Owners Courtney Smith and Brian Cramer fell in love with the old style charm of the project. Now they can reap the rewards at Purematter, a marketing & brand strategy company. Theirs is the first house in the After picture.
Leasing activity at our River Street Gardens project continues despite the troubled state of commercial property in the South Bay Area. Although it has taken over a year, there are currently only two buildings out of 9 that are available for lease. This is remarkable progress during these economic times, where “plug and play” is the catch phrase. It is definitely a buyer’s market, with businesses able to choose from a wide variety of inventory and do so on their terms.
The first tenant to sign a lease was Purematter, a new start-up marketing & brand strategy company. Courtney Smith and Brian Cramer fell in love with the old style charm of the project. They really like the fact that they have their own building; the McKean House, an 1880 Victorian Cottage.
Owners Courtney Smith and Brian Cramer fell in love with the
old style charm of the project. Now they can reap the rewards at
Purematter, a marketing & brand strategy company. Theirs is
the first house in the After picture.
The next tenant was Brandy Heddings of Oh-Two Spa & Salon. She occupies the Apra House. She is providing oxygen-enhanced supplements, massage, natural nails and hair care. The style and design of the 1885 Italianate False Front building complements the treatments and services they provide.
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Next to sign a lease was Zebra Hill Marketing, a corporation with offices in Washington State. They are leasing the Vinessa House, a 1921 Italianate structure. They also are in love with the project design and lay out.
Four months ago a call was received from Linda Cornish of Calhoun Financial. Apparently she had been waiting patiently for the project to come together. She has an existing home and company in Sacramento, but is working in the house three or four days a week. Linda invested over twenty thousand dollars in the tenant improvements. She contracted to have small hexagon tile work done in the bathroom, kitchen and rear entryway. The wood floors where sanded and stained and a wonderful paint scheme was devised for the interior. Her building, the 1890 Queen Anne style Prindiville House is one of the nicest buildings in our project. Linda is also an antiques dealer so when entering her space, you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.
In mid-January, we received our final inspection for the newest business to join our little community; they are Krystine Do and Linh Nguyen of California Home Mortgage. They came in and fell in love with the strength of the green Pozzo House. The space was already 90% complete so they just had to pick the flooring, add some data ports and they were ready to move in. This 1900 Queen Anne is in a prominent corner location adjacent to the Guadalupe River Park, currently under construction.
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Harry Nakagawara of Orsee Design Associates, a landscape architecture firm has selected the Wissman House, the largest of the two story units. Not only were they impressed with the design concept of the project, but also they love the location. This 1875 Italianate, one of the oldest houses in the River Street district, looks directly out toward the river. Work will now proceed to complete the interior to their specifications.
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Finally, there is hope that a deli will be moving into the old Prindiville Corner Store, right on the corner of North Almaden and Julian Street. This will give hungry visitors a convenient place to go for lunch. The two remaining buildings are the Rudolph House, an 1875 Gabled Ell Victorian farmhouse, and our Estrabou Barn, a carriage house that dates to the 1880’s.
If you have a need for the type of services offered by the businesses at River Street Gardens, I would encourage you to seek them out and thank them for sharing in our vision of River Street. If you are a small business owner thinking about relocating, or know of someone who is, please contact Mark Saia at 408-639-4622 to make arrangements to tour one of San Jose’s most unique real estate spots.
Tell him that PAC*SJ sent you!
The River Street Group consists of thePreservation Action Council San Jose, Core Development, Putnam Consulting, Barry Swenson Builder, Middlebrook Gardens and Michael Garavaglia, Architect and have come together to create a historic district containing small office or retail space for lease in a neighborhood restored to depict San Jose, circa 1880-1910.
Article by Andre Luthard, Photos and Interviews by Jennifer Emmer
Contuinity Spring 2003