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The Tri-Valley’s expanding economy and quality work force were spotlighted Sept. 11 when the San Francisco Business Times partnered with Innovation Tri-Valley for their annual event at the Bishop Ranch conference center.
The Business Times published what’s become its annual look at the five local cities who surround the intersection of two interstate freeways almost equidistant from downtown San Francisco and the heart of the Silicon Valley. That location, which drew Hacienda Business Park developers Joe Callahan and the Prudential Insurance Co. to the valley decades ago, remains a core strength as does each community’s reputation as a great place to raise a family.
That factor continues to draw families—many headed by well-educated, well-compensated parents who can afford the hefty price of entry for single-family homes. Others come for the schools and settle for apartments now that the Pleasanton market, in particular, has loosened up with new construction and Bishop Ranch in San Ramon is transforming into a mixed community with residential adding to its office buildings.
That’s the quality workforce that tech and life science companies are looking for. It’s also helpful that the area is counter-commute on the interstates in the morning and BART has two local stations. For manufacturing companies, there’s a substantial work force in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Gillig manufactures its buses in Livermore and sets shifts so they miss peak commute hours over the Altamont Pass. That’s true for other manufacturers such as Topcon and Lam Research.
The bottom line is the Tri-Valley’s economy has grown from about $48 billion a few years ago to $52 billion. Population growth is a robust 4.08% for five years through 2023, while about 66% of the adults hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with about 29% holding an advanced degree. When the Tri-Valley Business Council did its Vision 2010 document, about one-third of residents held a bachelor’s degree so it’s been a major shift toward more educated residents.
One topic of conversation I had briefly was about Pacific Fusion which is considering Livermore as well as two other locations. The company was welcomed with open arms by city officials for a parcel west of Isabel Avenue (Highway 84) in the existing industrial area. Alameda and Albuquerque, NM also are under review. The firm is heavily backed by venture capital with a goal of a commercial fusion power plant. All three locations tout national labs (Alameda grabbing Lawrence Berkeley and Sandia being cited in New Mexico). Livermore’s National Ignition Facility demonstrated it could produce a fusion reaction with more power being generated than used to fuse the atoms in the target.
One of the two panels was dedicated to medical services, which are a strength in the Tri-Valley with Stanford, Sutter, John Muir and Kaiser all operating significant facilities. It featured new Stanford Tri-Valley CEO Misty Jones and Pam Galley, Kaiser’s senior vice-president who overseas the Diablo Region stretching from Pleasanton to Martinez and out to Antioch/Brentwood.
In the earlier panel, Alex Mehran Jr., the CEO of Bishop Ranch developer/owner Sunset Development Co., discussed how John Muir had surprised them when they engaged in conversation about moving their services into a different building. Muir ended up doubling its space, leaving an old building that Sunset sold to a residential developer to build 195 homes.
Quality health care and a population that has a high percentage of employed people with employer-paid health care makes the market ideal for health care providers—thus the competitive scene to the consumers’ advantage.
Greg Hitchan, managing partner of Tri-Valley Ventures (the local venture capital fund that invests in early stage companies, told a personal story. His daughter, who is finishing up her law degree at Cal, told him she wants to live and raise a family in Bishop Ranch. That speaks to the transformation with City Center and residential replacing office buildings.
With most of San Ramon built out, the 8,000-10,000 units planned there are the bulk of the new residences in the city.
Hitchan also mentioned the new CEO of one of their portfolio companies, Raydiant Oximetry, who he met at the event. The company is headquartered in Bishop Ranch and the former Scottsdale resident was singing its praises.
No doubt, that was music to Mehran’s ears.
