LOCATION
Santa Clara County, California
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Organizational structure analysis & review
Existing facilities and capacity review
3 rounds of community outreach
Establishment of stakeholder committees
Year-round potential assessment
Analysis of alternative and additional uses
Demand and operating projections
RFQ development
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Johnson Consulting in partnership with Group 4 Architects, Economic & Planning Systems, and SWA Group, and supported by a technical team of historic preservation architects, civil engineers, and environmental, sustainability, and transport consultants, were retained by the Santa Clara County to provide consulting services in relation to fairgrounds operations, land economics, and land use planning. The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds occupy 150 acres in southeast San Jose. While a portion of the site has been repurposed for residential uses, overall the site was underutilized, vacant, or used only for temporary purposes at the time of our study despite multiple efforts focused on the revitalization of the Fairgrounds over the preceding years.
The key objective of our study was to provide a common and agreed upon foundation of data and information associated with Fair operations, development potential of the existing site, and relative economic benefits of alternatives. Our study culminated in a comprehensive options assessment that reflected a thorough process of inclusionary input from community stakeholders. Our team was subsequently retained to develop Request for Qualifications for potential users and developers of various potential amenities at the Fairgrounds.
