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San Francisco, San Jose team up to keep tech companies

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:32:07 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO — For years, as they’ve jockeyed for tech jobs and the cachet that comes with them, San Francisco has touted its cosmopolitan allure, while San Jose has countered with its vast supply of land.

Now, in an effort to add a weapon to his city’s arsenal, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has proposed reshaping a 30-acre stretch of freeway and rail yards into high-density housing, shops, restaurants and more than 2 million square feet of high-rise office space.

But rather than a new stage in a Bay Area arms race, Lee’s plans are being hailed as a sign of a new, cooperative sentiment sweeping the region. “Mayor Lee wants to see how to promote the Bay Area,” said his spokeswoman, Chrisine Falvey. “There will

be widespread benefits if companies relocate or expand to San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland or nearby areas.”

Added San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, whose city long has billed itself as Silicon Valley’s capital: “I’m worried about Texas,” not San Francisco. “We’ve got much bigger competition for companies that are expanding to other states and countries instead of keeping their growth in Silicon Valley.”

Enrico Moretti, a professor of economics at UC Berkeley who has studied the region’s history of innovation, said traditional rivalries have yielded to the reality of a fast-shifting business landscape.

“It used to be the case that tech companies were either in the South Bay or San Francisco. Now they are in both locations,” he

said. “And workers are much more mobile.”

At the same time, Moretti said, Lee’s proposal to knock down Interstate 280 north of 16th Street and relocate a Caltrain storage yard near ATT Park is an aggressive move for the business-friendly mayor, who has worked to keep startups in town as they grow.

Lee already has cut tax deals with such startups as Twitter in exchange for help revitalizing rundown areas, and he persuaded city voters in the fall to eliminate a payroll tax the mayor and others insisted punished companies for growth.

“Knocking down the 280 extension makes a lot of sense,” Moretti said. “It will free up a lot of land to attract companies and create jobs.”

Lee, in fact, said razing the overpass and rail yard is the city’s last, best hope to create the kind of corporate campuses that San Jose and other cities long have used to woo companies that have outgrown San Francisco’s South of Market area. The neighborhood is home to companies such as Zynga and Yelp and also includes the Mission Bay area, where city officials have already targeted expansion zones for tech firms.

But

some say the area already is so filled up there’s little room for growth.

“When you go to lunch in SoMa, you have to get out of the office before noon or you’re going to be standing in line,” said Jason Johnson, co-founder of startup accelerator Founders Den, which sits near the Caltrain yard in Lee’s sights and offers startups shared office space and other resources.

“At certain times, companies have to leave because of their size, or because of tax incentives elsewhere,” Johnson said. “San Francisco has lost a lot of companies over the years.”

To be sure, Lee’s plan won’t give San Francisco anywhere near the amount of office space San Jose boasts. The 30 acres the mayor thinks can be freed up is about the size of a single corporate campus on San Jose’s North First Street. And Reed and other San Jose officials are making plans of their own to add millions of square feet to that area, accommodating as many as 20,000 new jobs.

Rather than view Lee’s plan as a possible threat, Reed sees it as another piece of the region’s real estate portfolio.

“It’s important that we have options in the Bay Area,” Reed said. “North San Jose’s got one kind of development potential. We’ve got Coyote Valley with another kind of development potential. We’re trying to provide lots of different kinds of environments for companies to work in. Those that want to be in a San Francisco high-rise will choose that.”

Lee’s proposal isn’t without its sharp critics. Some

commuters worry it will slow traffic in and out of the city.

Caltrain officials, too, say they need the rail yard to house trains, especially with plans afoot to electrify the line as part of the state’s high-speed rail project. The city is paying for Caltrain to conduct an eight-month study weighing the plan’s potential impacts, according to Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, who heads the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board that owns and operates the commuter line.

Still, Yeager acknowledged, despite Caltrain’s concerns, Lee’s plan “would be a tremendous boon” for San Francisco and the rest of the region.

Ultimately, economic forces that are far stronger than the ambitions of the mayors of San Jose and San Francisco are likely to carry the day, said UC Berkeley’s Moretti, who wrote the 2012 book “The New Geography of Jobs.”

“The labor markets in the Bay Area are getting increasingly integrated,” Moretti said. “This is very good for the region, very good for high tech and very good for the Bay Area economy.”

Contact George Avalos at 408-373-3556 or 925-977-8477. Follow him at Twitter.com/george_avalos. Contact Peter Delevett at 408-271-3638. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercwiretap.

Article source: http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_22831780/san-francisco-san-jose-team-up-keep-tech-280-development

Solano County Named One of 100 Best Communities for Young People

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:26:44 +0000

Leading Solano County real estate brokerage Andronico Realty is proud to announce that Solano County has recently been named one of the country’s “100 Best Communities for Young People” by America’s Promise Alliance.

Stockton, CA (PRWEB) December 20, 2011

For the fifth consecutive time, Solano County has been named one of the “100 Best Communities for Young People” in the country by America’s Promise Alliance. According to Jacquelin Andronico, founder of leading Solano County real estate brokerage Andronico Realty, this illustrates the fact that the community is a great place to raise a family.

“Solano County has a lot going for it,” says Andronico, whose firm also specializes in homes for sale in Stockton, CA and properties in Sacramento County and other nearby areas. “Solano not only has easy access to the Bay Area, Napa, Sacramento and the rest of the Central Valley, it also has a strong, diversified economic base and a wide range of distinct communities that offer something for everyone.”

Often a top choice of homebuyers looking for affordable Bay Area homes for sale, Solano County is one of the nine counties that comprise the San Francisco Bay Area and is home to a population of more than 413,000. It is composed of a diversity of communities that range from a large city like Vallejo to a small town like Benicia.

“The Solano County real estate market offers everything from Victorian-era homes to waterfront condos to starter homes,” says Andronico. “If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, you can also take a look at what’s available in nearby Sacramento County or San Joaquin County. Whatever your real estate goals are here, we will be more than happy to help you meet and exceed them.”

To learn more about Andronico and Associates’ services and to start browsing for properties in the region, visit their website at www.AndronicoRealty.com or schedule a consultation with Jacquelin Andronico today.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebSolanoCountyRealEstate/AndronicoandAssociates/prweb9053298.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/20/prweb9053298.DTL

Zephyr Real Estate Debuts iPhone App

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:58:11 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Nov 17, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Zephyr Real Estate once again leads the race in technology advances
for the real estate industry. San Francisco home shoppers need look
no further than their iPhone to find every available listing in the
city with Zephyr Real Estate Search, now available in the iTunes
Store.

The Zephyr MLS-powered search makes it easy to find all available
properties for sale in San Francisco. It is the only app that allows
users to search by specific neighborhood rather than just by zip
code, leading to far more nuanced results. The app includes GPS
detection to search in nearby areas, or by any other criteria that is
a priority for those looking for San Francisco properties.

By electing to create a free MyZephyr account, even more features are
available. For example, users will be able to find additional
properties not available on public websites, search pending and sold
properties, save searches and favorites, rate properties, make
notations, share properties with others via email or on Facebook,
receive new listing and price reduction email alerts, and use
Zephyr’s exclusive Home Tour tool. The Home Tour tool allows the
creation of customized multi-point driving directions of up to ten
properties, which is particularly useful for planning a tour of
Sunday open homes. All of the personalized saved information, from
searches to tours, is available from anywhere for those with a
MyZephyr account, whether utilizing the full site or the app.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in mobile usage of our site over the
past year, and expect to only see that trend continue with the
expansion of the mobile market,” commented Randall Kostick, Chief
Operating Officer of Zephyr. “With a robust mobile experience in
place in a market area with too few good options in the real estate
sect, we expect to see our site and app traffic continue to trend
upward.”

Recognizing the proliferation of smartphones in the marketplace,
Zephyr’s mobile website provides those users with an app-like
experience so that all the tools and services are available to
non-iPhone users as well.

“The diligent and detailed process to develop this app was extensive
and reflects Zephyr’s commitment to create an easy-to-use tool for
our clients,” stated Hud Bixler, Director of Technology. “We
deliberately decided to develop a custom app rather than license
something ‘off the shelf’ so that the content would be more
localized, which we feel is crucial.”

Currently, the new Zephyr app serves San Francisco only; however,
development for additional cities in the Bay Area is planned.

About Zephyr Real Estate
Founded in 1978, Zephyr Real Estate is San
Francisco’s largest independent real estate firm with $1 billion in
annual gross sales in 2010 and a current roster of more than 200
full-time agents. In 2010, Zephyr launched its new website, which has
earned two web design awards, including the prestigious Interactive
Media Award. Zephyr Real Estate is a member of the international
relocation network, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World; the
luxury real estate network, Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate; and the
local luxury marketing association, the Luxury Marketing Council of
San Francisco. Zephyr has six strategically located offices in San
Francisco, a business center in Marin County, and serves a large
customer base throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. For more
information, visit
www.zephyrsf.com .


        Contact:
        Melody Brown
        Zephyr Real Estate
        San Francisco, CA
        415.729.3555
        Email Contact

SOURCE: Zephyr Real Estate


http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=997B70F8BF308F97

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zephyr-real-estate-debuts-iphone-app-2011-11-17