The HUB at Eastlake

By Ari Pintado

If you asked the average San Diego resident to name an exciting city within San Diego County, Chula Vista would likely not be their first answer. In 2008, Forbes even listed Chula Vista as one of ‘America’s Top 10 Most Boring Cities’. Chula Vista has always been overlooked and has not been allowed to show its full potential.

That is until the Chair of the city of Chula Vista Planning Commission, Max Zaker, decided to do something about it. As a resident of Chula Vista himself, Max noticed the need for an elevated commercial business presence in the community. There was no area around him where different businesses could gather and interact with one another and share a creative space. This was when he created a unique space now known as The Hub at Eastlake.

The Hub at Eastlake is precisely what it sounds like; it is a hub for entrepreneurs from all walks of life to have a place to rent out a suite, room to grow their business, have access to professional business resources as needed or have an elegant space to hold special events. The idea of The Hub at Eastlake is to have everything you need to help your business thrive all under one roof. “We are the Costco of business resources”, said Max.

When designing the inside of The Hub at Eastlake, Max and his wife Claudia spared no expense and, with the help of an architect from Ware Malcomb, was able to bring their vision to life. Their priority was to make the building feel like a shared space. They wanted all the businesses there to be able to interact with one another and not feel like they are isolated in their offices. They designed most offices to have glass walls that allowed a view to the central hangout spot in the middle of the building; some offices are more isolated for those who prefer more privacy, a spacious break room open to all, several spacious conference rooms and even a receptionist at the front to help with anything residents might need. When designing the interior, Max wanted the space to feel elevated and modern. Every detail was considered, from the light fixtures to the skylight, to the furniture in every office and even the way the building runs on energy.

The Hub at Eastlake is a green building and follows Title 24 guidelines. It was important for Max to run a building like this without being detrimental to the city of Chula Vista. According to the California Energy Commission, Title 24 California Building Standards Code is a broad set of requirements for “energy conservation, green design, construction and maintenance, fire and life safety, and accessibility” that apply to the “structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems” in a building.

When creating the concept of The Hub at Eastlake, Max and Claudia wanted to consider the needs of community members. Max realized that many business owners in Mexico that do business in the U.S. occasionally need to come to San Diego for meetings or have access to business services. As Tijuana is a short drive from Eastlake, The Hub at Eastlake is an excellent location on Fenton Street.

As a fellow businessman, Max understands the financial burden it can take to run a business. Sometimes, renting an entire office building while still being a small or starting business is almost impossible. On top of that, the cost of renting out a venue to hold business events, social gatherings, and company parties can hurt the wallet. This is why The Hub at Eastlake was designed to hold several offices within its twostory structure and a fully equipped event space.

Urban suites range from 81-174 sq ft, come fully equipped, and have access to high-quality wifi. These urban suites start at $750 per month. The Hub at Eastlake also includes several chic conference rooms, which are the perfect space for collaborating, meetings, presentations and expanding your business. These conference rooms can accommodate up to 12 people, are fully equipped and are available seven days a week. Rates range from $60-$85 an hour with a minimum of two hours and a maximum of four hours. The most unique aspect of this building is the chic event space. Located on the first floor is a fully equipped open-floor concept space that can hold up to 120 people. Rates for this space vary depending on the day and time. Monday through Thursday, rates between 9 am and 5 pm are around $200 an hour, and 5 pm and 10 pm are around $275 an hour.

The Hub at Eastlake also offers exclusive memberships to give even more access to its residents. There are three different tiers of membership types, all made to fit different types of entrepreneurs. The ‘Virtual’ membership is $850 per year for a 12-month membership; it offers business mail and package service only and a discount on conference room and event space rentals. This membership is perfect for those who only want to drop in occasionally. The ‘Growth’ membership is $175 per month and is month-to-month. This membership includes the use of drop-in spaces and conference rooms. This membership is perfect for those who want more flexibility. Lastly is the ‘Thrive’ membership, which is $299 per month and is a 12-month membership. This membership gets unlimited use of drop-in spaces, access to conference rooms, use of private drop-in day offices, business mail and package services and a 15 percent discount on the event space. All exclusive memberships include high-speed internet, on-demand copy and print services and access to the breakroom.

Even though The Hub at Eastlake is now a thriving place for entrepreneurs, the journey to this stage was challenging. This is where Max deserves recognition for being an innovator who did not want to quit his beloved city of Chula Vista.

As someone with extensive background in commercial real estate, Max knew getting a space to fulfill his vision’s needs would be a challenge. He wanted to keep it in Chula Vista while being big enough to house several offices and an event space. Luckily, his friend Mike Vogt over at IRE Development was able to offer the perfect location for him right there in Eastlake. Unfortunately, the adventure didn’t stop there. The next challenge was to find a bank willing to give Max the loan to build his vision. Typical trouble he faced was that banks were excited about his concept and were on board as long as he changed the location. They felt like San Diego was better suited for this idea. They heavily suggested it be located in areas like Downtown or Kearny Mesa, where commercial clusters are more common. Despite being told this multiple times, Max was solid in keeping it in Chula Vista. Then, finally, one bank believed in his vision and was willing to offer him financing.

Once the financial details were dealt with and the building was ready to transform into his vision, Max now had another hurdle to face: construction permits. Max shares that this portion of the project was the most challenging due to holding costs while going through the permitting process. He felt like the city of Chula Vista’s permit department’s lengthy timeline was adding more cost to complete his project. As a Planning Commissioner and an experienced entrepreneur, Max was fortunate to have the know-how and resources to navigate the permit department’s maze, but not all small business owners do. He realizes how discouraging this process can be.

He believed this city is constantly overlooked or not seen as anything other than a bedroom (residential) and boring city. His goal is to prove that Chula Vista can be a hotspot for business centers and become known as a destination city to live, work, and play in. He also believes Chula Vista needs an elevated image.

Despite these obstacles, Max and Claudia were still able to materialize an out-of-the-box idea that may change how businesses operate. Max’s ultimate goal for The Hub at Eastlake is to catalyze other entrepreneurs to see Chula Vista as a possible place to plant their businesses so that it becomes the push needed for similar spaces to be made where different companies can have a sense of community and create a thriving environment for generations to come.

THE HUB AT EASTLAKE IS PRECISELY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE; IT IS A HUB FOR ENTREPRENEURS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE TO HAVE A PLACE TO RENT OUT A SUITE, ROOM TO GROW THEIR BUSINESS, HAVE ACCESS TO PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS RESOURCES AS NEEDED OR HAVE AN ELEGANT SPACE TO HOLD SPECIAL EVENTS.