{"id":8718151,"date":"2023-01-17T09:55:52","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T17:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8718151&preview=true&preview_id=8718151"},"modified":"2023-01-17T15:57:42","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T23:57:42","slug":"google-san-jose-downtown-village-tech-history-patty-inn-iron-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/17\/google-san-jose-downtown-village-tech-history-patty-inn-iron-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Google salvages and adapts older parts of downtown San Jose village"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SAN
Sunlite Bakery Bread Depot building at 145 South Montgomery Street in downtown San Jose, entrance. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SAN JOSE \u2014 Google has pushed ahead with efforts to salvage parts of older buildings as well as rescue complete historic structures that are within the footprint of the search giant\u2019s downtown San Jose transit village.<\/p>\n

The tech titan has offered the public pieces of the now-shuttered Patty\u2019s Inn, whose roots as a downtown San Jose watering hole date back to the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

Google also offered up for salvage sections of the former Sunlite Bakery Bread Depot building and will rescue the ornate entryway to the old structure, preserving the entrance elsewhere in the company\u2019s project footprint.<\/p>\n

Across the street from the bakery site, the old Hellwig Iron Works at 150 South Montgomery Street is expected to be preserved and creatively reused as a key component of Google\u2019s new Downtown West neighborhood of office buildings, homes, shops, restaurants, hotel facilities, open spaces, entertainment centers and cultural loops.<\/p>\n

\"Hellwig
Hellwig Iron Works building at 150 South Montgomery Street in downtown San Jose, January 2023. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cGoogle taking the time and opportunity to offer salvage of older buildings is commendable,\u201d said Bob Staedler,\u00a0 principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy. \u201cIt takes quite a bit of time and energy to make those salvage items available to the public. This effort shouldn\u2019t be taken for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the numerous documents prepared in connection with the Downtown West proposal addressed Google\u2019s plans to preserve several key buildings in the footprint of the game-changing project, where the search giant eventually intends to employ 20,000 to 25,000 tech workers.<\/p>\n

The former Hellwig Iron Works building, constructed sometime around 1935, is one of the buildings that\u2019s expected to be reused as it exists, although it\u2019s likely some additions could be made to the structure.<\/p>\n

After the ironworks closed its doors, Navlet\u2019s Florists and a Taiko performance studio also operated in the distinctive brick building.<\/p>\n

\u201c150 South Montgomery Street, last occupied by San Jose Taiko, is being repurposed for adaptive reuse,\u201d a Google spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely that the Hellwig Ironworks could be expanded as part of the building\u2019s reuse, according to documents on file with city officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne or more additions and adaptive reuse of the building to accommodate new arts and cultural uses\u201d are envisioned as part of the Hellwig structure\u2019s future, the city documents show.<\/p>\n

Among the other historic or noteworthy buildings that are being retained, reused adaptively, or relocated:<\/p>\n