San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is seeking to deny a recommendation to designate the former Mercury News building a city landmark.
After the current owner, tech company Supermicro, suggested to the Historic Landmark Commission that the building should be recognized, the Commission sent a recommendation to Liccardo on May 20 that the "City Council adopt a resolution to designate the San Jose Mercury News building as a City Landmark of historic, architectural, cultural, aesthetic or engineering interest or value of a historic nature."
Liccardo joined Vice Mayor Rose Herrera and Councilmember Raul Peralez on a June 5 memo that proposed to, "Deny the recommendation to designate the building formerly owned by the San Jose Mercury News as a City Landmark."
Instead of receiving City Landmark status, the memo suggested, the owner could explore alternative ways of commemorating the historic uses of the site, such as applying for Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) Level III Documentation and creating a "commemorative display."
The memo acknowledged the intellectual achievements made in the building and its contribution to San Jose.
"While we pay homage to the exceptional people that worked in the building over the years, and certainly acknowledge the presence and impact of the San Jose Mercury News as a valued business in our community, we disagree that the building should be designated as a City Landmark."
