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Market Street Garage Façade Replacement

Project Description

The existing façade on the Market Street garage will be removed and replaced with artwork that wraps around the upper floors of the building. The transformed façade will be an exciting public art piece that makes the building a landmark and point of pride. It is inspired by the rich history, diverse communities, and unique landscape of San José. The design features an abstract composition of color and light interwoven with industrial materials, including aluminum, steel, and LED elements.

A view of Market Street Garage with pink sticks of light covering the exterior wall at night An view of Market Street Garage with multicolor diagonal bars across the exterior façade

 

 

 

 

 

Above images: Conceptual renderings of the new artwork wrapping the Market Street Garage during the day (left) and night (right).

At night, indirect LED lighting will produce a subtle yet striking effect. The lighting is designed in accordance with dark sky principles—diffused to avoid roadway projection and minimize skyward glow. The lighting will be dimmable and programmable to create dynamic visual effects that reflect the evolving character of downtown San José.

The Market Street parking garage viewed from the San Pedro Square side with a roadway painted in bright colors in front of it

Above image: The existing façade will need to be removed before artwork is installed.

Construction Impacts

During construction, the garage will still be available for use, with some reduced capacity.

  • Parking cannot be reduced by more than 30% of spots.
  • Parking cannot be reduced more than 10% 4 hours before and 4 hours after Sharks games
  • The vehicle entry on Market Street will remain open and cars will be able to exit onto Market Street and/or San Pedro Street during construction.
  • The stairs and elevators will also remain open unless there is active adjacent construction, and they will reopen when safe.

Timeline

  • The demolition will begin in late July or early August 2025 and will complete by February 2026 in time for the Superbowl.
  • Following demolition of the old tiles, but before the artwork is installed, the steel work will be repainted.
  • Artwork installation will begin after the FIFA World Cup in summer 2026. Installation is scheduled to be complete in August 2027.

Resources

Funding

Fund 559 – General Purpose Parking Capital Fund