Investments
The following are investments made by BACIN participants in the priority neighborhoods.
OAKLAND AIRPORT BUSINESS PARK
BACIN Investor: Bay Area Smart Growth Fund
Business Name: Oakland Airport Business Park
Business Location: Oakland, California
Brief Description of Business:
Nature of product or service:
This project involves construction of a 197,000 square foot R&D/Flex Industrial facility, in which Comcast and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) will collectively occupy 120,000 square feet and 40,000 square feet will be used for business condominiums.
Business Model: Conversion of vacant space to office/light industrial usage.
Market Being Served: Regional
Description of Community Benefits:
1) Located in a priority low- and moderate-income neighborhood.
2) Generating 100 new high paying jobs and retaining 400 jobs in the Oakland area.
3) Creating up to $16 million dollars in indirect benefits by the tenants of this project.
4) Utilizing a large number of green building measures.
5) Located on at a transportation hub.
6) Serving as an important aspect of the area redevelopment plan.
Milestones Attained: The build to suit for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters has been completed. Comcast has purchased their site and is moving forward with their building. The 40,000 square foot business condominium building has been completed.
Posted on 01/28/05
ReShape, Inc
BACIN Investor: Bay Area Equity Fund: A Double Bottom Line Fund
Business Name: ReShape, Inc.
Business Location: San Jose, California
Brief Description of Business:
Nature of product or service:
ReShape has developed a new class of electronic design automation software called chip-level design automation that automates away the labor intensive aspects associated with hierarchical physical design of computer chips. The Company’s tools allow chip designers to focus on full-chip design problems, and not be consumed with block-level construction details. Using ReShape’s tools, designers rapidly build, manage, and run reusable scripts for running all physical design tasks that take a chip to fabrication ready design.
Business Model: Sales of software licenses.
Market Being Served: Global
Number of Employees: 35
Description of Community Benefits:
1) Located near a priority low- and moderate-income neighborhood.
2) Commitment to hiring larger numbers of African American and Latino engineers.
3) Will work with Bay Area Council to source low- and moderate-income employees to fill support staff positions.
4) Recycling program in place.
5) Sourcing from local vendors.
6) Plans to partner with a bank to offer financial education to employees and residents of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
7) Plans to utilize Bay Area Green Business Program for comprehensive environmental assessment leading to Green Business Certification.
Projected Growth: Continued growth in domestic and global market through adding marquee customers.
Milestones Attained: Released new version of software and re-signed existing customers.
Posted on 01/31/05
RICHMOND RESIDENTIAL LAND
BACIN Investor: Bay Area Smart Growth Fund
Business Location: North Richmond, California
Brief Description of Business:
Nature of product or service:
Acquisition of three non-contiguous parcels totaling 48.46 acres of land in the unincorporated area of North Richmond, California. Two parcels are zoned for heavy industrial use, while the third is zoned for high-density residential development. Two of the three parcels have been sold.
Business Model: Sell one parcel to a housing developer, sell one parcel to an industrial developer, and lease the third parcel to a flower grower until a sale can be arranged.
Market Being Served: Regional
Description of Community Benefits:
1) The site is in a priority low- and moderate-income neighborhood.
2) The plans for the development of the residential parcel call for construction of approximately 173 homes affordable to a population earning between 80% to 120% of area medium income, of which 35 homes will be deed-restricted and affordable to families making 80% of the area medium income.
3) The Infill housing location will help the jobs/housing imbalance in the region, as well as reducing the growth pressure on open space, while capturing the value of existing infrastructure.
4) The residential site has been environmentally remediated.
Milestones Attained: One parcel has been environmentally remediated and sold to a residential developer upon receipt of full entitlements for the construction of affordable single-family housing. The second parcel has been sold as a leased investment to a developer.
Posted on 01/28/05
STORY & KING ROAD
BACIN Investor: Bay Area Smart Growth Fund
Business Name: Plaza San Jose Shopping Center
Business Location: San Jose, California
Brief Description of Business:
Nature of product or service:
The project will be an 187,000 square foot neighborhood shopping center located on a major thoroughfare in San Jose's first major neighborhood (non-downtown) redevelopment project.
Business Model: Renovate and upgrade existing retail shopping center.
Market Being Served: Regional
Description of Community Benefits:
1) The shopping center is located in a priority low- and moderate-income neighborhood.
2) Renovation of this shopping center will bring needed retail services to an ethnic community that has been underserved by traditional retailers.
3) The project will generate over 350 jobs for local residents.
4) This project will achieve the goals that the community has been working on since 1992. The neighborhood, in conjunction with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, has been trying to improve both the physical and social environments at the intersection of Story & King Road, broaden the retail mix to serve the current customer base, and work with the Valley Transit Authority and Department of Public Works to develop appropriate bus stops, sidewalk, and crosswalks to improve pedestrian access and traffic flow.
Milestones Attained: Purchase of the land has closed and construction has been started, with an estimated completion date of January 2006. A pad has been sold to Target and leases or letters of intent have been signed for over 80% of the remaining space. Tenants include Walgreens, Wells Fargo, Famsa, Starbucks, T Mobile, and Coldstone Creamery.
Posted on 01/28/05
VALLEJO PLAZA
BACIN Investor: Bay Area Smart Growth Fund
Business Name: Vallejo Plaza
Business Location: Vallejo, California
Brief Description of Business:
Nature of product or service:
Vallejo Plaza is a 267,500 square foot community shopping center on approximately 29 acres with 15 separate buildings that were constructed from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Vallejo Plaza is located in a district of Vallejo with a high concentration of Filipino Americans and other Asian Americans. It is also an area of Vallejo with high concentrations of poverty. Seven acres of the site have been rezoned to construct 200 high-density residential rentals.
Business Model: Reposition, renovate, and upgrade retail shopping center.
Market Being Served: Regional
Description of Community Benefits:
1) Located in a priority low- and moderate-income neighborhood.
2) Bringing a full service grocery store into this community. Before, existing residents had to travel a great distance in order to buy basic grocery items. Not only does this full service grocery store provide basic grocery items, it also tailors its products to service the local ethnic consumers.
3) Helping build community equity. Over 60% of the tenants at Vallejo Plaza are local proprietors. After the closing of the movie theater, bowling alley, as well as anchor tenants Office Depot, Michaels, and Sav-Max, these businesses saw their retail sales and the number of people who visited their stores decline. Repositioning of the shopping center will help the financial viability of these local tenants, and build equity in their businesses.
4) Supporting community arts. The Vallejo Community Arts Foundation, the umbrella organization of the City of Vallejo for art programs, has been located at Vallejo Plaza since 1994 with a long-term lease at significantly below market rents ensures the vitality of the program. Of this space 3,000 square feet is utilized as office space for the Arts Foundation, Vallejo Music Theater, Vallejo Symphony, Napa/Solano Health Project and the Fetterly Gallery. An additional 7,000 square feet provides for a theatre and performance area. These relations are preserved in the repositioned shopping center.
Milestones Attained: The repositioning and re-leasing of the center has been completed, and the center has been sold to an investor. Patronage has expanded dramatically and the local businesses are once again succeeding.
Posted on 01/28/05
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