The March 25 meeting was the first of several planned between the community and the developer, Barry Swenson Builder, and drew more than 40 people. Tamien Place was approved Sept. 30 by the city council. It is designed as two 11-story condominium towers at the corner of Lick and West Alma avenues. The 242 multifamily units will be located on the former site of Alma Bowl.

Those at the meeting accepted the fact that the project is going forward and have moved on to wanting the development to be the best fit for the community and the nearby Willow Glen neighborhood.

"I think we are making good progress," Willow Glen resident Ed Rast said. "I think our input will help create a good project for the community."

Rast's comments came after listening to design information provided by project architect Jonathan Ennis of Berger Detmer Ennis. Ennis began the meeting by providing residents with a slide show with a variety of architectural designs that could be integrated into the Tamien Place design. Some options included Italian Renaissance style—with rusticated masonry, elaborate openings and a recessed entrance; "Chicago School" style—with Romanesque ornamentation and more arches; international style—reinforcing a bare essence of materials (concrete and glass); and post-modern style—a return of arches and colorful and decorative use of modern materials.

After giving a fast lesson on architectural style, Ennis was inundated with the community's vision of the development. Some wanted the condos to look Spanish style, while others wanted Tamien Place to have a vintage 1920s appearance. Representatives from the San Jose Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement wrote down every comment that was made. The architect assured the crowd assembled at Alma Senior Center that he would take all the suggestions into consideration.

"We haven't designed the building yet, so you should make it clear what you like," Ennis told the crowd. "We want to make this look as good as we can."

Willow Glen resident Ken Eklund didn't shy away from providing his input to the planning department and the architect, voicing his concerns and questions about the design concepts.

"I think we are looking for a vintage look," he said. "It should have character and kind of look instantly old."

Other residents said they didn't want the look of a glass and steel, "office-type" building. Ennis assured residents this type of design would not be built in their neighborhood.

"We all work in these type of buildings. When we come home, we want a little romance," Ennis said.

After nearly two hours of questions and answers, San Jose deputy director of planning implementation Joseph Horwedel said there would be more meetings to gather community input.

"This is a very visible location, a gateway location," Horwedel said. "We want to make sure whatever happens on that site will be a good architectural design."

Although no firm dates have been set, he expects the next meeting to be held sometime in April and another in early June. The community was also told that planning permits will be filed next week for the architectural design and the process will be reviewed by staff for approximately four months.

Barry Swenson Builder project manager Jessie Hall said assuming the permit process goes smoothly, she expects to break ground on Tamien Place next fall or winter.