Fluid Will Move Company Headquarters from San Francisco to Oakland

Following other recent headquarter relocations (99designs, Gensler, etc.), Fluid will be making its move from San Francisco to Oakland's Latham Square Building.  

According to a recent article by Roland Li in the San Francisco Business Times, the decision was not just economic:

"San Francisco seems to have lost a bit of its cool," said Tamir Scheinok, chief operating officer at Fluid.  "It really feels like the price pressures in San Francisco have pushed (out) the art scene, the warehouse scene."

"It feels like downtown Oakland was like the Mission was 20 years ago," he added.

Over 156,000 s.f. of New Business Leases in the Second Quarter of 2015

In the second quarter of this year, companies planning to move into Downtown/Uptown Oakland or expand their presence there, executed leases for more than 156,000 s.f. of space. That’s according to information provided to the Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown community benefit districts by commercial real estate brokers.

A significant number of the new leases signed in the second quarter involved companies making the move across the Bay from San Francisco, continuing an ongoing trend as tenants warm to Oakland’s business climate.  Among the significant transactions signed in the second quarter are:

·       Otis McAllister, a global food company, signed a 16,850 s.f. lease at 300 Frank Ogawa – they are moving from San Francisco.

·       21 Tech, a business & technology consultant, signed a 5,133 s.f. lease at 1330 Broadway – they are moving from San Francisco.

·       Women’s Foundation of California, a social change advocate, signed a 5,000 s.f. lease at 300 Frank Ogawa – they are moving from San Francisco.

·       Huge Inc., a branding company, signed a 6,500 s.f. lease at 426 17^th St – they are moving from San Francisco.

·       MM Design Group, a local graphic company, signed a 3,483 s.f. lease at 1759 Broadway – they are moving from San Francisco.

·       Citizen Engagement Lab, a pioneer in using new media and technology to advance meaningful social change, signed a 12,500 s.f. lease at 1330 Broadway – they are moving from Berkeley.

·       Pivot Learning Partners, a nonprofit organization of K-12 education experts working with schools, districts and charters to address the biggest challenges they face, signed a lease for 4,263 s.f. at 500 12^th St. – they are moving from San Francisco.

·       Net Impact, a community that helps students & professionals create positive social and environmental change, signed a lease at 1333 Broadway for 7,950 s.f.

·       California Workers Comp Institute, which improves California’s workers’ compensation system, signed a lease at 1333 Broadway for 6,903 s.f.

·       NPM Inc., an open source project dedicated to the long-term success of the JavaScript community, signed a lease at 1999 Harrison St for 6,238 s.f.

·       Redbird Advanced Learning, which offers solutions that help students, educators and parents effectively navigate today’s radically transforming educational landscape, signed a 5,566 s.f. lease at 1999 Harrison.

·       Menke & Associates, the nation’s premier ESOP advisors, signed a 7,147 s.f. lease a 1 Kaiser Plaza.

·       Turnitin, (formerly known as iParadigms), global leader in evaluating and improving student learning focusing on plagiarism prevention softwares, signed a 24,445 s.f. lease & a 24,467 s.f. at 2101 Webster St.

·       Renewable Funding, which provides innovative financing for efficiency and renewable energy contractors, signed a lease for 20,480 s.f. in the Clorox Building at 1221 Broadway.

“The business climate within the districts continues to attract a diverse mix of office users and retail companies and even though most of the companies which signed leases in the second quarter won’t move in until later this year, the positive momentum created by the expansion of Oakland’s business community continues to build,” said Steve Snider, Lake Merritt/Uptown & Downtown Oakland District Manager. 

###

The Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown District Associations were formed in February 2009. Property owners in both Downtown Oakland and the Lake Merritt/Uptown Districts voted by a margin of almost 8 to 1 to support a voluntary property tax to fund services that would improve the quality of life in their respective communities. The associations meet and function jointly. Services funded by these Districts include maintaining cleanliness and order in the public rights of way, improving district identity and advocating on behalf of the area’s property owners, business owners and residents.  The Districts are key supporters of “Oakland Central”, a new lifestyle branding campaign that employs several platforms including a website, as well as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Dr. Gill Loves Eyes AND Oakland

A conversation with Doctor Tanya Gill of Oakland Vision Center

In 2007, when she decided to take over the Oakland Vision Center practice that has been open since the 1970s, some questioned her decision.  “My parents kept asking me if I was sure,” Dr. Gill explains.  But she couldn’t have been surer.  “I am very invested in this city! I own this business in Oakland, I own a home in Oakland and my husband also works in Oakland.  And, when I hire my employees, well… let’s just say you get bonus points if you live here.”

Dr. Gill’s investment in Oakland has paid off.  Recently, Invision Magazine awarded Oakland Vision Center the title of “Top Independent Eyecare Business in the U.S.”  

“It’s a huge deal, I still can’t believe I won!” she said.

In addition to complete medical eyecare services, the Oakland Vision Center offers top independent frame lines and even a line of natural eyecare products, We Love Eyes, that Dr. Gill launched in June and is distributing nationally via other optometrists.   

“We Love Eyes came by accident,” explained Dr. Gill. “We were looking for a hashtag for our social media campaign and almost gave up – then staff said ‘Well you love eyes’… and that was it!  All that time, it was staring us in the face. We are selling a lifestyle brand. We love eyes- not just eyecare--its about taking care of people, including natural non-toxic products for the eyes.” 

Part of Dr. Gill’s social media campaign is ‘shop local’ and she thinks it’s important to spread that message.  “If others spread that message, it would go a long way,” she said.

Dr. Gill not only encourages shopping local, but she also exemplifies local Oakland pride.  On Fridays, staff is allowed to wear graphic t-shirts, so long as they demonstrate Oakland pride. “That is when I wear my shirts from Oaklandish!  And now we even have patients showing up in their Oakland gear on Fridays.  It’s really fun!”

Oakland Vision Center/Dr. Gill Quick Facts:

• See Dr. Gill’s video interview with Invision Magazine here: http://invmag.us/gill

• Oakland Vision Center Accepts MANY forms of insurance, including Medicare.

• Dr. Gill’s We Love Eyes current line includes tea tree makeup remover oil, tea tree cleansing oil and tea tree foaming cleanser. 

$34 million gift given to Oakland-based nonprofits & public agencies

An anonymous person has donated millions of dollars to the Oakland Unified School District and dozens of nonprofit organizations to help children and low-income entrepreneurs... for more details see:

ABC News: Mysterious Donor Gives Millions to Oakland Schools, Nonprofits

KQED: That $34 Million Gift to Oakland Includes Millions for School Health Centers & Early Education

San Francisco Business Times: San Francisco Foundation, via Anonymous Donation, Gives $34 Million to Oakland

Working for a Tech Company in Oakland-

Why it's so great... according to Marta Riggins, Director, Employee Experience & Marketing at Pandora

1. Oakland is REAL
2. Oakland tech is booming
3. Oakland is a growing hub for culture
4. Oakland has a great food scene
5. Oakland has great music

See Marta's full blog here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-five-reasons-why-its-great-work-tech-company-oakland-riggins 

Pandora (headquartered in Oakland) Completes Acquisition of Next Big Sound

Radio World reports : Pandora Finalizes Next Big Sound Deal

Will the Oakland-headquartered company further enhance its data analysis abilities? We can't wait to find out!

The Joy of Realizing A Delicious Vision

Parlour Restaurant’s Linda Bradford

While thinking along with her partners about opening another Oakland eating establishment, Linda Bradford says she had a recurring vision for a location for that future restaurant and, truth be told, the vision spanned the entire 19^th Street Corridor. 

“Early on I would get off the Freeway at Oak St., pass Lake Chalet and make a left on to 19^th Street. Once you hit the commercial area… it was straight shot to the Fox Theater. I could just see then that the whole area would become a center of restaurants and small shops... and that’s essentially what the Uptown is turning in to,” said Bradford.

In fact based on that intuition, Bradford and partners Travis Dutton, and Patrick Lynch felt strongly about doubling down on their first 19^th street restaurant success, Bar355. Fast forward to their recently opened new restaurant, Parlour, and you quickly discover one Uptown’s newest and hottest eateries. Chef Jason Tuley’s cuisine at Parlour is perfectly suited to the trio’s vision of a “seasonal, chef-driven menu that draws upon the bounty of top-quality local producers.” 

When Parlour, aka the new “California-Italian restaurant” was reviewed by TheMercury News, it was lauded for going above and beyond expectations. 

Bradford said the group is hoping to continue to create pleasing eateries for both locals and the ever-growing army of visitors who are now frequenting both Downtown and Uptown Oakland

“The 19^th Street restaurant corridor has actually become a perfect storm,” she muses. “There is this renaissance in Uptown combining with great locations, all right next door to an established residential neighborhood. There are both rental apartments and condominium apartments all around, and they are all creating a great opportunity to generate even more foot traffic into the Uptown area.”

Bradford loves being in Oakland; she is obviously energized with more visions about what else the future can bring to Uptown.  “I am excited that it is filling in, of course, but it is the quality of the businesses that are coming in that is building a sustainable future for this entire area. They are small, local—and they want to spend and invest the money locally. That is just so important to the community.”

Parlour Quick Facts:

• The Mercury News called Parlour, “not just a neighborhood gem, but a dining destination"
• A wood-fire oven is the centerpiece of the Parlour’s open kitchen and anything from pizza to octopus can be seen roasting to perfection.
• Syrups & tonics are hand crafted by Parlour’s mixologists.
• Parlour features interior ambiance of reclaimed & raw materials was truly a labor of love.  The owners did most of the construction themselves.

VSCO Loves Oakland

Kudos to VSCO for creating this amazing recruitment video and making Downtown Oakland the star of the show: 

Also, in their recent "Made in Oakland" city guide (part one), VSCO says "VSCO is proud to call Oakland, California, home. And so we thought we would share a City Guide of our own, showing you, our community, what we love about this town."  Some businesses featured, along with stunning photography, include Blue Bottle Coffee, Marion & Rose's Workshop, The Oakland Museum of California and more.

We are looking forward to seeing 'part two' VSCO!

Drake's Brewery Company is coming to Uptown...

According to a recent NOSH article: 

DRAKE’S AT HIVE OAKLAND GETTING CLOSE San Leandro’s Drake’s Brewing Company is expanding to Uptown Oakland. It will soon be opening a brew pub in the Hive Oakland complex, along with Calavera, Firebrand Artisan Bread, Red Bay Coffee and Numi Tea. No word yet on the opening date, but Drake’s has put out a call for new employees to staff the Hive location; Drake’s at Hive Oakland will be at 2325 Broadway (at 23rd Street), Oakland. Connect with the brewery on Facebook & Twitter.