A Review of ReWorking Suburbia: Place-Based Business Development Forum

Be true to yourself and to authenticity—to what you are. Be distinctive so that when someone looks, they say, “I want to put some money in that place.”

So advised one of our keynote speakers, business development expert Rod Stevens, principal, Spinnaker strategies. 

Building on that idea, Stevens said reworking the work place means, importantly, coming up with a plan that is community-based, locally rooted.

He told the story of three Napoleonic-era soldiers who brought a recipe for stone soup to a war-torn village. It started with a pot and local stones. Then, some of the villagers decided the soup could be improved by the addition of the foods they had hidden. In the end, there was a soup fit for royalty, as the soldiers had promised.

“You must figure out your assets and cook together,” Stevens said.

The recipe worked in Fargo, North Dakota, Stevens reported, where residents reversed terrible conditions by using a revered movie house as the focal point for community revitalization.

Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was a “dump” in 1988 and which Walter Cronkite said had the nation’s dirtiest air, is now green and wired.

Portland, Oregon, once largely reliant on one industry—timber products—is now diverse and free of the contradiction of trying to be green while living off forestry.

Looking at the larger economy, Stevens said there’s been so much change that the old labels -- food, manufacturing, tech -- no longer make sense.

He asked, “Is Mi Rancho a high-tech or food company?”,  noting that it uses a high tech process to make an old world product (tortillas).  “What is it? I don’t know. So to say manufacturing is in decline is a misnomer.”

Noting that San Leandro has a “fantastic background of making things, you should be something strong in your own right”  he continued: “What it comes down to is not the industry itself but the skills of the people who live here and come here to work. Industries change all the time. It’s what our people can do-that’s the durable thing. Allow people to do what they do.”

He suggested that half of the Eddie Bauer headquarters people who are in IT could just as easily work at Microsoft.

Stevens challenged business owners and developers to think of the workplace as a tool for work.

“The millennials are changing how we work. The workplace must be updated to reflect who we are today, not what we were.”  

This started with the much earlier trend to work lofts and employees gathering to network at independent cafes, Stevens said. “It’s been the basis of the modern economy for 30-40 years. We just haven’t seen it. But now we must recognize that it’s in our own workplaces.”

Stevens’ prescription is to make the work place more social. “If people are hanging out, they’re not gossiping, they’re talking about how to do a better job. People shouldn’t have to go outside the office for the more important discussions or to make decisions. Create the environment that encourages interaction, not only in the workplace but also in the neighborhood and the city. “

To underscore his point, Stevens said the country is shifting from a consumption economy to investment, business development and making things.. “We must put the same focus on our workplaces. It’s time to start worrying about how we make money and how we work together.”

Urban design important

Building on Stevens’ theme, urban design expert Greg Tung  said, “We have to take the old post-WW II paradigm (car-oriented suburban sprawl with residential tracts, retail centers and workplace districts with miles of tilt-ups) and recast it for today. The forces of change require it.”

He cited a much greater workforce diversity, persistently high fuel costs, and changes in household demographics—especially the growth of singles and marrieds without children. “People are changing their minds about where they want to live and work. Because of technology, office space per employee is shrinking, and we’ve seen a surge in employee collaboration and interaction within the office”

A community must identify its “place assets” and leverage them, for example, to create industrial clusters of like manufacturing and services businesses tied together by technology and innovation.

He noted the potential of San Leandro’s industrial flatlands, with large areas of existing low intensity development, varied parcels and buildings but with uneven access and visibility and scant pedestrian activity. “What do we do to cluster to encourage development?”, he asked.

The Kaiser opportunity

“The new Kaiser Permanente complex is a huge opportunity to draw many related businesses to the area and create synergies," Tung said. "The overall development should also enable this cluster to participate in the life of the community-it should be connected, especially across barriers like wide arterial streets.”

More broadly, Tung urged making changes to strengthen interaction and synergies, especially on arterials.

Create addresses that engage active street places instead of isolated uses, separated by traffic arterials. Add eating establishments to a mix of office complexes. Many industrial buildings can be converted to storefronts oriented to the street. Storefronts activate streets, Tung said.

Offering examples from Berkeley and Emeryville, Tung said tenants and owners can collaborate to subdivide the interior of old manufacturing buildings and reshape a property. Additionally, collaborative work spaces are incorporated, including porches, sundecks and courtyards.

Building exteriors can be brightened by the use of inexpensive but attractive signage and paint. Drab areas can be transformed with landscaping and streetscapes that might include garden strips irrigated by rain water drainage.

Do-it-yourself  urbanism, Tung calls it, in an age when government resources are scarce to non-existent.

The recent addition of tables for outdoor dining at Paradiso restaurant, “while a small effort, points out the direction,” he said. (This was the result of a San Leandro by Design effort.)

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Others who spoke at the ReWorking Suburbia forum were:

Dave Johnson, CEO, Chamber of Commerce: ”Our presentations will explore how we can restore and enhance the prosperity of our community in today’s environment.”

Gaye Quinn, Chair-elect, San Leandro Chamber of Commerce and director of the San Leandro by Design Initiative: “Our world is fundamentally different; normal is not coming back. We must rethink what we should do and how to do it. The solutions are local.”

Mayor Stephen Cassidy who said: “I encourage the audience to speak with City staff about their ideas.”

Karen Engel, East Bay Economic Development Alliance: Reviewed the its mission and activities.

Cindy Cathey, San Leandro Superintendent of Schools: Described the many high tech features of the new Arts Education Center

Mike Pretto, OSIsoft (for CEO Pat Kennedy): “OSI is willing to fund the initial rollout of a broadband fiber optic cable network around the city—it could be a game-changer.”

David Irmer, CEO, Innisfree Companies: Gave an overview of the Village Marketplace proposed for the Lucky supermarket site.

Edward Miller, CEO, Cal-Coast: Reviewed their proposal for developments at the San Leandro Marina