Adobe officially completes and opens eye-catching downtown San Jose bridge
Bridge connects Adobe campus towers by spanning a city street.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Adobe has opened an eye-catching new bridge connecting the tech titan’s new Founders Tower to its other downtown San Jose office high-rises, completing Adobe’s campus.
The artwork on the bridge over West San Fernando Street represents the connection between the orchards that once dotted the Santa Clara Valley and the cutting-edge innovations created by Adobe.
Based in San Jose Adobe also announced that the Adobe Foundation is launching a new round of grants totaling $1.8 million, which will be distributed to 11 San Jose organizations.
Adobe executives believe the new bridge is more than just a finished construction project.
“The opening of this bridge is more than a physical milestone for Adobe,” Gloria Chen, Adobe’s chief people officer, said. “When we opened the doors earlier this year to this magnificent new Founders Tower, it was a symbol of our ongoing commitment to a vibrant, innovative and creative hometown of San Jose.”
Adobe’s bridge and completed office complex are also significant milestones in downtown San Jose’s efforts to recover from the devastating economic ills caused by the government-imposed business closures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
“Downtown San Jose is bouncing back largely because of thoughtful and incredible employers like Adobe, and a thriving arts and cultural scene in our downtown that has been sustained by Adobe,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan during remarks before the new bridge’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
According to Scott Ekman, Adobe’s senior director of workplace strategy and solutions, the Founders Tower and the new bridge got their start in 2016 at a downtown San Jose hotel with veteran Bay Area developers Lew Wolff and John DiNapoli.
During the meeting, Adobe executive Ekman and the two real estate developers began the process of selling the land at the 333 West San Fernando site to Wolff and the DiNapoli firm, which would eventually become the location for the new Founders Tower.
“There were so many amazing people who made this possible,” he said.
Adobe executives were also impressed by the numerous artworks on the Founders Tower and the bridge itself.
One piece of artwork begins on the street level below the bridge and represents roots growing up to the bridge. The roots and trees symbolism is completed on the bridge by artwork that resembles trees.
The soaring artwork is titled “Creativity Blooms” and was created by husband-and-wife team Nancy Hou and Josh de Sousa from New York City.
According to Ekman, the artwork is meant to recall how the downtown area and much of the Santa Clara Valley were once filled with orchards that have now largely given way to the cutting-edge and fast-paced tech world of Silicon Valley.
“It is an installation that starts on the street and bursts into color on top of the bridge,” Chen went on to say. “It reflects San Jose’s agricultural history and how Adobe’s tools unleash creative potential and imagination.”
Despite the challenges that have befallen a variety of downtown districts across the country in the aftermath of the pandemic, state Assemblymember Ash Kalra, whose district includes the downtown, believes that companies like Adobe offer hope for downtown San Jose as it struggles to recover.
“There is no doubt that downtown San Jose has its issues, but San Jose is telling a different story,” Kalra said before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Part of the reason for that is the dedication of companies like Adobe that over a quarter center have invested in our downtown.”
According to Mahan, the new tower and its connecting bridge serve as a reminder that Adobe’s presence is a huge economic boon for San Jose’s urban core.
“With this new tower, Adobe’s presence is pushing 7,000 employees,” Mahan went on to say. “It’s hard to overstate Adobe’s impact on our downtown.”
The seven-year journey from the first discussions of Adobe’s eventual property purchase to the opening of the street-spanning bridge means Adobe has realized its vision for what is now a four high-rise headquarters campus in downtown San Jose.
“Today’s bridge opening marks the completion of our San Jose campus by connecting our new and existing towers,” Chen went on to say. “I am overjoyed with this final addition. It pays homage to our past while also ushering in a new era of innovation and collaboration in San Jose and around the world.”
