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JUNE 2016  
FEATURE STORY
Kim Walesh, OED Director, being interviewed by KNTV's Scott Budman at the LeEco opening.
/ LE ECO OPENS US HQ IN SAN JOSE
#northsj

Mayor Sam Liccardo cut the ceremonial ribbon to welcome LeEco, a leading global internet company, to its new, 80,000 square foot North American headquarters in North San Jose. 

The April 28, 2016 grand opening was also attended by the Chinese Consul General in San Francisco and Kim Walesh, Director of the Office of Economic Development. When fully staffed, LeEco's facility in North San Jose will employ up to 800 people.

LeEco, known as "the Netflix of China," offers multiple consumer products and experiences, including smartphones, TVs, sports events, film and television productions and connected mobility More information on Le Eco is here..

For more information, contact  Reena Brilliot, Business Development Officer

JOBS
/ SJ RATED #2 IN US FOR JOBS - FORBES
#sjgrowth

On May 10, Forbes Magazine released its survey on the hottest job-creation markets in the country, and San José metro area was ranked #2, showing a 4.1% job growth rate in 2015, and a smoking 20.8% since 2010. 

San José was second to San Francisco metro, making the Bay area the epicenter of new jobs and career trajectories.The City of San José represents 51% of its metropolitan statistical area (MSA), while San Francisco is 19% of its MSA, which includes San Mateo County.

Says Forbes: "While speculation is mounting that they're overheating, the tech boom is still creating jobs at a rapid pace in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, placing them atop our annual assessment of  The Best Cities For Jobs for the third year in a row."  See the full story here .

For more information, contact Jeff Ruster, Director of Strategic Partnerships.

DOWNTOWN
SPUR TRACES TURNING POINT FOR DOWNTOWN SJ
 GROWTH
#dtsj

In an insightful and fact-filled article that details the increasing development and jobs-related activity in Downtown San José, SPUR outlines the commercial and high-density residential development that is transforming our city center. 

The report describes not just the size of the transformation - 1,900 residential units under construction and almost two million square feet of commercial office space in the pipeline - but also the nature of the new buildings that feature public spaces, "human scale" streetscapes and pedestrian amenities. 

It's all part of a national trend towards living and working in urban centers that are well-served with local and regional transit options.

Read the full report here.

For more information, contact Tina Kapoor, Downtown Coordinator..

SMALL BUSINESS
/ SAN JOSE IS "BEST SMALL BUSINESS CITY IN AMERICA"

A company that specializes in lending to emerging businesses, Biz2Credit surveyed more than 55,000 businesses with fewer than 250 employees across the country. 

San José  was rated the best on a score sheet that included rate of small business creation, tax climate and talent pool.

Looking at 268 companies in San José that had applied for loans on the Biz2Credit platform, they found that fully 148 were brand-new companies. GDP growth in San José was 6.2 percent, according to the California Legislature's Legislative Analyst's Office, far surpassing the 2.4 percent GDP growth of the US as a whole. The CNBC coverage of this story can be seen here.

For more information, contact Chris Burton, Senior Business Development Manager
.
/ ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR VIETNAMESE BUSINESSES
 
Xuan Loc Ha, former director of the Vietnamese American Business Association has joined San José 's Small Business Ally Program to support English- and Vietnamese-speaking small businesses.

She joins Juan Borrelli, who has coached and served English- and Spanish-speaking business owners in the city since the program's inception in 2013.

Xuan is helping San José  entrepreneurs get business licenses, navigate the city permit process and more. The Ally program is located in the Permit Center in the first floor of City Hall, allowing the coaches to work closely with permit specialists and plan review staff to expedite the business owner's process.

For more information, contact Xuan Ha

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
/ SAN JOSE IS COMMERCIAL REMODELING POWERHOUSE

In its first annual ranking of US cities for commercial remodeling, BuildFax ranked San José  as #2, just behind Louisville, Kentucky, and ahead of Denver, Colorado. BuildFax is a company that delivers data-driven insights for smart property decisions.

The report noted that commercial remodeling across the country increased by 7% between December 2014 and December 2015, and has increased 26% since 2013.

"There's a host of reasons commercial remodeling is a popular choice. Not only does it help preserve cultural history, revitalize neighborhoods, and encourage urban density, but it's also a great eco-conscious alternative to new builds," said Holly Tachovsky, CEO and founder of BuildFax. "It also lends a certain hipness factor to an area." 

Background on the study can be found here.

For more information, contact Michelle Thong, Business Development Officer, OED.

/ EV PERMITS EASIER - SOME AVAILABLE ONLINE
#sjpermits

As more and more people seek freedom from the gas pump, EV charging stations are a popular upgrade for both homes and businesses. According to the California New Car Dealers Association, more than 200,000 plug-in electric vehicles are registered in California, with the Bay Area showing the highest concentration in the state. In San José, for fiscal year 2014-2015, the city issued 186 EV charging station permits, up 56 percent from the  prior year.

And now you can apply for the permit online, without needing to visit the Permit Center in City Hall. Just go to sjpermits.org, enter the property address, fill out the rest of the information, pay the fee and download the completed permit. In-person applications require a payment of $222, but the online permit offers the discounted price of $182.

Currently, the online application is only available for single-family and duplex properties, but the Permit Center offers no-appointment, over-the-counter service for applications for multi-family, commercial or industrial properties.

For more information,   contact Cheryl Wessling, Public Information Manager,  Planning , Building & Code Enforcement Dept.

/ EPLAN SERVICE AVAILABLE FOR HIGH-RISE DEVELOPMENTS
#sjpermits

Developers of high-rise projects in San José now can submit their building plans to the City electronically, making the application process more convenient and less costly. Instead of bringing  multiple sets of plans - sometimes weighing as much as 120 pounds in total - to the Permit Center at San José City Hall, customers who require plan review can submit their documents with the new " San José Eplans " service. 

Initially, the service is accepting plans only for high-rise developments. Later this year the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) will expand the service to other types of projects, including smaller commercial, industrial, and multifamily projects. 

Applicants interested in using San José Eplans should contact  Marc Garcia or call 408-535-7822.


RETAIL / LIFESTYLE
DIN TAI FUNG, FAMED TAIWANESE EATERY, OPENS AT
 VALLEY FAIR 

Starting early in the morning on Tuesday, May 10, food aficionados,
Pork XLB - soup dumplings - at Din Tai Fung
 Taiwanese cuisine addicts and curious foodies gathered in long lines to be among the first in the Bay Area to try Din Tai Fung's fabled dumplings and noodles.

Even though the new restaurant on the first floor of the recently expanded and refurbished Westfield Valley Fair seats 120, waits were as long as five hours all during the restaurant's first weeks.

Din Tai Fung has expanded from Taiwan to Japan, the United States, South Korea, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and Thailand.

Originally founded as a cooking oil retail business in 1958, Din Tai Fung was reborn as a steamed dumpling and noodle restaurant in 1972. Today, it offers a true "taste of Taiwan," and is globally known for its xiao long bao (soup dumplings}. Although the waits are long, diners are given pagers when they check in so that they can put the wait time to good use as they explore the expanded shopping center. 

PARIS BAGUETTE OPENS FIRST US FRANCHISE IN SJ

With hundreds of popular stores in the US and around the world, Paris Baguette has opened its first U.S. franchise in San José, at 1698 Hostetter Rd. #M, San José, CA 95131. 

Paris Baguette is an internationaL bakery operated by Korea's leading food company, SPC Group. The company  plans to operate 2,000 stores in the U.S. by 2030. More information on the new franchise can be found here.
.
For more information, contact  Chris Burton , OED Senior Business Development Manager.

INTERNATIONAL
/ SJC INAUGURATES LONDON SERVICE WITH BA

On May 7, 2016, Mayor Sam Liccardo and a full contingent of VIPS welcomed British Airways' first landing at Mineta San José  International Airport (SJC), the first of the daily nonstop services to London Heathrow Airport (LHR), featuring Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner equipment.

"London is the number one requested international destination from Mineta San José  International Airport, and we're pleased to now offer it to business and leisure travelers in our region,"  Mayor Liccardo said.

The SJC-LHR route has been a priority due to the strong business and leisure links between California's Silicon Valley and a growing tech industry in London and the United Kingdom. Silicon Valley companies have 428 locations throughout the UK. Conversely, UK companies have 118 locations in Silicon Valley, SJC airport said in a statement. 

On July 1, 2016, SJC's international service will be further expanded as Lufthansa inaugurates its service to Frankfurt.
 
The British Airways story was covered extensively in the media, for example, in this USA Today story
.
For more information on SJC air service, contact   Joe Hedges, OED's International  Programs Manager. 

Find Your Place
#WHYSJ
MostLivable.org recently ranked San Jose among the Top 10 Most Livable Large Cities.

  
HOW WE HELP

OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIGITAL BROCHURES & PRESENTATIONS

San Jose Brochure

/ Downtown San Jose Brochure

 

BUSINESS ASSISTANCE

PROGRAM FACT SHEETS

  
For more information, call 408.535.8181 or contact Elisabeth Handler
  
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