New “entertainment district” can help transform downtown San Jose economy: developer

SAN JOSE — A vibrant “entertainment district” could help revitalize and transform San Jose’s urban core and help revive the area’s economy as it attempts to recover from its coronavirus-induced maladies, a busy developer says.

An array of entertainment venues are already active and operating in downtown San Jose, said developer Gary Dillabough, who has ventured into the city’s urban core with an array of real estate projects.

“Downtown San Jose has over 25 exceptional venues and some of the best weather in the United States,” said Dillabough, co-founder and chief executive officer with Urban Community, a real estate development and investment firm.

Adding to San Jose’s pedigree: The city has the nation’s tenth-largest population; is home to or is near some of the world’s largest companies, including Adobe; and is the location of a top-notch educational institution, San Jose State University.

“San Jose’s residents and workforce deserve the best entertainment district in the state if not the western United States,” Dillabough said.

Despite the city’s advantages, Dillabough believes effective and consistent city leadership must now materialize to help usher in the reality of a new entertainment district.

“To achieve this goal is relatively straightforward,” Dillabough said. “What is required is a centralized organization that has the vision and expertise to attract and accommodate extraordinary talent.”

Team San Jose, the municipal organization that oversees the convention center and other downtown venues, is the type of city group that must begin to exercise that sort of leadership, in Dillabough’s view.

Without effective leadership, talented entertainers have all too often bypassed downtown San Jose and instead appear at venues in the South Bay’s suburbs, in Dillabough’s view.

“We should be able to outperform venues like the Mountain Winery (Saratoga), Mountain View Amphitheatre, San Francisco, Coachella and Bottlerock,” Dillabough said.

Other experts agree that the creation of a downtown-wide entertainment district makes sense.

“Anything that we can collectively do to improve the quality of life downtown makes sense,” said Mark Ritchie, president of Ritchie Commercial, a real estate firm. “Entertainment would be part of that.”

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, during a recently published interview with this news organization, stated that downtown San Jose must evolve into a place with compelling attractions and activities every day of the year.

“People need a predictable environment,” Mayor Mahan said in the interview. “Any time a resident or a visitor is in our downtown, there should be at least one really interesting thing to go do that day. 365 days a year of programming.”

To be sure, restaurants, cocktail lounges, night spots, live performance venues and theaters are all crucial pieces of the puzzle. Dillabough points to other key organizations that are bringing more people downtown, including San Jose’s comedy club.

“Groups like the San Jose Sports Authority, as well as SAP Center and the San Jose Sharks, have been building a strong foundation upon which to build the entertainment district,” Dillabough said. “We have one of the top-performing improvs in the country and one of the more cutting-edge and innovative operas. San Jose Jazz Festival is an extremely well-done event.”

Municipal officials and business leaders maintain that an entertainment district is vital to San Jose’s future growth and status.

“If we can develop this extraordinary entertainment district, it will be the first step in transforming San Jose into a world-class city,” Dillabough said.