Title
Recommendation to Receive the 6-Month Status Update on the Enterprise District Development Approach (July 2016 to December 2016). (Base Reuse 819099)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Recommendation to Receive the 6-Month Status Update on the Enterprise District Development Approach (July 2016 to December 2016)
BACKGROUND
On October 20, 2015, the City Council approved a new approach for development at the Enterprise District at Alameda Point that focuses on attracting major commercial businesses or “end users,” instead of commercial developers. A three-phase approach tied closely to the Site A development milestones over the next 24-36 month period uses their progress to draw attention to the Enterprise District. This approach provides the greatest flexibility in marketing and use of the site until an interested commercial user is identified. The Council also approved staff’s recommendation to use Cushman & Wakefield to market the Enterprise District and leverage their existing knowledge and experience at Alameda Point and their many connections throughout the Bay Area. The City Council asked that staff report back every 6 months with a status update.
The approach to attracting new jobs in the Enterprise District builds upon the strong leasing activity in the Adaptive Reuse area and leverages the City’s current leasing strategy at Alameda Point of targeting high-profile and attractive tenants, such as Google, and clusters of industries, such as clean-tech, food and beverage manufacturing users and artisan makers. This leasing strategy and activity lays the foundation for commercial expansion and attraction elsewhere in Alameda Point, including the Enterprise District. The Alameda Point leasing program currently consists of 1.8 million square feet of commercially leased space for approximately 66 businesses and 1,000 employees.
At the September 20, 2016 City Council meeting, at the request of City Council, staff presented a single stand-alone document that consolidated information about the Enterprise District’s previous solicitation process, vision and goals, and the approach to development. The document also includes the roles and responsibilities of Cushman & Wakefield and the tasks and deliverables required of them to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. This document (Exhibit 1) is available on the Alameda Point website <https://alamedaca.gov/alameda-point/enterprise-district>.
At the September 20 meeting, staff also gave a 6-month update on the performance of the new approach. Cushman & Wakefield successfully completed all of the deliverables for Phase 1 of the Awareness Phase, except one. The deliverables included: producing a marketing brochure, sending out eight broker blasts to a mailing list of 1,600 potential users, making seven presentations to seven different brokerage houses, making weekly phone calls to follow up on mailing recipients, keeping Enterprise District information active on online marketing portals and their own website. In the six month period, they received 100 inquiries from a variety of industries. The feedback from the inquiries provided insight about the concerns and interests for development at Alameda Point. Access to the Enterprise District and potential risks about the timing of infrastructure were among the concerns. The amount of available land and the future residential and ferry terminal projects are of keen interest. The City Council asked that additional information about the inquiries be included in the next report to better assess the effectiveness of the approach to development.
DISCUSSION
This report provides the results from the second 6-month period (July 2016 - December 2016) of the Awareness Phase, which is tied to the pre-infrastructure construction and Phase 1 closing (9-14 month duration) of the Site A development. The goals during this phase are to raise awareness of the Enterprise District opportunity with a focus on the commercial brokerage community and identifying initial corporate or institutional users that may be an appropriate fit for the Enterprise District.
6-month Status Update (July 2016 - December 2016)
The table below lists the tasks and deliverables completed by Cushman & Wakefield in the most recent six-month period.
|
|
Deliverable/Tasks |
Metrics |
Results as of 12/31/16 |
|
1. |
Produce new Enterprise District specific marketing piece |
|
Exhibit 2- completed in first 6 months |
|
2. |
Public relations effort - article in regional press |
# articles |
Not yet completed - tied to Site A groundbreaking |
|
3. |
Modify website to reflect new Enterprise District availability |
|
Completed in first 6 months |
|
4. |
Two enterprise District specific broker blasts per month (approx. 750 recipients Bay Area wide) |
#broker blasts |
8 blasts sent to 1600 mailing list |
|
5. |
Presentations to two regional brokerage house visits per month |
# presentations # of brokerage houses |
12 presentations 12 brokerages |
|
6. |
Weekly targeted mailer to regional tenants/users (25 weekly) |
# of mailers |
300 mailers |
|
7. |
Weekly phone follow-up to end user mailing recipients |
# of phone follow-ups |
195 phone follow-ups |
8. Keep information active on LoopNet & Costar online marketing portals link LoopNet <http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/19767979/0-Alameda-Point-Alameda-CA>
|
Costar <http://property.costar.com/Property/Detail/Detail.aspx?t=14&id=9953775&popup=0> |
|
9. |
Keep information active on C&W website |
link |
C&W Website <http://looplink.cushwake.com/looplink/cushwake/searchresultsFL.aspx?SearchType=FSFL&VIEWSTATEID=8479249&PgCxtGuid=bcb69268-432d-4b5a-b9f8-2a3f2cc71991&PgCxtCurFLKey=LooplinkSearchPage&name=cushwakenational&QryRadioStateList=CA&QryRadioCity=alameda&QryRadioLooplinkSubmit=View+Listings&ReturnTargetUrl=%2fxNet%2fLoopLink%2fLoopLinks%2fcushwake%2fqryframeFSFL.aspx&R_LL_RB=FSFL&R_QR_C=alameda&R_QR_SL=CA> |
|
10. |
Inquiry Tracking |
#inquiries |
75 inquiries |
All of the deliverables are complete for this past six months, except for the article in the regional press that will be pursued once Site A breaks ground on the infrastructure construction. Exhibit 3 provides additional information about the 75 inquiries during the last six months (July 2016 - December 2016) as requested by City Council. The table indicates the type of inquiries Cushman & Wakefield receives and how they respond to them.
Based on the completion of the required deliverables, brokerage presentations, weekly mailers, and the number of inquiries that continue to be generated and followed up, staff believes the current approach continues to be the most effective way to market the Enterprise District.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact to the City’s General Fund or Base Reuse Fund budgets relating to the six-month update of the Alameda Point Enterprise District Approach to Development.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
On September 20, 2016, City Council approved the Enterprise District Approach to Development.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
No environmental review is required as approving the 6-month status update is not a project as defined under CEQA. CEQA Guidelines, section 15378.
RECOMMENDATION
Receive the 6-month status update on the Enterprise District Development Approach (July 2016 to December 2016).
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse Director
By,
Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Project Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Approach to Development Document
2. Marketing Brochure
3. Inquiry Tracking Sheet (July 1, 2016 - December 31, 2016)