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Summer Series Recap
Cornet Northern California, in association with the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, (SPUR) produced an excellent three-part Summer series entitled “Reimagining Work Life in the Bay Area”. The series consisted of chapter meetings in each of the region’s largest cities, San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco. The three sessions covered the gamut of hot topics facing each community including land use policy, transportation and housing. It also provided updates on some of the most interesting real estate developments currently underway. Each program featured local government and business leaders who shared what they are doing to leverage their advantages, solve their toughest issues and make their cities and developments more attractive to corporate occupiers.
San Jose
First up was the San Jose event on July 21st. The session was held at the Tech Museum of Innovation in the heart of the city’s downtown. The Honorable Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose greeted CoreNet attendees and an enthusiastic welcome. Teresa Alvarado, Director of SPUR San Jose moderated a panel which included: Nancy Klein, Deputy Director of San Jose’s Office of Economic Development, Mike Bangs, Vice President, Real Estate and Facilities at Oracle and President of CoreNet Northern California and Leyla Heydayat, Senior Vice President at Kimley-Horn
Alvarado set the stage for the discussion by referencing the regional plan called “Plan Bay Area”, which is a state mandated, integrated, long range transportation land-use and housing plan adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The plan focuses on growth within the existing footprint of the Bay Area and identifies Priority Development Areas (PDAs), one of which is San Jose.
Key points Alvarado shared included:
· San Jose’s population is predicted to grow by 400,000 people in the next 20 years, far more than any other city.
· The current general plan “Envision SJ 2040” focuses on urban growth along transit and other special growth areas.
· San Jose is planning to expand its Diridon Station to become the busiest transit station West of the Mississippi, including the Transbay Terminal.
· The City has come out of a long period of financial struggle, yet is still working on developing the revenue needed to support its growth.
· San Jose needs to create a community of urbanists
Alvarado asked a series of questions regarding the benefits of locating in San Jose. Here is a summary of the panelists’ key points regarding what makes San Jose attractive:
Klein:
· Large and well educated talent pool
· Business friendly
· Authentic, walkable and transit oriented
· Diversity
· Range of housing price points
· Special tenant improvement program which consists of a range of expedited services to get plans approved in one hour
Bangs:
· Excellent transit
· It is easier to get in and out of the San Jose airport than San Francisco
· Proximity and access to City government
· San Jose State University is an excellent source for talent and continuing education
Heydayat:
· BART extension to Santa Clara and San Jose, opening up in the Fall of 2017 consisting of a two station, $2 Billion project.
· VTA is revamping the transportation system to maximize it
· Diridon will bring a “ring around the Bay” linking in with CalTrain and High Speed Rail
Oakland
The second event was on August 18th at SPUR’s office in downtown Oakland. Robert Ogilvie, Director of SPUR Oakland moderated a panel which included Rachel Flynn, Director of Planning and Building, City of Oakland, Kennard Perry, President and CEO at The Swig Company, David Kirkland, Director of Sales at Comfy and Terry Wood, Vice President of Real Estate at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan.
Ogilvie gave an overview of key points regarding what makes downtown Oakland attractive:
· It is at the center of the Bay Area rail network
· Almost all of downtown is within ½ a mile from BART
· Every single BART train goes through downtown and there are more bus lines than downtown San Francisco
· It has become an important social, economic and cultural center
· Crime statistics show it has fewer violent crimes than San Francisco
· 40 acres of development sites on parking lots without buildings on them
· It offers unparalleled transit oriented development opportunities
Ogilvie shared that SPUR worked with the City to create development guidelines which include:
1. Welcome everyone
2. Maintain a mix of jobs, residents, nightlife and cultural activities, while facilitating economic growth
3. Retain and strengthen its history, culture and character as it grows
4. Generate taxes that support services and investment across the rest of the city
5. Be a place where walking, biking and taking transit are easy and safe
6. Be a place that not only improves Oakland, but also improves the Bay Area
Flynn started her brief presentation by saying, “In case you are wondering why we are “superior” to San Francisco, we are cooler and hotter!” She touted Uber and a number of other significant corporate users recently locating in Oakland and that the city currently has 20,000 housing units in development. Flynn then shared a detailed look at the downtown plan that the City has in the works. “Believe it or not,” she said. “It is the first downtown plan in the City’s history.” In the community input phase, the plan incorporates a large number of transit oriented development sites and a strong focus on retail to help the City meet its goal of reclaiming its status as the shopping hub of the East Bay.
Flynn gave an overview of the areas they are currently studying and some projects that are currently underway including:
· West Oakland
· The Lake Merritt / Chinatown BART Specific Plan
· Broadway / Valdez – already has 750 units of retail under construction
· The International Boulevard corridor (which includes bus rapid transit (BRT)
· The Central Estuary
· Coliseum City
· Brooklyn Basin
· The Oakland Army Base
Key Points from the panel included:
Perry:
· The Swig Company has been interest in Oakland since 2005 when they bought the Kaiser Center
· “The City staff is incredible. They are open and receptive and seeks input from developers which is unheard of”
Wood:
· Kaiser has four million square feet in downtown Oakland
· The company has a major commitment to Oakland will never leave
Kirkland:
· Comfy was founded by two Cal grads and started in a home in the Rockbridge district of Oakland
· The East Bay is an overlooked hub of creative, technical and business talent.
· It is important to them to be in a part of a growing and thriving community like Oakland
San Francisco
Finally, the San Francisco session was on September 15th at Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ new waterfront laboratory / office development 499 Illinois. Allison Arieff, Director of SPUR San Francisco helped organize the program which focused on revitalization of the Southern Bay Shore. Arieff recently lead a year long project called Rethinking the Corporate Campus which will be coming out in early 2017. She moderated a panel which included Josh Switzky, Urban Designer and Manager of Community Planning at the San Francisco Planning Department, David Beaupre, Senior Waterfront Planner at the Port of San Francisco, Andy Wang, Development Manager, Forest City Development, Guneet Anand, Urban Designer at SITELAB Urban Studio.
Switzky gave a thoughtful presentation on the Southern Bayfront area. With its a strong industrial legacy, the Southern Bayfront is the last frontier of the San Francisco waterfront. In his view, it is perhaps the most dramatic change that the City has seen or will see in many years to come. “We are engaged as a City Family creating a holistic planning framework,” he said. “It is a massive collaboration between the Planning Department, the Office of Economic & Workforce Development, the Port, the Recreation and Park department, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure and the Municipal Transportation Agency.”
Switzky gave an overview of the various projects that will make their way through the planning department over the next two to three years including:
· Mission Rock
o 20-acre site which is currently home to the Giants parking lot A
· The Central Waterfront
o Pier 70
o Potrero Power plant Site
· India Basin
o Heron’s Head open space
o PG&E site
o 700 Innes – Build Inc’s development
o India Basin Shoreline Park Expansion
Switzky addressed the key issues of the plan addresses:
· Building Affordable Housing
o 33% below market units
o 40% neighborhood preference program totally 2,000 affordable units for local residents.
· Adapting to Sea Level Rise
o Sea levels predicted to rise by 36 inches by 2100
o Major new waterfront developments will incorporate innovative adaptive management
· Addressing Transportation Demand
o Key intermodal connectors
o 16th Street Ferry Terminal
o CalTrain extension
o Rapid Bus Corridors
o Light Rail Fleet Expansion
· Achieving a Robust “Blue Greenway” Open Space System
o World class “necklace” of waterfront parks
o 520 acres of new and renovated public open space
o Inclusive of current residents
o Connectivity to and between open space network
o Unified management strategy
· Fostering Sustainability
o High level of sustainability required
o Opportunity to do district scale recycled water and energy
· Community Facilities
· Economic and Workforce Development
o Live / work
o Blue collar jobs
Beaupre delved into greater detail about the Port’s projects, Mission Rock and Pier 70.
· Mission Rock – Beaupre shared renderings site plan which highlighted:
o 20 acres
o 1.3 million square feet of office space
o 250,000 square feet of retail space
o 1,500 residential units
o 8 acres of open space
o Currently going through EIR
o Flexible plan – could go more residential or commercial
· Pier 70
o Crane Cove Park
o BAE Ship Repair – Longest continuously operating shipyard in US
o Historic Core - Orton Development (Leases signed with Restoration Hardware and Tea Collective)
o Irish Hill site
o Waterfront Site – Forest City Development
Wang and Amend concluded the session with an overview of the work done to date on the Pier 70. The development which began in 2008, is currently in the environmental review phase. Highlights included:
· Three major elements which make it unique
o Dogpatch community – diversity of uses – creative and eclectic
o Newly accessible waterfront
o Rich historic district – 18,000 workers in 1945
· Community outreach process
o Wide variety of events
o Opportunity to reengage with the site
o Remind people of the rich history
o Introduce community to the waterfront
· Incorporating community input into design principles
o Network of open spaces culminating in expansive waterfront park
o Extension of the city grid to the water
o Creation of mixed-use creative core celebrating historical cultural assets
o Extension of waterfront park to draw in and meet historic building 12
o Creation of pedestrian priority zone with active uses along building faces
o Design 1.69 square feet of commercial space around pedestrian experience
o Incorporate inviting storefronts
o Select materials compatible with historic quality of the site
Check out the link below to our Facebook page to see photos from the event:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130663880@N02/albums/72157668868355614
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