Fremont’s Economic Talk Proves City is One of the Bay Area’s Strongest Markets
At the recent City of Fremont Economic Forecast 2011, Brad Kemp, director of regional research for Beacon Economics, took an in-depth look at the city’s economic environment. Based on the following highlights from his talk, what Kemp found was remarkable – considering the state of the economy throughout much of California and, in fact, the nation over the past few years.
Highly Diverse Economy
Fremont is a city that has been blessed with an economic base that’s not one-dimensional. Retail? The city has 12 major shopping centers that account for 80% of sales and 70% of the retail square footage in Fremont – with more than one million square feet at the Pacific Commons shopping center, right down the street from Fremont Business Park.
Vacancy Rates Declining Quickly
Over the past 20 years, vacant industrial land in Fremont has declined by more than two-thirds. Two decades ago, Fremont had over 2,000 acres of land available for industrial development. Today, that figure is closer to 600 acres.
While built-out R&D vacancy rates are still above 20%, all other vacancy rates for space are below 15%, with just 14% of the nearly 2.4 million sq. ft. of office space currently vacant. Not surprisingly, office rents are trending up after a period of hovering near recent lows. The City of Fremont can point to several key wins over the past year – headlined by Tesla Motors agreeing to operate the former NUMMI plant.
Fremont has also worked hard to successfully position itself for clean and green technology investment. In 2008 and 2009, the East Bay received approximately 6% of the venture capital investment nationwide. Amazingly, Fremont enjoyed one-third of that investment in 2008, and swallowed half of the venture capital investment in 2009. Beyond Tesla, other big technology names in the news in Fremont include Solyndra, Western Digital, Solaria, and Greenvolts.
Stimulating the Local Economy
The City of Fremont continues to invest in its own future by providing incentives designed to attract new business. These incentives have included:
- Reduction of development impact fees
- Tax exemptions for clean technology firms
- Local business purchasing preference
- ARRA Recovery Zone facility bond allocation of $6.8 million awarded to Dale Hardware expansion
2011 Forecast
Looking ahead to 2011, the City of Fremont is focused in several key areas:
- Reusing and revitalizing the South Fremont/Warm Springs neighborhood, in cooperation with Union Pacific Railroad
- Continuing to recruit businesses not only in clean technology but also in life sciences such as bio-medical technology
- Working to attract retailers and businesses missing from Fremont
- Expanding outreach efforts for small businesses
With office spaces as small as 357 sq. ft., Fremont Business Park at Christy Street is ideally suited for even the smallest businesses – with spaces up to 5,800 sq. ft. targeted to larger, more established companies or rapidly expanding enterprises.
For more information on what’s happening in Fremont, you’re encouraged to visit the City of Fremont Business News page. If you own and operate a small to medium-sized business of any type, and would like to tour some of the nicest office space in Fremont just a block away from the convenient Pacific Commons shopping center, e-mail Lee Jatta, or call (408) 520-2437. DRE License #01828564