Commercial Redevelopment of Union City, CA
I've been a long time resident of Union City and I've recently been in contact with several City officials who have expressed an interest in converting the City's commercial landscape from warehouses to offices, whether tech or other industries.
If you're not familiar with Union City, its a mostly suburban city in the East Bay Area, situated between Fremont and Hayward with a population of around 75,000 residents. It technically falls within the geographic limits of the silicon valley. The founders of the City thought it would be a good idea to establish the City as a place for warehouses, which currently makes up the majority of the commercial property. This was fine several decades ago but things have changed a lot in the Bay Area and warehouses aren't the best use for prime/scarce Bay Area property.
The City sees this as an opportunity for redevelopment and the chance to establish a different identity. Some of the hurdles that it faces include: finding investors that want to take over a large warehouse and convert it into office space; finding tech or other businesses that are willing to relocate to the City; convincing current warehouse landlords to give up their properties, etc.
I attended a City Council meeting where a commercial broker (who specializes in warehouses) presented ideas where the City could locate companies that need office/warehouse space in one building (tech manufacturing companies) and provide them with both in one property. However, I believe the goal is to move away from warehouses entirely, so this does not seem like a long term solution. Ideally, the City wants to lure professional type offices because that is where you get the most price per square foot. For example, warehouse gets $1.80/sq. ft, warehouse/office gets $2.40 per sq. ft and professional office gets $3.60 per sq ft. The goal is to maximize the value from this land, which situated in such a great location.
Currently, the City is in the process of developing a 1 million sq. ft area of land near the Union City BART station where they will build modern office buildings, along with several multi-unit residential buildings. But there is a tremendous opportunity out there for commercial investors/developers who want to work with the City to convert commercial warehouse to office space. And the City will do all it can to make it happen.
If you have any ideas or comments, please share and if you want to get in touch with people in the City, let me know and I will get you in touch with the right people.