At its Tuesday, Oct. 4, meeting the City Council will discuss the development of Alameda Point’s Enterprise District, also noted as Area B on some maps. The district lies south of Area A, which is centered on West Atlantic Avenue and primed for residential development.  

City staff has divided the district into four zones. 

• Zone 1 occupies most of the district. The city hopes to use this land for employment and business uses. This includes offices, research and development companies and bio-technology companies. The city would also welcome businesses that deal in high-tech manufacturing and sales, light and heavy industrial manufacturing and maritime interests. 
• Zone 2 abuts Site A and would focus on office uses compatible with the Waterfront Town Center, which is part of Site A. 
• Zone 3 would serve as a buffer along Main Street and the residential neighborhoods to the east. The city plans lower intensity here to create a more seamless integration between the Enterprise District and the existing neighborhood and allows the possibility for some residential uses. 
• Zone 4 abuts the piers and Seaplane Lagoon. The city would permit only working waterfront businesses in this zone.

City staff has hopes to raise awareness of the district. Staff plans to present a marketing brochure at Tuesday’s meeting. Staff is also launching a marketing and outreach campaign that focuses on the commercial brokerage community. Staff members are also working on identifying appropriate tenants for the site, the staff report states. 

The city plans to coordinate the development of the Enterprise Zone with phase 1 of Site A’s Infrastructure, which could take up to three years. “Once the city transfers ownership of the first phase of Site A to the developer and the developer begins to build Site A’s infrastructure, the second phase of the Enterprise Zone’s marketing strategy can begin.

City staff states in its report to City Council that it hopes to take advantage of the buzz created by Site A’s ground-breaking to create interest in the Enterprise Zone. Staff plans to create an Enterprise District newsletter, complete with online streaming video of the Site A’s construction process. The city also plans a targeted broker event and a social media campaign to attract developers.

Plans are in the works for a celebration once the developer completes the infrastructure. At that point staff is certain of  greater certainty about the timing of delivering land that can be developed for commercial use. Staff will recommend that that the City Council provide direction proceed with a development strategy for the Enterprise Zone.