Great cities have thriving downtowns, where the entire community can partake in joyful and affordable cultural experiences. That is why it is so exciting that San Jose, the national Levitt Foundation and Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose have a formal partnership to bring a state-of-the-art performance venue to St. James Park.
After 13 years of dreaming, designing and extensive community input, this vision now has momentum to become reality. Friends of Levitt San Jose has the vote of confidence from the city and Levitt Foundation to lead community efforts in programming this new music pavilion where all San Joseans are welcome — sparking civic pride, increasing public safety and adding to the economic vitality and arts and culture ecosystem in San Jose.
One reason this project has taken so long to complete is due to a 2020 lawsuit filed against the city by the Saint Claire Historic Preservation Foundation — part of a private men’s club that borders St. James Park. The city prevailed in that suit, with one exception: The state appellate court advised San Jose to modify language in its historic preservation ordinance to affirm its existing authority to weigh project benefits against potential detriments when considering projects being built in historic districts. The City Council is following this direction and will vote on the change Dec. 2 so that public benefit offerings, like the Levitt Pavilion, can be built for all residents of San Jose to enjoy…