Front entrance of a new Starbucks near the corner of East Santa Clara Street and North Fifth Street in downtown San Jose. A new Starbucks coffee shop in a downtown San Jose housing tower is poised to be one of the key retail anchors of the complex of two residential highrises.
SAN JOSE — A newly opened Starbucks coffee shop in a downtown San Jose housing tower is poised to be one of the key retail anchors of the complex of two residential highrises.
The new store, which opened a few days ago, also can become a retail site that helps to revitalize that section of downtown San Jose as well as expand the traditional boundaries of the city’s urban core, city officials and a real estate executive believe.
The ubiquitous coffee house leased 2,500 square feet on the ground floor of Miro, a mixed-use housing, restaurant, retail, and commercial complex that features two residential towers in downtown San Jose.
“Starbucks is great for us, it’s great to get our first retail tenant,” said Ted McMahon, chief investment officer with Bayview Development Group, developer of the brand-new Miro towers.
Miro is located at 181 E. Santa Clara St. between North Fourth Street and North Fifth Street. It includes 630 residential units.
“We are pleased to see Starbucks investing in our East Santa Clara corridor and look forward to having a good neighbor at a downtown corner that needs activation,” San Jose City Councilmember Raul Peralez said in emailed comments.
The Starbucks is located at the East Santa Clara and North Fifth Street intersection and has entrances on both streets. It opened on Oct. 29.
The coffee shop employs about 25 people, “mainly San Jose State University students,” said Kelly Kline, chief economic development and land use officer with the office of San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Miro offers 19,000 square feet of commercial space that’s expected to include a restaurant site. The second-floor commercial site could be offices or retail.
“Miro extends the boundaries of where we consider the downtown to be,” McMahon said. “It adds to and extends the vibrancy of this neighborhood.”
