San Francisco Business Times City of Alameda supplement

Alameda ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT MAY 4, 2018

WHERE THE GREEN AND BLUE ECONOMIES THRIVE

“Community is one of our core values and we find that Alameda reflects and amplifies that spirit.”

Mark Rogero, Founder and Creative Director, Concreteworks

Concreteworks’ Alameda factory produces custom architectural installations as well as concrete-based art and furniture sold in retail stores.

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Alameda

SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES

RESOURCES

Building businesses together

Alameda features top-tier business parks, retail centers, historic neighborhoods and miles of prime waterfront. For personalized assistance to launch or expand a business in this appealing community, Alameda’s Economic Development Community Services is a one-stop shop.

ALAMEDA AT YOUR SERVICE

The Alameda At Your Service program supports development projects and businesses moving to or expanding in Alameda through an expedited plan, check and approval process for new construction and tenant improvements.

The program provides a single point of contact to quickly shepherd applications and building plans through the city’s approval process. Smallerscale projects may qualify for the Express Service’s 10-day permit turnaround, while business licenses and sign permits can be handled same-day

Contact us: alamedaca.gov

via the city’s self-service permit portal. For more, please visit: alamedaca.gov/permits/ alameda-your-service

of the highest electric customer satisfaction ratings in the state.

For more information please visit: alamedamp.com

ALAMEDA MUNICIPAL POWER

FAÇADE GRANT PROGRAM

The city owns and operates Alameda Municipal Power (AMP), a non-profit electric utility that has been serving the needs of Alameda residents and businesses for more than 130 years.

Boasting electric rates nearly 20 percent lower than neighboring communities, a renewable power portfolio that’s among the highest in California, and a reliability record within the top quartile of all electric utilities in the western US, AMP has some

Alameda provides business and property owners in select historic and business districts with 50/50 matching grants to improve their storefronts and enhance the city’s retail districts.

The Façade Grant Program reimburses thousands of dollars for general improvements and restoration of historical and architectural elements. For details please visit: alamedaca.gov/ business/façade-grant-program

PLANNING: Tel (510) 747-6805 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Tel (510) 747-6890

CONTENTS City Manager’s Letter.......................3 City of Alameda demographics.....5 Alameda At Your Service.................4 Site A update................................ 6-7 Real Estate Map........................... 8-9 Blue Economy Policy Paper......... 10 Profiles.................................................

Bay Ship & Yacht........................... 11 Blue Endeavors............................. 12 Ocean Clean-up Project............... 13 Velodyne LiDAR............................. 16 Concreteworks.............................. 17 Natel Energy.................................. 14 Admiral Malting............................. 18 Almanac Beer Co. .................. 19-20 West Marine................................... 21 Jean Sweeney Open Space Park/Shoreline Trails...................... 22

Cover photo by Maurice Ramirez Stories by Aaron Welch and Mitchell Kernot Design by Carol Collier

For Work.

For Play.

The Easy Way to Cross the Bay.

From the Harbor Bay and Alameda Main Street Terminals to

SF Ferry Building with additional service from Main Street to

Pier 41 AT&T Park (Seasonal Service)

For Ferry Route, Schedule, Ticket & Terminal Info

(415) 705-8291 www.SanFranciscoBayFerry.com

MAY 4, 2018

Alameda

ALAMEDA By the numbers

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Napa

Vallejo

Concord

Marin

A short ferry ride from downtown San Francisco and one tunnel away from downtown Oakland, Alameda is strategically situated between two of the Bay Area’s major urban hubs, making it an attractive location for businesses and San commuters alike.

Francisco A mix of well-preserved historic districts and modern business parks provide offices and residents a variety of amenities. Unparalleled waterfront access and more than 21 parks totalling 498 acres keep Alamedans uniquely in touch with the natural world. It is also a prime access point to enjoy the largest recreational open space in the region: the San Francisco Bay. Founded more than 150 years ago, Alameda has a long history of technological innovation—the first land-based containerized shipping cranes were invented here.

A city government dedicated to preserving and supporting a culture of innovation helps assure that Alameda will continue to be home to a variety of economic sectors, particularly green technology and the blue economy.

In the past five years, Alameda has had ten East Bay Economic Development Alliance Innovation Award finalists and five award-winners. maps4news.com/©HERE

Demographics and diversity

Oakland

Alameda

San Jose

Mountain View

Lore

Income and housing

$92,377

29.8% Asian

Median household income

42.4% White

12.4% Hispanic or Latino

31,408

9.1%

African-American Multi-racial

42.2

Median age

79,928

Total population

Office space 4.1 million

Square feet of total office space

$1.85/square foot Average office rent

Industrial/flex space: 6.8 million

Square feet of industrial/flex space

$.77/square foot

Average industrial/flex rent

Retail space: 3.6 million

Square feet of retail space

$2.61/square foot Average retail rent

Households

52% Own

48% Rent

5.9%

Other <1%

47,059

Registered voters

Top employers

5

$991,200

Median single-family home value

$2,678

Average monthly rent (2-bedroom unit)

Transportation

Private: Abbott Diabetes Care.

Bay Ship and Yacht Company Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Oakland Raiders Penumbra Safeway Singulex Target Corporation VF Outdoor (The North Face) Wind River Systems Cost Plus

Public: Alameda Hospital Alameda Unified School District City of Alameda College of Alameda U.S. Department of Transportation

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Costar; HDL Companies, the California Department of Finance, City of Alameda.

Oakland International Airport: 7 miles Hayward Executive Airport: 12 miles San Francisco International Airport: 27 miles San Jose International Airport: 37 miles San Francisco Bay Bridge Toll Plaza: 7 miles Interstate Highways 880/580/80 AC Transit: Three direct Transbay bus service lines between Alameda and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Shuttles to Marina Village and Harbor Bay Business Parks Amtrak Capital Corridor Line station: 5 miles San Francisco Bay ferries: Two terminals with a third planned Port of Oakland: 4 miles Port of San Francisco: 14 miles Port of Richmond: 16 miles

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Alameda

SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES

Artist’s rendering of Alameda Point development.

ALAMEDA POINT As construction begins on billion-dollar redevelopment, City expects first phase, Site A, to catalyze former naval station’s transformation

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or the first time in more than twenty years, Alameda’s former naval air station is again humming with activity. But this time the soundtrack isn’t of aircraft landings or take-offs. It’s the chorus of construction crews making way for one of the Bay Area’s largest redevelopment projects in recent memory.

Where once there stood old navy buildings and heavy industrial equipment, there will ultimately rise more than 68 acres of mixed-use development replete with apartments, townhomes, parks and space for makers, R&D, restaurants, retail and office campuses.

All will be treated to a picturesque view of San Francisco and proximity to a new ferry terminal at Seaplane Lagoon, which will expand the capacity of the popular Alameda-San Francisco service.

Thirty acres of the 68-acre Site A parcel was approved in March, and demolition began weeks later. Projected to cost some $500 million, the first phase of the Site A project is residential-focused and consists of 673 housing units, including 130 units of affordable housing and an additional 310 units affordable to middlealamedaca.gov

income households.

Approximately 93,000 square feet of retail space is also included in the first phase. The spaces will be geared toward resident-serving retail, dining, and other kinds of experiential retail, as well as community events and gatherings.

Completion of the new infrastructure is expected over the next two to three years, with the first new residences projected to open in 2021.

Bruce Dorfman, senior managing director for Northern California at Trammell Crow Residential, says Site A is just the first step for a one-billion-dollar redevelopment plan that will transform Alameda’s economy. Trammell Crow Residential is part of the coalition of developers that will design and construct the Alameda Point project. Other partners include srmERNST Development Partners, Madison Marquette, Eden Housing, and financial partner Cypress Equity Investments.

“Site A will serve as a catalyst for the rest of the Alameda Point development and will provide the infrastructure for further business development on the base,” says Dorfman. “The development is de-

MAY 4, 2018

Alameda

signed to take advantage of Alameda’s strategic Point will allow more Alamedans to live and work location and access to ground and maritime in- in the same city, which could significantly imfrastructure to attract jobs and business to the prove their quality of life and ease congestion city. Alameda Point will offer both affordable ex- for all residents.” pansion space and new quality housing for their But easing traffic is just one purpose the employees, which is a rare offering in the region, Alameda Point redevelopment serves, Ott particularly on a well-located, infill site in the core adds: “The State of California has mandated Bay Area.” that cities build more housing. Bay Area resiBefore it closed in 1997, Naval Air Station dents need more housing close to job centers Alameda employed nearly 18,000 people. When for all income levels. And Alamedans want that the base was decommissioned, those jobs left too, but they also want to retain the character too, fundamentally changing the nature of of the city and the high quality of life they enjoy.

Alameda’s economy. The Alameda Point project The Alameda Point development project that has been designed to reinfuse the City the City Council has approved balances of Alameda with a strong base of those needs.” high-skill, high-paying jobs, The focus on the quality of says Joe Ernst, founder life and value for current and principal of develresidents as well as newoper srmERNST, which comers explains why is building the comthe development inmercial elements of cludes plenty of the redevelopment. amenities. Parks are “With Alameda aplenty: eight acres Point, we’re develhave been reserved oping the infrastrucfor the first phase of ture that will supSite A and 15 acres port high-quality jobs for buildout of the in tech, clean enerSite A project. And gy, R&D, and advanced the plan also includes Joe Ernst, founder and principal of manufacturing,” Ernst says. millions of dollars for land developer, srmERNST “The project takes into acand water-based multi-modal count and builds upon Alameda’s transportation improvements that unique geography to also attract businesswill better link Alameda to the rest of the es in the growing maritime and blue economy Bay Area.

In the next five years, the City of Alameda space.”

The focus on job development is good news can expect at least 2,500 construction jobs and for current residents, notes Jennifer Ott, the city’s thousands more jobs once the development director of Base Reuse. “Since the base closed, is complete. But the significance of Alameda Alameda’s commute patterns, for the most part, Point may ultimately extend beyond Alameda— bring people out of the city in the morning and or even the Bay Area. Balancing land use and back in the evening,” she says. “Every Bay Area transportation needs, it serves as an example resident knows that driving to work can be a has- for a public-private partnership that works for sle, to say the least. New businesses at Alameda everyone.

“The project takes into account and builds upon Alameda’s unique geography to attract businesses in the growing maritime and blue economy space.”

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Features of the Enterprise District Ferry Terminal and Transit Service Access The future Seaplane Lagoon ferry terminal will serve as a multi-modal transportation hub.

New commercial block

Buildings will be organized around a grid of tree-lined streets with on-street parking and a network of parks and civic spaces.

Parks

Seaplane Lagoon Waterfront Promenade: launch site of Pan Am’s first China Clipper flight.

Enterprise Park: Located along the southern waterfront with extensive views of the San Francisco Bay.

Building height limits

Maximum permitted height for buildings is 100 feet (40 feet along the west side of Main Street).

Sports and Recreation

Existing tenant, Bladium, is a 175,000 SF indoor/ outdoor sports club; future plans include a 44-acre sports complex and the Bay Trail, a separated bicycle and pedestrian path.

Artist’s renderings of Waterfront Promenade at Alameda Point. alamedaca.gov

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ADVERTISING 1.SUPPLEMENT

Alameda

2550 MONARCH ST.

SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES

By Cushman & Wakefield For lease 66,000 SQ. FT. • Office/Administrative - classroom, training or film production facility

6.

• Divisible to ±22,000 sq. ft.

• Offices on ground & 2nd floors

2 1.

• Kitchenette and restrooms available • Parking available

ALAMEDA POINT SITE B

2.

By Cushman & Wakefield For sale 82 acres • Fully entitled parcels for users and developers • Parcels from 9.1 to 23.9 contiguous acres

3.

4.

1465 WEBSTER STREET

By Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Drysdale Properties For lease 3,876 sq. ft. building 17,103 sq. ft. lot • Large restaurant property • Expansive off-street parking • Business included in sale price

707 WEST TOWER AVENUE Cushman & Wakefield For lease 40,000 sq. ft.

• Creative R&D flex, specialty manufacturing (including food/ beverage), with approved reatail & bar/restaurant use

5.

2350 SARATOGA STREET

WIND RIVER

By CBRE

Adaptive reuse project at historic Building 8

For lease Building 300: 74,164 sq. ft.

Building 400: 49,282 sq. ft.

Development site: 96,000 + sq. ft.

By Alameda Point Redevelopers For lease 310,000 total sq. ft. mixed-use development

• Class A office development • Efficient, flexible floor plans • 1190 on-site parking stalls to accomodate 3.5/1,000 ratio • 14-ft slab-to-slab floors with abundant light • State-of-the-art campus built 2001

• Retail storefronts available

• Food manufacturing space available • 88 Work/live units • Maker and creative space available • New build to suit office space available • New roof deck and outdoor space with stunning views of San Francisco and the East Bay.

REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT Innovative businesses need innovative space. Alameda has flexible industrial and creative commercial opportunities that accommodate R&D, office, hospitality, retail and manufacturing uses, including large parcels for waterfront development unparalleled in the Bay Area. Several key projects with city approvals in place are highlighted.

alamedaca.gov

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

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By Newmark Knight Frank For sale or lease Six new R&D/manufacturing buildings 20,000 SF to 38,000 sq. ft.

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alamedaca.gov

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Alameda

SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES

THE BLUE ECONOMY Alameda geography and history attract blue economy innovators

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Alameda and San Francisco share a maritime history. Today, however, the

Bay Area’s maritime businesses look to Alameda as their first choice, with San Francisco’s waterfront now dedicated to tourism and serviceeconomy businesses.

ong before the Bay Bridge united San Francisco with the East Bay, a long pier jutting out from Alameda Island once connected railroads with ships and ferries heading to and from San Francisco and other ports across the bay. Even today, the far western edge of Alameda Point, the island’s former naval base, falls within the boundaries of the City and County of San Francisco.

Alameda is in the center of one of the world’s busiest travel and shipping waterways. Its north shore is just a few hundred feet from the Port of Oakland, the country’s fifth-busiest container port.

An island city, Alameda also offers more than 20 miles of shoreline.

Today, San Francisco’s transformation into a service-based economy has brought maritime businesses across the bay to Alameda, and blue economy startups now look to Alameda as their first choice to locate. These businesses appreciate not just Alameda’s geography and natural resources, but also its history as a hub for the maritime industry.

That history means that the infrastructure— docks, piers, deep water passages, barges— is already in place. So too is the talent, thanks to a long tradition of apprenticeship in the maritime industry.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Alameda has several blue economy subsectors with growth potential. First is the industrial/commercial sector, which consists of shipbuilding and repair services. Bay Ship & Yacht and Power Engineering, Alameda’s two

major employers in this sector, have increased their combined workforce by 25 percent in the last five years. Demand for maritime construction is only expected to increase, as sea level rise continues to encroach on developed coastal regions.

Another strong blue economy sector is the recreational maritime subcategory, which includes businesses related to commercial marinas, yacht sales and recreational use of the water. Alameda is a prime access point to enjoy the largest recreational open space in the region: the San Francisco Bay. Alameda has nearly 3,400 recreational boat slips—the most of any Northern California city. And with the growing regional population, more people will be looking towards the limited supply of waterfront access for recreation and leisure.

Blue tech is the subsector with the greatest opportunity for growth. The West Coast is already becoming a hub for this kind of activity, and the availability of R&D, warehouse, startup and incubator space near the water could serve to accelerate this growth in the Bay Area’s island city.

Government agencies also present a growth opportunity for Alameda. The US Maritime Administration and the Coast Guard already have a sizeable presence in Alameda. As the Bay Area’s roads and railways continue to feel the strain of the massive migration to the region, water transit may become the fastest way to get around.

Alameda has the infrastructure and the talent to become the go-to berth for the region’s ferry construction and repair needs.

Alameda incubator breathes life into blue economy Alameda will soon be home to a first-of-itskind blue tech incubator, Turning Basin Labs. An assembly of local industry leaders, government entities and NGOs, TBL has been crafted to promote inclusive innovation in the blue economy while fostering a sustainable future for maritime employees.

The brainchild of Alameda resident Nick Ellis, director of corporate development at Bay Ship & Yacht, the project seeks to “reverse the global trend in which tradespeople have been relegated to the shores of innovation, looking on as other high-skills industries see ever-greater investment and prosperity. TBL will forge a brighter future for the blue economy and its workers,” Ellis says.

To find out more, visit TurningBasinLabs.com

DIGITAL SIGHT

alamedaca.gov

MAY 4, 2018

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Advanced skills training investment strengthens Alameda’s blue economy

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merica’s largest generation—the millen- the California Employment Training Panel, says that’s to nials—doesn’t want to work in manufac- be expected with this kind of program. “When comturing. They’re not interested in becom- panies like Bay Ship & Yacht design and execute these ing craftsmen or machinists or painters. training programs, the benefits for employees and busiAt least, that’s the narrative you’ll find in ness alike far exceed the original investment.”

The ETP recently provided $94,000 in funding to Bay the opinion pages.

But for Thomas Edgerton, training manager at Bay Ship & Yacht to grow its TWI program. But that amount Ship & Yacht, Alameda’s highly regarded maritime con- could grow to nearly $250,000 annually, provided Bay struction and repair business, that story doesn’t match Ship & Yacht reaches its targets.

The deal is part of the ETP’s mission to help grow talhis experience. “Young people are interested in these high-skill, well-paying, rewarding jobs,” he says. “A lot ent bases in industries important to the future of the California economy, such as manufacturing, agriculture of them just don’t have the training.”

That’s why Bay Ship puts so much effort into training and biosciences, Pierce says. Businesses come up with the proposal and do the training, while the ETP its employees, he says. “By investing in employee development we’re offering them tracks metrics to ensure that companies upward mobility through the compaare fulfilling their commitment to workny while also furnishing them with force training. skills that make them competitive “At the end, if they’ve hit their in today’s economy.” That uptargets, they get a reimbursement ward trajectory, in turn, also alfor the costs,” Pierce says. “It’s lows new employees to learn the pay-for-performance.”

The benefit for California is trade from master craftsmen. a healthy, globally-competitive Bay Ship follows a job skills deThomas Edgerton, velopment approach called “traineconomy, Pierce notes. “California Training manager, ing within the industry,” or “TWI” for is the sixth-largest economy in the Bay Ship & Yacht short. Originally developed during the world, and one of the biggest draws for WWII era, TWI has employees at every level businesses is our talent. ETP funding conlearn from those more experienced, ultimately result- tracts help keep California on top.” ing in a culture of “continuous improvement.

If Bay Ship & Yacht is any indication, the investment Bay Ship first instituted TWI in its paint department. in talent development is a winning strategy. The comThe program’s success led to a quick expansion, and pany serviced more than 200 vessels last year, and the today more than one third of the company’s nearly 300 quality of its work has led to Bay Ship being chosen for craftsmen participate in the company’s TWI program. innovative and experimental projects, such as a hydroBay Ship expects to extend the program to the rest of gen fuel cell ferry proof-of-concept.

“Ask any business leader in the Bay Area what their its workers by the end of the year.

As a result of the program, Bay Ship, which is already biggest concern is and nine out of ten times they’ll tell known as one of the country’s premiere maritime repair you it’s finding the right talent,” Edgerton says. “We’re and manufacturing facilities, is able to maintain and lucky to have a great talent base from which we can grow its workforce. continue to grow, especially with the help of organizaRenee Pierce, an economic development analyst for tions like the California ETP.”

“Young people are interested in these highskill, well-paying, rewarding jobs.”

alamedaca.gov

GETTY IMAGES

MARITIME TRADES

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BAY SHIP & YACHT bay-ship.com YEARS IN ALAMEDA:

41 years

INNOVATION: Shipyard

is breeding ground for new and experimental ships

TRAINING MANAGER:

Thomas Edgerton

ALAMEDA FAVORITE:

My daughter’s place on the beach, the local vibe, the international mix of people, water fun and the fact that everyone drives 25 mph.

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT TRAINING PANEL etp.ca.gov MISSION: Supporting

job creation and retention through training

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ANALYST:

Renee Pierce

ALAMEDA FAVORITE:

Interesting shops and restaurants in a walkable downtown area, full of friendly people.

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Alameda

SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES

OCEAN CONSERVATION

Nonprofit finds new home on Alameda’s South Shore

S BLUE ENDEAVORS blue-endeavors.org IINNOVATION:

Mobilizing next generation of ocean conservationists and citizen-scientists YEARS IN ALAMEDA:

<1

EMPLOYEES: 3

full-time staff (16 contractors) FOUNDER: Vince Smith ALAMEDA FAVORITE:

Collaborating with DOER Marine in Alameda and potential access to a working waterfront.

BLUE ENDEAVORS

Blue Endeavors offers training courses, mentorship programs and scholarships to foster the next generation of leaders and innovators in the field of ocean conservation.

ailing, surfing or wadsions outside of marine science come ing in the deep blue of away from Blue Endeavors programs with an understanding that the Pacific on a temperate afternoon in encourages them to become lifelong citizen-scientists and ocean the California sun, conservation advocates, Smith you’d be forgiven for thinking says. that the Ocean looks the same What started as an initiative to as it always has. That’s because encourage high school students’ it does – at least from the surface. Beneath the waves, howinterest in STEM by presenting Vince Smith, ever, mass extinction is reshaping them with relatable coursework soon Founder, Blue Endeavors marine ecosystems that until recently grew into a community resource for all had maintained healthy equilibria for tens ages. Today, Blue Endeavors offers programs for everyone from elementary school chilof thousands of years.

The result of climate change, pollution, increasing acid- dren to graduate students to interested community memification and various other man-made afflictions, the trans- bers. Projects range in difficulty, location and scope, and formation of Earth’s oceans is less visible to the public some projects can send participants to countries around than conspicuous events like increasingly destructive hur- the world to help with global ocean research projects, ricanes or pernicious droughts, says Vince Smith, found- Smith says. er of Alameda’s non-profit ocean conservation community In August 2017, Blue Endeavors opened its first dive facenter, Blue Endeavors. “But it’s there. People who regu- cility at Alameda’s South Shore, cementing its standing as larly dive or otherwise go under the ocean’s surface notice one of the Bay Area’s premiere marine-focused community centers. In addition to serving as a waterfront base for it—and they’re worried.”

Even since 2012, when Smith and his team of volunteers their activities, the Alameda location also includes a full founded Blue Endeavors to promote ocean conservation, SCUBAPRO Platinum dive shop, from which all proceeds species have disappeared from some of his favorite diving go directly back to the non-profit organization.

In addition to helping regain balance in the ocean, prospots, Smith notes. “It really highlights the need for more action, now,” he says. “But it’s going to take decades—at moting equity and inclusion in STEM fields is central to minimum—of effort, invention and awareness to restore or Blue Endeavor’s mission. “Ocean exploration and research is expensive, and many people can’t afford that,” Smith even to slow the damage to the Earth’s oceans.”

That’s why Blue Endeavors offers its unique array of says. So Blue Endeavors has arranged what it calls a “Onetraining courses, mentorship programs and scholarships: to-One” program: for each month that a paying member to foster the next generation of leaders and innovators in contributes, Blue Endeavors donates a month to a memthe field of ocean conservation. Ultimately, the organiza- ber that can’t afford the dues. “We want everyone, regardtion hopes to create cohorts of lifelong ocean advocates less of economic class, to have the opportunity to become out of its students. Even those that decide to enter profes- more scientifically and conservation-literate,” Smith says.

“We want everyone, regardless of economic class, to have the opportunity to become more scientifically- and conservation-literate.

alamedaca.gov

ERWIN ZWART/THE OCEAN CLEANUP

Sections of the Ocean Cleanup floating barrier will be pieced together off Alameda Point, then towed out to the Pacific Ocean.

Left: Rendering of the ship which will carry the collected garbage.

OCEAN CLEANUP

OCEAN CLEANUP Former naval air station is an ideal base for global cleanup operation

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he former Alameda Naval Air Station, known today as Alameda Point, is the nerve center of operations for entities ranging from museums to soccer clubs, whiskey distilleries to packing companies. But none of them are quite like The Ocean Cleanup, brainchild of CEO and founder Boyan Slat.

It’s an organization with a simple goal that’s right there in the name. During a diving trip to the Mediterranean in 2011, Slat saw more plastic bags than the sea life he was there to explore. After months of passionate research, he came upon the idea of a passive cleanup system for ocean waste. Slat proposed the idea at the 2012 TedxDelft conference, and it quickly went viral with more than 4.3 million views on YouTube.

The concept is simple enough: A floater barrier and screen system move with the currents to collect plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an ocean gyre about the size of Texas that is currently floating in between California and Hawaii. The technology required to achieve that goal is far more ingenious, however. The “floaters” will be made of hard-walled pipe attached to an impermeable screen, and designed to catch plastic pieces bigger than one third of an inch without snagging ocean wildlife.

The Ocean Cleanup has designed its floaters to be autonomous. After using algorithms to identify the best places to deploy each of the floaters, the system will travel along ocean currents collecting plastic. This autonomy also makes the process energy neutral; it

harnesses the power of the ocean to push the cleanup system into the areas where it’s most needed and sweep the garbage into the system.

Once the floaters are full, support boats will empty the system, before taking the plastic back to the Bay Area to process it, recycle it and resell it. As a result, the process is also economically sustainable, injecting both materials and money back into the global economy.

The autonomous, self-sustaining nature of the project allows The Ocean Cleanup to scale up continuously as it adds more and more systems to the area. Boyan Slat and his organization are confident that they can remove half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years following full-scale deployment. All they really needed was a place to put all of this amazing technology together.

That’s where Alameda comes in. The nearby sheltered water provides direct access to the ocean, while Seaplane Lagoon outside the former Alameda Naval Air Station has shallow water, making the city the ideal spot for transferring the system in the water. And because The Ocean Cleanup will be assembling the system in several sections—each piece is approximately 250 feet long—they need ample space to piece them together, which Alameda Point provides.

Once they’ve connected all the sections of the system, The Ocean Cleanup plans to lower it into the water of Seaplane Lagoon and tow it out to the Pacific Ocean. Curious onlookers can expect to see the system floating out of the bay by the middle of 2018.

During a diving trip to the Mediterranean, founder Boyan Slat saw more plastic bags than sea life.

alamedaca.gov

THE OCEAN CLEANUP theoceancleanup.com INNOVATION: Passive

ocean debris collection system

YEARS IN ALAMEDA:

<1

CEO & FOUNDER:

Boyan Slat

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3D SENSING TECHNOLOGY Autonomous vehicle industry looks to Alameda

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VELODYNE LiDAR velodynelidar.com INNOVATION: Real-

time 3D data-capture technology to enable self-driving vehicle navigation

YEARS IN ALAMEDA:

2

EMPLOYEES: 575 (70 in Alameda) PRESIDENT: Marta Hall ALAMEDA FAVORITE: Riding her bike

The Velodyne Light Detection and Ranging scanner creates precise maps of its surroundings using reflected light.

PHOTOS: VELODYNE LiDAR

on Alameda’s lovely paths, enjoying the island’s great views!

elodyne LiDAR has recently brought its long history of game-changing innovation to Alameda. The Bay’s island city is now the home of the new Velodyne Labs R&D facility that keeps both the company and the city on the cutting edge of self-driving and mapping technology.

Velodyne has been developing cutting-edge technology since the company moved into laser-scanning in the early 2000’s, with the opening of their LiDAR division. LiDAR (or “Light Detection and Ranging”) uses reflected light to create precise maps of the surrounding area instead of relying on passive information the way cameras and similar sensors do.

Founder David Hall’s invention was born from the DARPA Grand Challenge, a self-driving car competition established to push the bounds of autonomous vehicle technology. The first Grand Challenge in 2004 disappointed when no cars managed to finish the course or earn the million-dollar prize. Hall recognized the need for a vision system that was able to see the course in its entirety. The following year, he invented his 3D, 360-degree LiDAR. By the 2007 Grand Challenge, Velodyne LiDAR technology was on five of the six self-driving cars that finished the course.

Today, Velodyne LiDAR is the top supplier of advanced LiDAR and sells its sensors to almost every auto and tech company globally that is building or testing autonomous vehicles. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Bing, Baidu and TomTom are just a few of the companies worldwide that use Velodyne LiDAR’s technology.

Velodyne has outlined the ways it wants life to improve with LiDAR and the self-driving revolution. Easier commutes, powered by cars that can avoid or navigate traffic all on their own.

Travel unhindered by stress, distraction, or drowsy drivers. Road trips that are all scenery, with both “driver” and passenger looking out the windows and enjoying the experience. “We want to improve all of the ways peo-

San Jose City Hall as seen by a Velodyne LiDR scanner.

“LiDAR can help mitigate the dangers of driving, avoid the many dangers of human inattention and distraction.”

Marta Hall, President, Velodyne LiDAR

ple get from A to B,” says Marta Hall, the company’s president and Chief Business Development Officer.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, LiDAR can make for safer roadways.

Each iteration of the LiDAR design allows vehicles to see further and more clearly, which takes more and more danger out of the self-driving experience. Hall says that “LiDAR can help mitigate the dangers of driving, avoid the many dangers of human inattention and distraction, and prevent colalamedaca.gov

lisions on the roadway.”

Velodyne LiDAR is passing 550 employees as they reach higher and higher to spread their technology. They recently opened a megafactory in San Jose, where Marta Hall hopes to “scale production up higher than it ever has before.” The company has facilities across the state, but the R&D department is in Alameda, where David Hall can tinker with innovative designs and Marta Hall can help expand the company’s reach.

MAY 4, 2018

Alameda

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MAURICE RAMIREZ

MANUFACTURING

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Art and science mix at Alameda’s Concreteworks

T

he history of concrete is in many ways the history of architecture itself. Adored by the Romans and modern builders alike for its durability and pliability, the material was essentially forgotten by architects of the Middle Ages before being revived by industrialists of the 19th century. The high-rise character of our cities today is in large part the result of that rediscovery.

This ancient building material is again undergoing a rebirth. Traditionally enjoyed for its physical properties, designers and architects today admire concrete for something else: its beauty.

At the center of this rebirth is Alameda’s concrete design and fabrication studio, Concreteworks. The company traces its origins to 1991, when founder Mark Rogero stumbled upon the idea while looking for a job—and a countertop.

“I thought that getting into concrete design and installation would be a good way to get experience while I looked for an architect position, and I’d at least get a countertop in the process,” Rogero says.

But what was intended as means to an end soon became Rogero’s passion. “I was impressed with the material’s versatility, and I was excited by the idea that you can mix up dirt and water and have a working surface in a matter of days,” he says.

Concreteworks soon began fabricating custom jobs for clients, designing and installing not just countertops, but also wall panels, landscape products, relief sculptures, furniture and other non-structural art objects. “Even as late as 1991, the idea of using concrete in these alternative ways in design and architecture was still relatively new,” Rogero says. “We were one of only two or three companies working in this niche.”

Today, the company maintains a thriving custom business, and has added to it a partners division, which works with major retailers to distribute concrete-based art and furniture to consumers around the world, and a products division, through which Concreteworks sells its designs directly. No matter what division it may originate from, each work confirms Rogero’s belief that concrete is an aesthetic, not just a functional, material.

In addition to advocating for concrete as an art medium, the company is also advancing the proposition of concrete as a sustainable building material. Studies estimate that cement production, one of the essential elements of concrete, contributes around seven percent of all human-derived carbon dioxide emissions. Concreteworks’ concrete is made with glass fiber, rather than steel, reinforcement, allowing it to consume just half the volume of cement that traditional concrete methods require. The company also uses a custom-built, onsite water-recovery system to recycle and treat significantly reduce its overall water consumption.

Supplying everything from lounges, found at San Francisco’s award winning Bar Agricole, to high end commercial interiors like 301 Howard St in SoMa, Concreteworks’ design and manufacturing studio is located on a three-and-a-half-acre site adjacent to Alameda’ Tidal Canal. Rogero says ConcreteWorks chose the location not just for the space and resources, but for the sense of community.

“Community is one of our core values and we find that Alameda reflects and amplifies that spirit,” says Rogero. “We take pride in handcrafting our products locally. We really feel like we’re making a contribution here in Alameda. ” alamedaca.gov

Above: ConcreteWorks’ Alameda factory produces custom architectural installations as well as concrete-based art and furniture sold in retail stores.

CONCRETEWORKS concreteworks.com INNOVATION:

Architectural concrete YEARS IN ALAMEDA: 3

EMPLOYEES: 85 FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Mark

Rogero

ALAMEDA FAVORITE: The

connection to the place and community

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Alameda

Alamanac Beer Co.’s brewery and tasting room are in Alameda’s Spirits SAN FRANCISCO TIMES Row, which is home to aBUSINESS community of beer, wine, and spirits makers.

FARM TO BARREL

Brews that express Northern California’s terroir

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ALMANAC BEER CO. Almanacbeer.com SPECIALTY: “Farm to Barrel” craft beers YEARS IN ALAMEDA:

1

EMPLOYEES: 25 CO-FOUNDER:

Jesse Friedman

intage. Oak. Terroir. These are Co-located with fellow Alameda-newcomer terms most often heard in the wine Admiral Maltings in a repurposed 1940s Naval world. But as beer makers conhangar at Alameda Point, Almanac’s new tinue to advance the 30,000-square-foot facility gives the art and science of brewery the space they need to brewing, expect to hear these brew one-hundred percent terms a lot more at your loof their beer onsite for the cal beer tasting in the first time – with room to years to come. spare. In addition to If a few years is too brewing equipment, long to wait, Bay Area the space can accommodate 4,000 oak barresidents and visitors rels, 2,500 square feet are in luck: The latest entry to Alameda’s of cold storage and a world-famous Spirits Alley 2,000-square-foot indoor taproom. is none other than Almanac Jesse Friedman, The amount of space Beer Co. At the new taproom Co-founder, was critical, but it was just they’ll find dozens of draft pours Almanac Beer Co. one reason Almanac turned from a brewery that’s been on the to Alameda to locate their new forefront of this movement toward more complex and subtle expressions of beer ever brewhouse, Friedman says. “Alameda’s since 2010, when homebrew enthusiasts Damian Spirits Alley is full of talented distillFagan and Jesse Friedman teamed up to push ers, brewers and winemakers, which inspires us to be more creative. As a the limits of what beer can be.

Guests at Almanac’s new taproom will find an as- community, they’ve been extremely sortment of libations on tap, from classics like IPAs welcoming. We couldn’t have chosen and pilsners to more premium selections like bar- a better base from which to launch the rel-aged brews, coffee stouts and selections from next phase of our business.” the brewery’s “Farm to Barrel” series, which incorAlameda residents too have emporate local fruits and foods, as well as barrel-ag- braced Almanac’s entry to their city, ing, into the beer-making process. “It’s part of how Friedman says. “People bring their we achieve the sense of terroir in our beer,” says dogs, they bring their kids. It’s a family co-founder Jesse Friedman. “Everything about our place where the community can come beers is local and organic, and this is just another together and bond over some tasty way to tie our beer to the land.” beers.”

“Alameda’s Spirits Alley is full of talented distillers, brewers and winemakers, which inspires us to be more creative.”

PHOTOS: ALMANAC BEER CO.

alamedaca.gov

MAY 4, 2018

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GETTY IMAGES

BOATING SUPPLY

Gearing up Alameda’s vibrant sailing culture

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Ropes opened in Palo Alto, CA in 1975, West Marine has constantly expanded its community of sailors dedicated to helping each other do what they do best safely and skillfully. The new West Marine is capable of supplying customers with the wider variety of products that their customers were asking for: antifouling paint, cleaners, safety equipment, foul weather gear and more.

West Marine has grown to include nearly 250 stores in 38 states and CEO Doug Robinson is eager to support the “vibrant boating and sailing culture.”

West Marine first came to Alameda in 2002, and is excited to be able to stay, thanks to the efforts of a supportive community and local government. The new, more central location will allow West Marine to continue to supply boaters in Alameda and beyond with everything they need to enjoy good Bay Area sailing.

“Simply put, there is no other Bay Area city where West Marine will be closer to its customer base,” says Lois Butler, Alameda’s economic development manager. “We are the largest and most avid sailing community in the Bay Area. The city is excited to have found a new home for West Marine in Alameda.”

WEST MARINE

oats are an important part of the Alameda experience.

The man-made island is home to yacht clubs aplenty and marinas collectively capable of berthing more than 3300 boats. One of the most important conveniences for all those boat owners is West Marine, a staple for Bay Area boating and water recreation supplies.

West Marine is in the process of moving its Alameda location to the bustling South Shore Shopping Center, right next to the water.

Alameda represents one of the jewels in the West Marine crown, and when it decided it needed to close its original Alameda location, the city’s Economic Development Division stepped in with an alternate location at the South Shore Center, to the delight of the sailing community.

“As a company, West Marine is always focused on our core customer who spends as much of their free time as possible on or by the water,” says Doug Robinson, CEO of West Marine. “At our new Alameda location, we plan to continue our excellent customer service which includes our price matching guarantee along with the best array of products and gear to make their time on the Bay safe and enjoyable.”

Ever since the first location of the then-West Coast

West Marine has grown to include nearly 300 stores in 38 states and Puerto Rico.

alamedaca.gov

WEST MARINE westmarine.com SPECIALTY:

Boating-related product and gear for water recreation

YEARS IN ALAMEDA: 16

EMPLOYEES: 18

(Alameda) CEO: Doug Robinson

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OPEN SPACE

Community comes first in reclaiming land for park

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JEAN SWEENEY OPEN SPACE PARK alamedaca.gov/ recreation/projects/ jean-sweeney-openspace-park AMENITIES: Natural

playgrounds, large and small group picnic areas, biking and walking trails, community garden and more

RECREATION & PARKS DIRECTOR:

Amy Wooldridge

ALAMEDA FAVORITE: Paddling

with Alameda Dragon Flyers on the estuary

n today’s Bay Area real estate market, a director of Recreation and Parks. “It showed million-dollar sale of 27 acres of prime land residents that Alameda was willing to fight for in Alameda sounds like a joke. But it’s not. the character of the community and the high What is now under development as the quality of life that Alamedans prize.”

Jean Sweeney Open Space Park was once Jean Sweeney isn’t the only park in recent property of the now-defunct Alameda Belt Line years to rise from the ashes of industrial disrailroad, which in its later years was used prirepair. New York’s High Line, which once carmarily to ship goods to and from a Del Monte ried thousands through the Lower East Side cannery. When the cannery closed in 1998, the by train, has become one of Manhattan’s fate of the railroad’s former operating ground premiere attractions for tourists and reswas uncertain. idents alike since being transBut thanks to local Alameda formed into an urban park. legend Jean Sweeney, to Wooldridge expects whom the park is dedithat Sweeney Park too will cated, the open space become an attraction acreage has been prefor Alamedans and served as a one-of-aresidents of the kind park in a city alwider Bay Area, but ready known for its what makes Sweeney top-tier parks and unique is the degree of recreation. community involvement, It was Sweeney who, Amy Wooldridge, she says. “In many ways, Alameda Recreation after digging through and Parks Director the story of Jean Sweeney is years of Alameda’s historical the story of Alameda as a whole. files, discovered the 1924 conWhat was once the domain of heavy tract detailing the right of the city to buy industry made way for a modern, attractive the land back at the original purchase price of and environmentally-conscious destination $30,000, plus improvements.

“Ultimately, it took a court-ruling for the for families and local businesses. What’s railroad company to finally release the prop- more, the project itself was spearheaded by erty to the City of Alameda at a final sale price the community and designed with input from of just under $1 million, but it was something thousands of residents, all with the support of the city government was willing to fight for on a receptive city government. To me, that’s what behalf of its residents,” says Amy Wooldridge, Alameda is all about.”

“Alameda was willing to fight for the character of the community and the high quality of life that Alamedans prize.”

alamedaca.gov

Top: Plans for Alameda’s new park.

Above: The abandoned railroad rightof-way was reclaimed by the city for open space thanks to the efforts of Alameda citizen Jean Sweeny, who dug through historical records to find the original covenant.