San José Downtown West Mixed-Use Plan

What if urban life and nature coexist in a new extension of San José?

SAN JOSÉ DOWNTOWN WEST MIXED-USE PLAN

On approximately 80 acres along San José’s Diridon Station — slated to become the largest multi-modal transit hub on the west coast — Google is pursuing a dense, mixed-use, transit-oriented extension of downtown San José, known as Downtown West.

SITELAB led the framework plan and design guidelines with the support of local and international design firms focused on creating a place authentically rooted in San José. Throughout this process, hundreds of hours were spent engaging with local agencies, stakeholders, and community members to better understand their needs and priorities.

SITELAB’s resulting framework proposes a mixed-use development devoting over half the site to housing, open space, arts, retail, and community uses to bring the project to life and ensure this new extension of downtown is not just for — but of San José.

Location / Date:
San José, CA / 2019-Present

Status:
Approved

Site area:
80 acres

Client:
Google and Lendlease

Design Collaborators:
West 8, Heatherwick Studio, Grimshaw Architects, KPF, Fougeron Architecture, SCB, Sherwood Design Engineers, H.T. Harvey & Associates, San Francisco Estuary Institute, Architectural Resources Group, Integral Group, Prior + Partners, ARUP, Nelson\Nygaard, HMH Engineers

In the News:
project website

City officials approve Downtown West

Downtown West gets unanimous approval from San José City Council

The mile-long site builds on existing context while delivering over 4,000 housing units, up to 7.3 million square feet of office, 500,000 square feet of retail and civic uses, and 15 acres of open space. Located at the edge of Downtown San José and at the confluence of the Guadalupe River, Los Gatos Creek, and transit gateway, Downtown West bridges its surrounding natural and urban environments to create a dense, active core with exceptional access to nature. The robust public realm network adds 3.5 miles of new and improved bicycle facilities and optimizes connections to nature, to transit, and to each of the nearby neighborhoods of San José.