SAN JOSE — Santana Row in San Jose is producing a fresh crop of stores and one restaurant, a sign that the destination South Bay neighborhood is still a magnet for an array of merchants.
The mixed-use development recently attracted two tech companies in deals that left the neighborhood’s newest office building 80% leased.
Now, Santana Row has landed several new merchants that broaden its offerings, according to Federal Realty Investment Trust, the principal owner and developer of the mixed-use neighborhood near the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and South Winchester Boulevard.
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Christian Irwin, Federal Realty’s vice president of West Coast leasing, believes the transactions show that both Santana Row and San Jose are in good economic shape.
“San Jose is thriving,” Irwin said. “The demand for great retail is alive and well.”
Here are some of the details of the recent leasing and expansion activity at Santana Row:
— Augustine Cafe and Restaurant. Bacchus Management Group, the long-time operators of Pizza Antica in Santana Row, has opened a new California Cuisine restaurant with French and Italian influences.
— Kohler has opened a new signature showroom that provides a wide array of products with varied finishes and styles.
— Blue Mercury, a retailer and spa chain that sells fragrance, skincare, hair care and cosmetics items.
— The Collective, a provider of office designs and office furniture.
— Evereve, a contemporary and curated women’s fashion and accessories boutique. Evereve took over the ground floor of the former H&M space.
— Sezane, a French brand that offers boutique clothing, leather goods and home goods.
Along with these additions, Santana Row is preparing for two new openings.
These are:
— Vuori, which is preparing an expanded showroom that will open in part of the H&M space next to Evereve.
— Paranga, a taqueria from the owners of El Jardin, Suspiro and Zazil restaurants. The dining spot will feature Tijuana-style street tacos with cocktails on draft. The restaurant also will feature an outdoor patio.
Federal Realty officials believe they have been able to weave together the restaurants, shops, housing, office spaces, hotel facilities and entertainment at Santana Row into a cohesive neighborhood.
Santana Row merchants can tap a solid base of office workers as customers. Office tenants can entice their workers with workplaces with access to top-notch amenities a short walk away, or even next door.
“Our product is very much in demand, and that includes the office component of our mixed-use communities in San Jose, Boston, and Bethesda (Maryland),” Don Wood, Federal Realty’s chief executive officer, said in February during a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Wood believes Santana Row and other key mixed-use neighborhoods owned and developed by Federal Realty are riding a wave of workers returning to the office.
“After years of uncertainty on the part of employers as to their future office space requirements, the back-to-office movement in the country is real and it’s fully underway,” Wood said during the conference call.
The new One Santana West office, an eight-story building that totals 370,000 square feet, is about 82% leased, Wood estimated during the conference call. Santana West is across the street from Santana Row and represents a major new addition to the mixed-use neighborhood.
Vuori and Paranga are both slated to open their doors sometime in the spring of 2025, according to Santana Row executives.
“We’re not following trends,” Irwin said. “We’re creating the moments that make people say ‘This is exactly where I want to be.’ So yes, San Jose is thriving.”
