Across a stretch of Santa Clara Street spanning from San Jose City Hall to San Pedro Square, new signage, fresh coats of paint, power-washed sidewalks and a slew of public art projects stand out.
For city officials and businesses owners, these efforts to spruce up downtown represent more than just improvements. They view the completion of the Santa Clara corridor beautification initiative as the beginning of a broader plan of “stitching districts” to create a more vibrant and cohesive downtown. And, not only for the marquee sporting events like the Super Bowl, March Madness and FIFA World Cup heading to Silicon Valley in 2026 but as part of the grander long-term vision to transform the area.
“This effort is really about restoring pride in our downtown, something we’ve been talking a lot about in recent years,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said. “It’s been a great pleasure to work with the Santa Clara Street business and property owners, who not only take pride in what they do to put their livelihoods on the line because they believe in the future of downtown San Jose. “…