Santana Row in San Jose is a mixed-use complex with shopping, dining, a hotel, residences and office space.In 1999, when she first saw the site that would become Santana Row, Kelly Snider didn't know what she'd gotten herself into.
Snider wasn't the only one with her doubts. Almost from the moment Federal Realty first came up with the idea for what would become Santana Row until even after it opened, politicians, neighbors, business owners, investors and more had concerns, misgivings and worries about the project. And an office-focused expansion is well underway. Federal Realty this year finished construction on one new Class A building and had two more planned, which combined will bring 1 million square feet of office space to a project called Santana West that's just across Winchester Boulevard. The company is now looking for tenants for phase one.
By that time, many of the hallmark projects of the Downtown revitalization effort were already completed or underway. With Hammer in support of Santana Row, the City Council in 1997 approved the project. By the time Ron Gonzales took over as mayor in 1999, Federal Realty had the full backing of city establishment to go"full steam ahead" on the development, Snider said.
Santana row is a joke!