New San Jose hotel expands what it means to be downtown

There were cheers from multiple corners Monday at the ribbon cutting for the Townplace Suites by Marriott a -room extended stay hotel that s definitely a standout building on West San Carlos Street With the modern construction slowdown you can bet Urban Catalyst CEO Erik Hayden whose career has involved a lot of buildings in the West San Carlos corridor was happy to see the completion of the second of eight projects the company has in the pipeline San Jose City Councilmember Michael Mulcahy whose district includes the new hotel invited three arts leaders MACLA s Anjee Helstrup Alvarez San Jose Jazz s Brendan Rawson and CMT San Jose s Dana Zell to the opening because the transient occupancy tax the hotel will generate helps fund the arts San Jose Chamber of Commerce CEO Leah Toeniskoetter speaks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Townplace Suites by Marriott hotel in San Jose on Monday April Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and other city leaders noted they were happy to see more hotel rooms open in the downtown area to help ensure the city gets to keep big events like GTC Nvidia s big tech conference The site of the seven-story hotel on West San Carlos and Josefa streets was home to the Danzi Corner Grocery a century ago a large framed photo of the region is in the hotel lobby and more in recent months to businesses including Hub Cap City and Keystone Restaurant Supply I doubt any of them would have considered their locations downtown back in their day but that s changed as the footprint of what s considered downtown these days is a lot bigger than it was in the s or s A framed photograph of the Danzi Corner Grocery is displayed in the lobby of the Townplace Suites by Marriott hotel in San Jose at its ribbon cutting on Monday April The hotel occupies the same site as the grocery store did in the s Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group Highway had long been considered the western dividing line of downtown but that line s gotten very blurry starting with the opening of San Jose Arena now SAP Center in The Shark Tank had to be downtown so downtown had to get bigger Same for San Jose City Hall which was built just beyond the traditional Fourth Street boundary and the San Jose Area Center on Coleman Avenue This development was documented in the city s downtown transportation plan which expanded downtown to include the Japantown Spartan-Keyes and Calle Willow neighborhoods taking the western edge all the way to Diridon Station which encompasses Google s still-in-limbo Downtown West project The addition of these neighborhoods to downtown adds to its diversity for sure and it makes sense geographically The new hotel is just a -minute walk to the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and the arty SoFA district That s downtown enough for me COURAGEOUS GESTURE Forty guests raised nearly at a private lunch last Saturday to patronage the American Cancer Society s Courageous Kids operation and pediatric cancer research The event was held at Sorelle Italian Bistro in Campbell which Fran Rud opened in and passed on to her daughters Deanna Teresa and Lori after she lost her battle with cancer in They hosted the charity fundraiser in memory of their mother who was a big supporter of the Courageous Kids initiative Related Articles Cirque du Soleil lands back in San Jose with Echo San Jose Giants promise renovation won t destroy ballpark s charm Viva Calle San Jose marks years of open streets this weekend Let s hear it for Kevin Hauge s -year run at CMT San Jose San Jose couple s secret to years of marriage Tenacity The guest list was almost entirely women though there were a inadequate men in attendance including Campbell Vice Mayor Dan Furtado who stopped by to thank everyone for their generosity Courageous Kids will again be hosting around kids with cancer and their families from all over the state at California s Great America on Mother s Day May for the th year You can get more information on the event at www courageouskidsday org CAMPBELL SCRAMBLE The th annual Easter Eggstavaganza returns to the Campbell Locality Center on Saturday morning The free event sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Campbell includes face painting a petting zoo with bunnies music and photos with the Easter Bunny Oh and about plastic eggs scattered around the area center s soccer field that are usually scooped up in less than two minutes by the hordes of basket-wielding kids who make their charge to the opening notes of Who Let the Dogs Out The fun starts at a m Of unit that s followed by the Bunnies and Bonnets parade through downtown Campbell which is organized by Bombshell Boutique owner Brooke Ramirez and contributors from the Downtown Campbell Business Association It starts at noon at the VTA light rail station at Campbell Avenue