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Coverage of Catalyze SV 

In the Media

Here's media coverage of Catalyze SV's work: 

November 27, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose developer pays millions to reduce affordable housing"

November 21, 2024: The Silicon Valley Voice, "Housing Complex Will Add 2,600 Apartments To Santa Clara"

 

November 8, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "North San Jose development includes affordable housing"

 

October 21, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose leaders prime old golf course for development"

 

October 11, 2024: Mercury News, "Pleasant Hills Golf Course could add 1,700+ homes but housing advocates want more" (paywall)

However, while the developers have submitted initial plans for 1,716 units on the 115-acre site, some neighborhood and housing advocates have questioned whether San Jose is missing the mark in not requiring higher-density housing on the property.

“We need to be building and planning for the future,” said Jake Wilde, manager of development projects at Catalyze SV. “As is, this project is just more of the status quo that will only have to be mounting negative impacts from decades of urban sprawl. Pleasant Hills presents a unique opportunity. Please make sure that we use the site and land wisely in a way that can bring the greatest benefit to the most people.”

 

September 15, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "West San Jose development cuts affordable apartments"

 

August 21, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "Silicon Valley housing coalition rethinks future without bond measure"

August 19, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "Campbell unsure about affordable housing policy change"

 

August 5, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "Op-ed: Former golf course offers unique opportunity for housing"

 

August 2, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose allows sale of backyard homes as condos"

 

July 25, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "Rooftop bar and restaurant envisioned for Willow Glen"

 

July 17, 2024: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose residents say 7-story apartments too big for Willow Glen"

 

February 27, 2024: Mercury News, "Housing highrise could sprout in San Jose near the two mega malls" (paywall) 

 

The developers are scheduled to present the project to the Catalyze SV organization, which intends to assess and score the project. The meeting is a virtual gathering that’s scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Feb. 28, starting at 6:30 p.m.

“This is a high-density development in that area, which is exciting,” said Rocio Molina, interim deputy director with Catalyze SV. Catalyze SV attempts to engage community members, developers and political leaders regarding projects in the South Bay in hopes of improving the real estate endeavors.

February 21, 2024: Mercury News, "Residents ponder prospect of thousands of homes at San Jose golf site" (paywall)

 

“This is a unique opportunity,” said Rocio Molina, interim deputy director with Catalyze SV, a group that seeks to keep local communities engaged and active on an array of real estate development projects in the South Bay.

“With such a large piece of land available for development, it’s a great chance to have a project that can create the housing the community needs,” Molina said.

November 29, 2023: Mercury News, "Santa Clara County moves forward with 100% affordable downtown San Jose development" (paywall)

But not all housing advocates agree with the county’s current approach. Rocio Molina, the interim deputy director for nonprofit Catalyze SV, said that while the organization and its members are excited to see the county moving forward with a 100% affordable project, they have concerns over the project’s height.

The nonprofit, focused on community engagement, scores projects on a scale of one to five, with an average score of 3.5 needed in order to support the project. After reviewing the project in October, Catalyze SV’s members gave it an average score of 3.2, citing concerns largely about the height.

'We’re not seeing the highest density possible there, which we consider a missed opportunity to build the most number of affordable housing units possible in order to eat at that deficit that the area is experiencing,' Molina said."

 

November 18, 2023: Mercury News, "Developing Change" (paywall)

Development-minded nonprofit Catalyze SV has its second annual Catalyzing Change awards coming up Nov. 30 at the San Jose Woman’s Club, where it will honor people, projects and groups that embody its community-based values. The public is invited to vote on the awards, with categories that include Most Improved Development, Best Community Engagement by a Nonprofit and Catalyzing Placemaking Award for a new development. You can make your voice heard at pollev.com/csv418.

San Jose State Professor Emeritus Terry Christensen, who recently retired as host of CreaTV’s “Valley Politics” show, is among the 11 nominees for the Catalyzing Community Leader Award. If Christensen ends up winning, it would make for quite a night for him as it’s taking place the same time as his CreaTV retirement celebration at Open San Jose.
 

September 21, 2023: Daily Kos, "Collaborative Solutions to the Housing crisis. Full Circle Fund hosting Catalyze SV in SF"

 

August 31, 2023: San Jose Spotlight, "Santa Clara officials approve more housing near university"

August 30, 2023: The Silicon Valley Voice, "Another General Plan Amendment To Bring Santa Clara Another High-Density Housing Complex"

 

August 8, 2023: San Jose Spotlight, "Knight Foundation without San Jose director for nearly a year"

 

July 10, 2023: San Jose Spotlight, "Affordable apartment complex coming to Santa Clara"

 

April 25, 2023: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose seeks resident input on golf course redevelopment"

 

April 8, 2023: Mercury News, "Will the Burbank Theater survive as part of San Jose?" (paywall)

Indeed, Alex Shoor — executive director of Catalyze SV, a nonprofit group that advocates for smart development — also spoke in favor of the annexation at the city council meeting and expressed his organization’s interest in being part of any community engagement process.

 

“Too often in San Jose, we lose hope and say that this will all get paved over or this needs to go away,” said Shoor, who often checked on the building when he worked in Yeager’s office, “and I think there is a real possibility for this site to be a vibrant new place again that balances the future and economic development with the celebration of the past.”

 

If both the Preservation Action Council and Catalyze SV are on the same side of an issue, it’s probably worth looking at twice.

 

April 3, 2023: Streetsblog SF, "This Week: SFMTA Board Votes on Valencia, Future of SB 9, Biking at Night"

 

March 3, 2023: Mercury News, "Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided

(paywall)

After the meeting, Alex Shoor, the co-founder and executive director of pro-housing nonprofit Catalyze SV, said it wasn’t surprising that residents were divided on the subject, but that he was taken aback  by the intensity of the division in the room that night.

 

“One of the things we as facilitators always dread almost occurred, which was the meeting facilitators having to shut it down,” Shoor said. “Large groups tend to breed that kind of temperature rising, and for people who are supportive of the project, it could have a real chilling effect.”

 

February 14, 2023: Streetsblog SF, "Guest Post: Introducing SPOT SJ – A New Partnership for a More Vibrant San Jose"

 

February 2, 2023: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose plans affordable housing for foster youth"

 

January 22, 2023: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose school districts need to foster parent involvement"

 

January 21, 2023: KCBS Radio, "Un-paving paradise(featured at the 12-minute, 30-second mark)

 

January 4, 2023: KQED, "Matt Mahan Begins His First Year As San Jose’s New Mayor" (featured at the 14-minute, 30-second mark)

 

December 14, 2022: Mercury News, "Tens of thousands of San Jose housing units can be built after city and county dodge lawsuit" (paywall)

Housing advocates applauded the decision on Wednesday, though some felt that the traffic infrastructure portion of the deal moves the region away from a more sustainable transportation future.

 

“I think the unintended consequences will be to encourage more driving,” said Alex Shoor, executive director of the nonprofit Catalyze SV. “But at the end of the day, this was the right deal.”

December 2, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "These towers will reshape block near San Jose City Hall"

November 19, 2022: Mercury News, "Celebrating Changemakers" (paywall)

 

Catalyze SV is a relatively new organization, but it’s already making an impact on San Jose’s future. It aims to engage the community and developers to influence projects so they get built in a way that’s aligned with the values of equity, sustainability and vibrancy, and you can tell the group is making a difference from the crowd that showed up Thursday night at the San Jose Woman’s Club for the inaugural Catalyzing Change Awards.

Executive Director Alex Shoor handed out awards to developers, elected officials, community organizations and even media members who have helped create change in the community, with awardees including San Jose Jazz, Garden at the Flea, CommUniverCity and Google. Addressing the crowd, San Jose Mayor Liccardo said Catalyze SV has come a long way since it started as an experiment in Shoor’s living room, expanding to a citywide engagement player that doesn’t always come to the city council meetings to object to projects.

November 19, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "Santa Clara approves contentious affordable housing project"

 

November 15, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "Op-ed: Maximize building heights to make more affordable homes"

 

November 7, 2022: Streetsblog SF, "This Week: Bike the Vote, Post-Election Recap, Light up the Night"

November 4, 2022: Shelterforce, "Have the YIMBYs Evolved?"

October 18, 2022: KQED, "Election 2022: Key Races to Watch in and around San Jose"

 

September 28, 2022: Mercury News, "Santa Clara City Council dodges decision on affordable housing project" (paywall)

 

“People just have those fears, and that’s what they immediately…without maybe having all the information at their disposal, latch onto,” said Alex Shoor, the executive director of the nonprofit Catalyze SV, a strong supporter of the project.

“We hear them in pretty much every community we work in,” Shoor said. “It seems to be a little louder on this project, but there’s so much education that has to go into it — about what affordable housing actually is, everything from ‘hey, here’s the kinds of professions these people have,’ to things like ‘affordable housing can have positive effects on property values.”

“Everyone deserves a chance to live here, to be able to afford to live here  — being in California is incredible, and everyone deserves a piece of the California dream in which we all belong,” Shoor said. “And the only way we can all live here and all belong is if we build housing for people of different income levels.”

 

September 27, 2022, San Jose Spotlight, "Santa Clara residents say no to affordable housing"

 

September 13, 2022, San Jose Spotlight, "UPDATE: San Jose annexes Cambrian Park Plaza for redevelopment"

 

August 8, 2022: ABC7 News, "San Jose City Council to vote on VTA transit land for more affordable housing in Bay Area"

 

August 6, 2022: Mercury News, "Many Bay Area school board meetings are back in person, but not all are allowing parents to participate remotely" (paywall) 

"Moving forward, groups like Catalyze SV, a nonprofit focused on community engagement, recommend that local agencies continue to operate in hybrid formats 'to ensure that no community is left behind on critical conversations,' Community Engagement Manager Rocio Molina said.

 

'At this point in time,' she added,' flexibility and adaptability are the name of the game when it comes to community engagement'.”

 

August 6, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose officials to weigh housing at VTA train station"

August 5, 2022: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "What It Takes To Become a Village" (paywall) 

"Catalyze SV, a San Jose-based advocacy group that reviews development proposals, gave the Cambrian Village plan generally positive marks. But it initially scored the project a 2 out of 5 on affordability, because the development isn't meeting the city's guidelines and Kimco isn't setting aside more housing for people with incomes significantly lower than the area’s median.

 

The group later bumped up its affordability score on the project to a 3 after the developer doubled the number of affordable rental homes from 15 to 30. But Catalyze SV doesn’t think Cambrian Village should get any affordability points for its granny units, because there will be no restrictions on what their owners will be able to charge for them in rent.

 

What Kimco has set aside is 'affordable housing,' according to the textbook definition, said Alex Shoor, Catalyze’s executive director. 'But,' he added, it’s not addressing 'the reality of life in Silicon Valley'."

July 22, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "Here’s what issues are heading to San Jose City Council"

 

July 13, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "UPDATE: San Jose commissioners approve Cambrian Park Plaza redesign"

 

July 11, 2022: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Developers seek OK for Cambrian Park Plaza revamp" (paywall)

 

"Foley's office and community advocacy group Catalyze SV are working to lobby for a lowered income range."

 

June 28, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "No more parking incentives for electric cars in San Jose"

 

June 22, 2022: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "City Council approves redevelopment of El Paseo de Saratoga to add nearly 1,000 residences" (paywall) 

"During the City Council's Tuesday meeting, dozens of construction workers and San Jose residents voiced support for the project, saying the construction would bring in new jobs, housing and amenities to the neighborhood. The project also has support from advocacy groups such as the environmental group Green Belt Alliance [sic], Catalyze SV and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group."

 

June 14, 2022: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "San Jose officials to decide whether to update parking policies for new developments" (paywall) 

"Alex Shoor, the executive director of community group Catalyze SV, also backed the parking review. 'For all of us who want less traffic, we should be supporting efforts to encourage biking, walking, public transit & other ways of getting around. That’s what TDM measures do,' Shoor said."

With inflation and supply chain challenges brought on, in part, by the Covid-19 pandemic, parking spaces are 'ridiculously costly' for developers — and that cost is then passed onto small businesses and residents, Shoor said."

 

June 11, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose could cut parking requirements for new developments"

 

June 10, 2022: Mercury News, "San Jose looking to do away with parking requirements in new developments" (paywall)

"For Alex Shoor, the executive director of the community engagement nonprofit Catalyze SV, getting rid of parking minimums would give developers the flexibility to build more much-needed housing because of the high costs associated with including parking.

 

According to a 2020 report from the urban think tank SPUR, a parking garage can cost about $50,000 per space to build. That number balloons to $75,000 a space if the garage extends underground — money that the city could ask developers to devote to things like more green spaces alongside new developments or other community benefits, according to Shoor.

'You’re not going to be able to provide all those things if you have to spend all that money on unused, unnecessary parking spaces,' he added."

 

June 8, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "Op-ed: A better balanced transportation policy in San Jose benefits the environment"

 

May 26, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose’s El Paseo de Saratoga explores massive redesign"

 

May 19, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "Reader Panel: San Jose voters discuss election priorities"

 

May 17, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "UPDATE: San Jose officials approve Measure E spending plan"

 

March 31, 2022: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Latinx Leadership Awards 2022: A young generation stepped up to protect their community when development threatened to displace their way of life" (paywall)

“ 'I think any time a group of people who have not always been represented in the government or in the community, stand up and form and speak with one voice – that itself is a very powerful thing,' said Alex Shoor of local development advocacy group Catalyze SV, a coalition member supporting the vendors association ...

'That was a huge windfall in terms of vendor protections,' Shoor said. 'That happened in a short period of time after so long of nothing happening. People had basically resigned themselves to the loss of the market'.” 

 

March 22, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "UPDATE: Santa Clara County buys land for more affordable housing"

 

March 8, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose sees barriers to building affordable housing"

 

March 1, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "How is San Jose spending its Google money?"

 

February 26, 2022: Mercury News, "Next Stage of Development" (paywall)

"Community-based organization Catalyze SV was born just over five years ago in a San Jose living room, and now it’s receiving its second multi-year grant from the Knight Foundation to continue its work on engaging residents on planned development projects. The $249,080 investment over three years has allowed Catalyze SV to hire Rocio Molina as its community engagement manager, becoming the group’s second full-time staff member.

Catalyze SV has held 'community visioning workshops' on projects since 2018, and Molina will consult with other organizations to help them use those engagement strategies and create more productive conversations.

'Since day one, Catalyze SV has focused on getting more of the community involved in talking constructively about development,' said Alex Shoor, the group’s founder and executive director. “When we started, our focus was on advocating for more inclusive, collaborative community engagement. Now, we also have a business that functions as a consultancy to help achieve this goal".”

 

February 11, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "Advocates push for more low-income housing in San Jose project"

 

February 4, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "New state law yields no housing projects in San Jose—yet"

 

January 12, 2022: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Catalyze SV Gives Failing Grade to Tower Project" (paywall, excerpt below)

"Of the scores it gave the project, its lowest — a 2 out of 5 — was for community. Catalyze blasted Urban Catalyst for not presenting to its members and for not showing "a commitment to engage with the larger community."

 

After reviewing the Apollo, Catalyze was left questioning why the developer was moving forward on it or other projects without community input, Shoor said.

'In a city as diverse as San Jose, this is a bad precedent and a bad practice,' Catalyze said on its scorecard."

 

January 3, 2022: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose Flea Market payment opens door to vendors’ future"

 

December 28, 2021: SF YIMBY, "Approval + New Renderings For 605 South Second Street High-Rise, Downtown San Jose"

 

December 16, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "After five years, San Jose’s Cambrian Village back on track"

 

December 12, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "Regina Williams understands affordable housing in Silicon Valley"

 

November 26, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose’s Cambrian Park Plaza inches toward redevelopment"

November 22, 2021: Mercury News, "‘The can gets kicked down the road’: Santa Clara Council struggling with meeting management" (paywall)

"Alex Shoor, the executive director of community engagement nonprofit Catalyze SV, believes the problem is two-fold: the council is dealing with a new makeup and dynamic with newly-elected members and there’s still an ongoing pandemic.

 

'Democracy was never a stopwatch with a set end time, yet with a dozen ways for elected officials to engage with their constituents at all hours, including via video from their own home, local government can now feel like a time loop in which we are all constantly interacting,' he said. 'Nonetheless, there remains a pretty clear time-honored truth — most humans don’t stay up to midnight, nor make the best decisions at that hour.'

 

Shoor said that meetings in cities across the region have been going longer, partially because remote meetings have encouraged participation through accessibility."

 

November 22, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose mayoral candidate wants to upend state housing law"

 

November 16, 2021: Mercury News, "Santa Clara County Board gives thumbs up to healthcare expansion, affordable housing sites" (paywall)

"Alex Shoor, executive director of the advocacy and community engagement group Catalyze SV, said that the county’s approval of the two sites shows it is 'working well' with California’s goal of streamlining such projects. His one critique of the process, however, was that the developer working on the South Bascom Ave. project reduced the height of the proposed complex by one story after neighbors raised concerns, effectively slashing about 10 units. 'If the county is gonna invest all this money,' he said 'the county should get the most bang for its buck'.”

 

November 11, 2021: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Community Impact Awards: Where workers get a slice of the action" (paywall)

"The New York native’s bent toward greater community good is reflected in both his public involvement and his own business. Vartan’s work on Agrihood led him to co-found CatalyzeSV, a grant- and membership-funded advocacy group that has been engaged by the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara to conduct community-engagement events to help the cities get residents’ feedback on prospective projects such as Google’s proposed Downtown West development in San Jose and the El Paseo de Saratoga redevelopment."

October 22, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose Flea Market vendors upset with long-term rent option"

October 20, 2021: The Silicon Valley Voice, "El Camino Real Specific Plan Gets Changed Again"

 

September 9, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "Panel supports idea to drop San Jose parking requirements"

 

August 6, 2021: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Guest commentary: We’re losing our civic leaders, and it’s irrevocably injuring us" (paywall)

"How do we replace Mark & others’ civic investment and talent? We can’t. These leaders wanted to stay here, yet we couldn’t enable them to do so.

 

Some who left molded an organization I co-founded, Catalyze SV, to shape a more sustainable, vibrant and equitable Silicon Valley. They sought to make it easier for them and others to live here. Alas, our work isn’t working quickly enough. It’s as if right when Catalyze SV links with a new advocate, a different one breaks off, leaving town."

 

June 4, 2021: Mercury News, "$2 million deal offered for San Jose Flea Market vendors facing displacement" (paywall)

“The city and the Bumb family today are basically starting what Google started three years ago, so both parties need the time to get this right,” said Alex Shoor, executive director of Catalyze SV, a nonprofit that advocates for more community engagement in development.

June 4, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose Flea Market vendors protest development plan"

May 25, 2021: San Francisco Chronicle, "Google's San Jose mega-campus wins city approval. Will it change Bay Area development?" (paywall)

“The precedent is incredibly important,” said Alex Shoor, executive director of public policy advocacy group Catalyze SV. “Our hope is that Google is the first, best example of the future of Silicon Valley workplaces.”

 

April 30, 2021: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Updated plan for San Jose's Diridon Station Area advances to a final vote" (paywall)

Alex Shoor of Catalyze SV, a nonprofit that advocates for community engagement in development, said during the meeting that the need to house every San Jose resident is greater than the needs of individual homeowners.

 

"This is a place befitting of density for the next hundred years because it is near our downtown and because it is so close to transit," said Shoor, Catalyze SV's co-founder and executive director. "I beseech you to continue to put the needs of our city first by allowing taller buildings in places where they are most appropriate."

 

March 31, 2021: San Jose Inside/Metro, "New Urban Village Development Threatens to Displace San Jose’s 60-Year-Old Berryessa Flea"

 

March 26, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose development leaves residents, local groups wanting more"

 

March 25, 2021: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose commission delays decision on flea market development"

March 23, 2021: SF YIMBY, "San Jose Planning Commission Will Vote On Berryessa BART Urban Village Plan"

March 17, 2021: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Owner of El Paseo de Saratoga replaces plans to build a school with extra residences and commercial space" (paywall)

"We're very happy to see Sand Hill be responsive to our members and other community members by including more homes on site instead of a school," said Alex Shoor, co-founder and executive director of Catalyze SV, in a Tuesday email. Catalyze SV is a local nonprofit that advocates for community engagement in development.

Last October, the organization gave the El Paseo project a score of 3.5 out of 5; for context, a score of 3.5 is required for Catalyze SV to consider supporting a proposed development. That number was based on an evaluation of its level of affordability, its density and its level of vibrancy, among other criteria. Catalyze SV has asked Sand Hill to provide it with an update of all the new elements in its El Paseo proposal, which may lead the nonprofit's members to re-score the project, Shoor said.

 

January 6, 2021: CreaTV San Jose's Valley Politics show, "Valley Politics January 2021 Catalyze SV, DANG and SV Rising Evaluate Google’s Downtown West Project"

 

December 10, 2020: San Jose Spotlight, "Google project won’t improve San Jose’s jobs-housing imbalance much, officials say"

December 7, 2020: Mercury News, "Google village in downtown San Jose gets high marks from key group"

 

October 9, 2020: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Parking limits, new freeway interchange eyed for Market Park project in North San Jose"

Alex Shoor, executive director of Catalyze SV, a nonprofit that advocates for community engagement in development, said in a Wednesday email that if those spaces are primarily in new above-ground parking garages, policy organizations TransForm & SPUR estimate that they could cost the developer over a half-billion dollars to build. Catalyze SV co-authored a letter dated July 13 outlining 12 organizations' priorities for the development of the South Village, one of which was fewer parking spaces.

"Imagine how many more homes, jobs or other community benefits we could have if the developer greatly reduced the number of parking spaces," Shoor said. "Do we really want to build parking for nearly 11,000 new cars? Next to a new BART station? Next to a bike path & trail? Next to a major VTA bus depot? We can do better." 

 

August 25, 2020: San Jose Spotlight, "Update: San Jose Advances High-tech Ideas to Connect Transportation Hubs"

 

July 31, 2020: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Home on the Farm - Kind of"

Vartan is also the co-founder of Catalyze SV, a nonprofit that advocates for community engagement in development. 

 

July 23, 2020: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose Takes Pride in its Diversity but has no In-house Translators"

 

July 15, 2020: San Jose Spotlight, "Santa Clara Extends Agreement for Student and Workforce Housing Project"

 

July 14, 2020: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "More Housing, Less Parking, Please: A Dozen Organizations Call for Changes to San Jose's Largest Under-construction Project"

Alex Shoor, executive director at Catalyze SV, a nonprofit that advocates for community engagement in development, said in a Tuesday email that one reason Catalyze SV chose to co-author the letter at this time is that "we want to give the developer plenty of advance notice on our positions & plenty of time to initiate redesigns." 

 

"When an array of local organizations ... come together and speak with one voice, that's a powerful message on what needs to be built," Shoor said. "We've got to be more forward-thinking than we've been in the past on development in Silicon Valley if we are going to thrive in the years ahead." 

 

June 26, 2020: San Jose Inside/Metro, "Catalyze SV Celebrates San Jose’s Approval of Meridian Project"

 

June 25, 2020: The Mercury News, "400-square-foot ‘Micro apartments’ Coming to Downtown San Jose near Google Village"

 

June 23, 2020: San Jose Inside/Metro, "San Jose Poised to OK 226-Unit Mixed-Use Meridian Project"

 

June 18, 2020: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Boomtown Berryessa"

 

June 16, 2020: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Crane Watch: San Jose's Largest Under-Construction Project Gets an Update"

Some in the community, such as Alex Shoor, executive director at Catalyze SV, a nonprofit that advocates for community engagement in development, said they believe Market Park's southern half, dubbed the "South Village," can support a greater number of homes — up to 3,450 units — and more office space — up to 3.4 million square feet — than what's currently proposed.

 

One of the ways it could do so is by reducing the number of proposed parking spaces, Shoor said; between 7,960 and 14,250 spaces would be located in the South Village if its current plan is approved. "We don’t need endless cars parking, we need tons of people walking," he said. "Since most of the proposed parking spaces would be in parking garages, it’s important to think about how much money would be spent building parking spots instead of community benefits we can all enjoy."

 

June 9, 2020: San Jose Inside/Metro, "Op-Ed: Throughout the Pandemic, Government Can Still—and Better—Engage with Community"

June 4, 2020: Valley Politics on CreaTV San Jose, "San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo; Guest Questions; Remembering Bob Kieve" [our Executive Director Alex Shoor asks the Mayor a question at the 23-minute mark]

 

April 29, 2020: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose Council Approves Big Affordable Housing Project in Willow Glen"

February 28, 2020: San Jose Spotlight, "Plans for San Jose’s El Paseo de Saratoga shift as residents weigh in"

 

February 12, 2020: The Mercury News, "365-unit affordable housing project to be built near San Jose’s Diridon Station"

 

January 22, 2020: San Jose Inside/Metro, "Catalyze SV Fights NIMBY Backlash by Forging Alliances Between Residents, Developers"

 

January 10, 2020: The Mercury News, "San Jose housing development planned near downtown includes no affordable units, limited parking"

 

December 12, 2019: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Destination: Santa Clara"
 

July 25, 2019: San Jose Inside/Metro, "Catalyze SV Hires Alex Shoor as Its First-Ever Executive Director

July 23, 2019: The Mercury News: "Catalyze SV Continues Growth"

July 9, 2019: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose: Green Party candidate to challenge Councilwoman Dev Davis"

June 19, 2019: National Public Radio, "Google Pledges $1 Billion For Affordable Housing

June 18, 2019: KQED, "Google Pledges $1 Billion to Help Fight Bay Area Housing Crisis It Helped Create"

 

June 7, 2019: CityLab, "The Largest Co-Housing Building in the World Is Coming to San Jose"

 

April 21, 2019: San Jose Spotlight, "San Jose leaders to mull improving public outreach on development"

April 8, 2019: San Jose Spotlight, "Providing food and child care: Ideas to boost civic engagement in San Jose

April 2, 2019: CityLab, "How the Country’s Hottest Rental Market Is Trying to Cool Down"

 

January 31, 2019: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Santa Clara approves 361-home development centered around urban farm"

 

January 30, 2019: San Jose Spotlight, "Santa Clara approves first-of-its-kind housing with urban farm"

 

January 30, 2019: The Mercury News, "Housing with a side of veggies: Unique development approved in Santa Clara

 

November 7, 2018: The Mercury News, "Nearly 700 homes eyed near San Jose's Winchester Mystery House"

 

July 11, 2018: San Jose Inside, "CEQA Racket Extracts 11th Hour Payoffs Amidst Housing Crisis"

 

June 12, 2018: Palo Alto Daily Post, "50-Story Building Proposed in South Bay"

 

May 29, 2018: Diablo Magazine, "Generation Exodus"

 

May 3, 2018: Bay Area News Group, "Stripe gives $1 million to pro-development YIMBY group tackling Bay Area housing shortage"

 

January 26, 2018: Silicon Valley Business Journal, "Exclusive: Chinese developer to start studying 10.5 million-square-foot project for old Yahoo site

"Kirk Vartan, co-founder at advocacy group Catalyze SV, on Tuesday asked city officials to move the proposal forward. Catalyze [SV] is a fairly new group aiming to connect city leaders, developers and the community early in the planning process for projects in Silicon Valley. The group says it would like to work with Kylli, the city and the community to plan for green building and design practices, local retailers and transportation options. 'I’m just amazed that this is happening here, Vartan said. 'This is an incredible opportunity that is being put in front of you'.”

 

December 21, 2017: San Jose Inside/Metro, "Knight Foundation Awards More than $1 Million in Grants to 11 Organizations in San Jose"
 

November 12, 2017: Bay Area News Group, "‘Homes for human beings’: Millennial-driven anti-NIMBY movement is winning with a simple message"

 

October 2017: Valley Politics, Episode #34.

 

 

September 20, 2017: Mercury News, "San Jose’s Stockton Avenue urban village gets neighbors’ nod"

 

June 14, 2017: Presentation at SPUR, "The YIMBYs Next Door"

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