (Compact development lowers Driving, emissions, and energy use).
The article states "If we could go to 2050 and look back, we would see that successfully implemented compact development strategies- even those with only modest increases in land use density and mix- resulted in a win-win: a boon both for the environment and for Americans looking for the healthy and convenient lifestyle benefits associated with this type of high-quality land use.
Here is the link to download the free PDF study! > CLICK HERE
For more information on real estate best practices, visit www.ULI.org
Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Wed, Jun 16, 2010 @ 11:11 PM
1900 The Alameda, originally built in 1965 with few interior upgrades but an iconic, six story building located on the corner of The Alameda and Hedding in San Jose. What was once a 60's style building now has a swank "W" Hotel feel - sleek and modern. It wouldn't have happened, however, had it not been for the ingenious technology developed by Smoke GuardTM.
Smoke GuardTM has created a product that makes fire- rating easy and virturally painfree. In the case of 1900 The Alameda, each elevator lobby needed code updates and meet current fire- rated corridor standards.
The options to do so were simple, 1. remodel the lobbies to be completely fire-proofed (a total cost of about $40,000 per lobby, $240,000 for the full building) or 2. install Smoke GuardTM door above the two elevators on each floor (about $20,000 per floor or $120,000 for the entire building).
Can you guess which option was chosen? If you thought Option #2, you are correct!
Smoke GuardTM doors were installed into the ceilings directly above each elevator opening and thin metal strips were attached along each elevator door. In the event of a fire, the Smoke GuardTM doors open and out comes a thin, plastic-type material outfitted with magnets to seal each elevator penetration. The plastic material is impermeable thus making the elevators and elevator lobbies fire rated.
The product is an excellent alternative to costly build-outs to meet fire codes and provides an ascetically pleasing option to normally cumbersome and highly unattractive emergency equipment.
For more information visit their website by > clicking here.
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Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Wed, May 12, 2010 @ 04:56 PM
A good lesson for Landlords with an existing restaurant tenant or for any empty restaurant space in need of a new tenant: The Pasta Market in the San Jose Market Center.
The Pasta Market recently completed its tenant improvements and opened its doors to business in the San Jose Market Center off Coleman and Taylor Street in San Jose. 
The new restaurant is a good example for any Landlord to understand the recycling of existing restaurant space for a new restaurant tenant. The Pasta Market has done a good job incorporating the existing space Asque Grill had by doing a fairly minor paint and carpet remodel as well as adding some new, unique finishes that are more focused on The Pasta Market's Italian theme. 
The Pasta Market demonstrates how a restaurant can take over an existing restaurant location and instead of doing a complete gut and remodel, they utilize the existing assets of the space and converted it to another specific use.
Restaurant landlords should be aware of recycling restaurant space for numerous reasons. It can be cheaper for both the landlord and tenant since existing equipment in both the kitchen and often times the FF&E can be reused. It also helps expedite the move-in of a new tenant as there is less build out required.
MBH Architects has extensive experience with restaurant design including P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Epic, Waterbar and Momo's. Tom Pflueger, a Senior Associate in the firm says that atmosphere is the #1 goal of practically any restaurant (above and beyond the obvious priority of good food great service that is).
"An owner and a chef have a specific vision of what their restaurant looks and feels like. Our job is to help them realize that vision," says Pflueger.
Landlords should be aware of the importance of "atmosphere" concerning restaurants just as they should be concerned with the happenings of any office or other retail tenant.
Here's a few tips on how to create "atmosphere":
• Low Lighting (to help dim the room for a more dramatic and intimate experience)
• High Lighting (to help illuminate a room for higher energy)
• Mirrors (to help open a space, create 
depth, activation of space)
• Warm Materials (select a palate of materials that provide comfort in a relaxing environment)
• Details Detail Details (don't forget about the fine details of a space that add up to have large impacts on patrons. Details
include: uniqueness of bathrooms, artwork, fresh flowers/ plants and accent paint walls)
If you'd like to learn more about the design of restaurant tenant improvements contact Tom Pflueger at MBH Architects, TomP@mbharch.com or (510) 814-3477.
If you are looking for a contractor for your next tenant improvement, please call Jessie Woodyard with Barry Swenson Builderat 408-938-6313 or jwoodyard@barryswensonbuilder.com
Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Tue, May 04, 2010 @ 11:43 AM
Remember when Google Earth first hit the streets? I'm not literally speaking about when this application first developed it's "Street View" where one, with the click of a button, can be flown in from a satellite view of a given property and see it from a pedestrian's view point as though you're on the street. No, I'm not talking about this application, I'm talking about back in about 2000 when Google originally acquired KeyHole (the creator of piecing aerial photography together and officially launched what we now know as "Google Earth").
Since then, Google Earth has taken the world by force, especially the real estate world. The application is used in practically every real estate search. It gives a user the ability to do comprehensive research like never before. One can find a site, search the surrounding neighborhood, see local commercial listings, etc.
Hang on Bay Area real estate community, there's a new wave of virtual commercial searches coming right around the corner.
A Canadian software company has developed www.CUBElease.com, a Google Earth for commercial real estate. The company uses data from Google Earth in combination with information from building owners, tenants, commercial brokerage houses, etc. that ultimately creates a virtural commercial real estate experience.
This image is a sreenshot of what a typical cityscape might look like. The office space for lease is shown and lease rates can be seen in the red bars. It's pretty self explanatory, the higher the red bars, the higher the rent.
We will be tracking Cube Lease's developments and when they might be releasing their first city information. Stay tuned for more information or as always, we welcome your tips!
Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Fri, Apr 30, 2010 @ 03:42 PM
Some of the best real estate developments in the Bay Area have been a direct result of successful partnerships between Developers and Public Agencies. A Public/ Private partnership can be ideal but as with any partnership, has its challenges.
For as many cities who are updating their General Plans, undergoing major redevelopments and especially those prioritizing transit oriented developments, it's going to be the cooperation between private entities and public agencies to accomplish truly successful projects.
An upcoming event sponsored by the Urban Land Institute will address the "ins" and "outs" of these partnerships. Speakers include:
- Bijal Patet, VTA Deputy Director and Property development &Management;
- Jeff Ordway, BART Real Estate Development, Head of Transit Oriented Development;
- Brian Fitzpatrick, SamTrans, Real Estate &Property Development Manager.
Moderated by: Jeff White, Avalon Bay
What's also neat about the event is that it's being held at Legacy Partner's America Center which, if you haven't seen, is quite the spectacular San Jose Class A office building. It's one of those beautiful office buildings that can't be missed driving down Hwy 101 just South of Moffett Field. Good opportunity to see inside.
Free beer/ wine and appetizers will be served.
Register for the event here: EVENT REGISTRATION
You can also call ULI's Customer Service at 800-321-5011.
Here is the full flyer if you want more information: FLYER
Posted by Josh Burroughs on Thu, Apr 22, 2010 @ 07:36 PM
After City Redevelopment officials and City Leaders laid the ground work for future downtown development with approval of Measure A and then the Downtown Specific plan the City of Morgan Hill was ready to select a business partner to deliver on their vision.
Morgan Hill has been considering who they would select as a development partner for two key properties located on the east side of Monterey Street between 1st and 3rd Streets in downtown. Over 15 would be developers responded to the RFQ that was put out by City officials in the fall of 2009. City Ventures and Barry Swenson Builder were the two short listed finalists and tonight the Board unanimously approved Barry Swenson Builder as their Development Partner.
Barry Swenson Builder is thrilled to have the opportunity to partner on these sites with Morgan Hill. The team feels the site is ideal for mixed use development with an equal priority given to the residential and retail uses. Many of the Barry Swenson Builder team members live in South County and are very excited to work and play in their own backyard.
Ultimately it was local origins and long term vision for the sites that won Swenson the much sought after partnership with the City.
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If you have a potential property you would like to redevelop, >click here to contact our development department today and learn more about BSB Joint Venture Projects and how to find the smartest and best use for your property!