Community & Economic Development Committee
February 23, 2026
Item (d)4 Economic Development Activities
Semi-Annual Status Report
Carlos Velazquez, Public Information Manager
City Manager’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA) Celebrating San José’s Sports Culture and Community
November 2025 – February 2026
2 ❖ Activating San José’s Artists + Residents
During Super Bowl
❖ Hometown Heroes on display at City Hall
through July 31, 2026
❖ Invisible Skies pop-up flash
performance by more than 2,000
participants
❖ Facilitation of major events by OEDCA’s
Special Events team
❖ 2026 Creative Ambassadors Announced
❖ Dance collective Los Panaderos,
Fandango For All: Tradición Viva,
Comunidad Unida
❖ Designer Jorge “J.Duh” Camacho,
Pop-Up Box
❖ Artist Tricia Creason-Valencia, I Am/We
Are: Our Stories Connect Us
Supporting an Enhanced Downtown Experience
❖ Downtown and Regional Wayfinding:
❖ Crosswalk enhancements, 100 ‘swimming’
sharks installed along Sharks Way as part of
Stitching Districts initiative
❖ 12 additional pedestrian wayfinding signs in
Downtown West
❖ March 16- 21 2026 NVIDIA GTC:
❖ Cross-departmental effort to coordinate
expanded activations at Arena Green,
Convention Center and Plaza de Cesar
Chavez.
❖ Recent Ribbon Cuttings:
❖ Entre Comales
❖ Guitar Wars
❖ The Locker Room Visitor’s Center
❖ Toastique
3 November 2025 – February 2026
Fostering Thriving Businesses + Business Districts
❖ Small Business Startup Grant: Up to 20 grants totaling $150,000 will be awarded to early-stage small
businesses in San José. Deadline to apply: March 6,
2026
❖ Cannabis Equity Business Program: 8 of the 10
residents eligible to open a cannabis retail business have secured leases on commercial property in San José.
❖ Helping Small Businesses Prepare for SJ2026:
❖ Small Business Toolkit: sj26.sanjose.org
❖ Co-hosted Eastside Small Business Town Hall in
December at Mexican Heritage Plaza
❖ Business Improvement Districts: Establishing
Business Improvement Districts along The Alameda,
Story Road, and Alum Rock Ave.
❖ Holiday Shop Local Campaign: More than 23,000 visits
to online shop local guide in annual collaboration with Team San José and business associations. 4
November 2025 – February 2026
Corporate Outreach Team Makes Connections
❖ First Data Center Energized under City of San
José/PG&E Agreement: January ribbon-cutting
event celebrated the delivery of power and
energization of Equinix’s SV12 Data Center in
South San José.
❖ Corporate Outreach Activities:
❖ Data Center Investment Conference & Expo
❖ SPIE Photonics West 2026
❖ Hosted Philippine delegation, Advancing
U.S.-Philippine Relations for American
Semiconductor Supply Chains
❖ Ribbon-cuttings for Rose Batteries, Netgear,
IONNA
❖ Foreign Trade Zone Activity: Unigen
Corporation joined San José’s Foreign Trade
Zone and seven pending company applications.
5 November 2025 – February 2026
Resources for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs
Looking for business support? Try one of these
FREE small business workshops:
❖ February 24: Prosperity Lab’s "2025 Business
Owner" webinar series
❖ February 25: "Strategies to Identify and Reach Your
Target Customers"
❖ February 26: "US Government Grants Funding"
❖ March 3: "Business Credit & Cash Management:
Strategies for Sustainable Growth"
❖ March 4: "Digital Marketing Series: Session 1"
6 November 2025 – February 2026
OEDCA Welcomes New Team Members
❖ Emily Lam
Business Development Officer
❖ Jen Lovvorn
Public Art Director
❖ Dolores Estrada
Diridon and Downtown District Coordinator
November 2025 – February 2026
7 Community & Economic Development Committee
February 23, 2026
Item (d)4 Economic Development Activities
Semi-Annual Status Report
Carlos Velazquez, Public Information Manager
City Manager’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA)