Mercury News editorial: Liccardo plan for San Jose’s St. James Park deserves a chance
December 2, 2013
Mercury News Editorial
The latest of many plans to revive St. James Park in downtown San Jose will be the most complicated to pull off. But the idea for a performance pavilion linked to community partnerships has the best potential to finally reclaim the city’s venerable square as a lively civic space.
To give it momentum, the City Council needs to vote Tuesday to authorize working with neighbors and potential partners to explore the possibilities.
This is Councilman Sam Liccardo’s baby. He has worked for many months with the nonprofit Levitt Pavilions, which revives troubled urban areas with its performance formula and will bring more than $1.1 million to the table in San Jose over five years for construction and operations. Pursuing this should be a slam-dunk — but Liccardo is part of the fully one-half of the City Council running for mayor, so nothing is predictable.
The Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena, California. The pavilion that San Jose city councilman Sam Liccardo is proposing for St. James Park in downtown San Jose would look similar to this.
St. James Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and has been part of American and California history, from the infamous lynchings of 1933 to the stirring speech by Bobby Kennedy in 1968, just before he was killed. It is lined by elegant and historic buildings. But it has been the bane of the downtown for decades now — a magnet for drug users and dealers, violent crime and the homeless.
Now time is of the essence: Residential towers are rising nearby, including — soon, we hope — one right at the park. A new family court building will bring daytime visitors.
Levitt’s successful formula is to build a pavilion for frequent free performances planned with the help of a local nonprofit that would be formed to guide the project, as well as other community partners. The city has no cash to contribute, so private donations and perhaps new fees on development would be needed to supplement Levitt’s contribution.
Neighbors’ support is essential. While future residents might be drawn by a lively and safer park, current dwellers understandably worry about noise. Levitt is smart to require cities to include neighbors and others in the planning. Part of its point is to get people working together.
Liccardo’s predecessor in District 3, now County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, got a tot lot built to help reclaim St. James Park for families. The San Jose Downtown Association has tried many strategies. Historic preservationists have fought to protect the park and its surroundings. People care about this park, the city’s oldest.
With cranes rising once again, San Jose could finally be on the verge of the downtown revival it has sought for decades. The historic square should be a centerpiece of that, rather than a detraction.
No one knows if a deal with Levitt ultimately is possible. But if the details of financing and community support can be worked out, we’re pretty sure it would transform St. James Park. Finally.
Let’s give it a shot.
You can read the full story here.