Is Santa Clara Getting Cooler?

We've heard about Santa Clara developing the area near Levi’s Stadium for years, now it seems an entire new urban neighborhood is taking shape. Meet the Clara District, located in Northern Santa Clara, West of Levi's. Branded and touted as a modern, high-density community hoping to bring an estimated 4,500+ new homes, restaurants, parks, and retail spaces to a part of the city that, until now, has mostly been known for warehouses and parking lots.

Nearly 2,000 units are opening this year, including The Clara, a sleek 22-story luxury apartment complex that’s now officially Santa Clara’s tallest building. There’s also a new senior living community, affordable housing options, and plenty of retail space coming soon—including coffee shops and restaurants which hope to make this a great place to live and visit. That's the idea anyway, it'll be interesting to see how it develops in real life.

The Clara, a sleek 22-story luxury apartment complex in Santa Clara

I hung out this week at Clara’s Junction for a bit, it's an 18,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor restaurant serving up burgers, beer, and a prime spot for 49ers tailgating. The Niners moved into the area over a decade ago so it's nice to see some kind of development in the area taking shape.

Will it be cool? Will it be a dud? I for one have been really hoping for years that the area around Levi's could be developed into an entertainment and social hub, so I'm glad to see some progress. Still seems like it's taking forever though.