Help Convince The City To Allow BPG's Relocation
| By DPFCA | Published February 1, 2010 |
The Berkeley Patients Group, which has been on San Pablo Avenue for several years, plans to move into the old Scharffen Berger chocolate factory at the corner of Heinz Avenue and Seventh Street, next to West Berkeley Bowl market. The building appears to be roughly 500 to 600 feet from a private French school, Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, and is even closer to Aquatic Park Preschool. The Berkeley Patients Group, which has been on San Pablo Avenue for several years, I know that BPG has made every effort to ensure safety, they have been responsible, and have earned the right to move to this new location.
Security does not even allow music to be played in the vehicles in the parking lot, let alone diversion of Medicine to students on or near BPG. It will not be allowed, or ever be allowed, by the many guards they have. Let's look at the long history of model MCD Management by BPG, and realize that a 50 ft buffer Zone would be adequate, given the air filtering, parking lot security, and triple checking of medical status in real time done at BPG.
I want to recognize that diversity in revenue streams is a better way to assure employment rather than establishing a one dimensional business model, that is subject to downturns. One must recognize a developer who is trying to create a problem for BPG, when there is none now. This is one of the companies making trouble for BPG. If you can see past the "safety of the children" issue you can see that this company gets warehouse space and converts it to Lab @ research space at a huge mark up. They are acting out of greed, and self interest. There are a number of Real Estate companies that make a State @ National policy of not renting or leasing to MCD's. This is a disgruntled competitor who has self interest, and not child safety motivating
Them...
"Wareham believes in nurturing strong relationships with the University of California, Berkeley, and is interested in doing the same with Stanford, he said. UC Berkeley, UCSF and Stanford are the three engines that fuel the Bay Area economy, and the Bay Area economy fuels the global economy on search technology and innovation, he said. This is a challenging environment, but opportunities are there. Our goal is still critical mass, and we are looking for more acquisitions. We build campuses. We don't do onesies, twosies. For more than 30 years, Wareham has built 1.75 million square feet of lab space for tenants in Berkeley, Emeryville and Richmond that include Bayer HealthCare, Amyris Biotechnologies Inc., Ernest Gallo Research Institute, California Department of Toxic Substances Control and Nanomix Inc.Lab space is not cheap, costing from $550 to $750 a square foot to build, but as Robbins put it, It's been good to us. For the past five years, his vacancy has ranged from 1 percent to 5 percent.Mike Raffetto, a broker with CB Richard Ellis in Oakland who has handled leases for Wareham in the East Bay, called Robbins a maverick who has steadily grown his portfolio of laboratory and office space to the current total of 4 million square feet. Real estate investment is risky, and biotech real estate investing is riskier, Raffetto said. There's a reason there's very few players in the market. He noted that several investors including Biomed Realty Trust and Alexandria Real Estate have built the amount of Bay Area laboratory space over the past five years to the point where vacancy has climbed. But he did not question Robbins decision to expand. It is important to understand life science market dynamics on both sides of the bay, so it makes sense to have inventory on both sides of the bay. That's why (Robbins) is over there, Raffetto said. And owning real estate on the San Francisco peninsula is a good long-term strategy. Mike Cobb, a broker with Colliers International in Redwood City, said it's tough to go wrong with an investment in Stanford Research Park. That's a great piece of real estate, he said. Stanford Research Park is a long-term safe bet that will outperform the broader market. You will get better rents and lower vacancy over the long haul. Cobb agreed a dismal market has affected the 10 million-square-foot park, where vacancy is 15 percent in office space and 7.5 percent in R&D. But, he said, Having immediate access to Stanford University and a Palo Alto address is still a draw. Also, there are very few business parks with good access to I-280. Robbins is well aware of the down cycle, but he said he's a believer in the Bay Area and life sciences. Of course its been hit. And the scarcity of capital has killed startups and forced people to tighten their belts, he said. But by and large, life sciences is doing remarkably well relative to the
challenged times. This sector is not going anywhere. All of us are feeling pain, but this sector will bounce back faster for the planets sake.
At-a-glance: Wareham Development Inc.
Location: San Rafael
CEO: Rich Robbins
Real estate portfolio:
4 million square feet
Founded: 1977
Employees: 60
Web site:
www.warehamdevelopment.com
Phone: 415.457.4964
Copyright © 2010 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved."
JJ will allow BPG to legally move there. Good management will allow, a commercial kitchen, lab facilities, grows, and much more to go on in perfect safety to its neighbors!
I know that BPG has made every effort to ensure safety, they have been responsible, and have earned the right to move to this new location.
J
ust in case you want to help write a letter of support.....
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=18496
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