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In December 2022, members of the East Bay Economic Development Alliance (EBEDA) and Mayor Lily Mei toured Enovix, a leader in advanced silicon-anode lithium-ion battery development and production. The tour included several advisory committee members of Resilient East Bay, a region-wide economic recovery and resiliency effort focused on creating sustainable and equitable growth by doubling down on the East Bay's driving industries.
Delta Electronics' Americas HQ located in Fremont's Bayside Technology Park has been certified a LEED Zero Energy project, the first LEED Zero certified project in Fremont and just the second in the SF Bay Area. In line with its mission statement, "To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow," Delta used its own energy-saving technology to achieve LEED Platinum status, including building automation, EV chargers, elevator energy regeneration, green data center, solar energy generation, and LED lighting.
In contrast to last fiscal year's unprecedented budget surplus, the Governor's new budget proposal released January 13 reflects an anticipated $22.5 billion budget deficit and a slowing economy. Several small business assistance, workforce development, and transportation infrastructure programs are proposed for deferment or reduction. Even so, the budget proposal sustains several key economic development programs to help maintain the state's competitiveness, in particular an incentive to capture a share of the expected reshoring of semiconductor manufacturing and development market within CA, supplementing the recently adopted CHIPS Act at the federal level. Some notable proposed budget items include:
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$120 million in Cal Competes grants - The Cal Competes program provides income tax credit and grants to businesses who grow in California, spurring the creation of jobs and significant capital investments. Priority will be given to semiconductor R&D and manufacturing companies.
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$1.65 billion for workforce development: Especially pertinent to Fremont are funds that invest in industry-led apprenticeship programs and building a workforce for increasing clean energy jobs. A range of workforce programs are slated to be scaled back, although several reductions may be reversed if General Fund revenues are sufficient by January 2024.
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$1.5 million to relaunch the Made in California program - support in-state manufacturing by increasing participation in the program and increasing consumer awareness of locally manufactured products
In a wide-ranging panel discussion, the mayors of Fremont, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Palo Alto spoke on economic, business, and housing trends they are experiencing in their respective cities. This included a discussion on budgetary forecasts, in which Fremont's diverse and growing tax base—buoyed by essential industries—showed strong.
Fremont's leadership as one of the first cities in the region to adopt its Housing Element also shown through in the discussion. The land use document—mandated by State law—focuses future residential growth near transit hubs and along major commercial corridors, allowing for the preservation of Fremont's industrial employment areas that are critical to retaining middle skill jobs.
View the video from the event here.
Thanks to the leadership and advocacy from our representatives - Senator Padilla, Representative Swalwell, and Representative Khanna - East Bay Community Energy received $2 million to fund the installation of solar and battery systems on 13 critical service sites which will provide fire, safety, and emergency operations to the community in the event of grid outages. These services are increasingly at risk as we experience more natural disasters such as earthquakes and wildfires brought on by climate change. The sites span Hayward and Fremont and the funds will be used to offset the cost of upgrading systems at six critical City facilities in Fremont, resulting in a clean, resilient source of backup power in the face of emergencies and lowering the cost of operating such facilities.
Support our first-ever Fremont Restaurant Week taking place March 17-26, 2023! In partnership with the Fremont Chamber, we'll be celebrating Fremont's diverse, local restaurant community with limited-edition menu items, prix fixe dinners, and a kickoff event at our Downtown Event Center. Be sure to sign up for direct updates to stay in the know!
If you are a restaurant owner in Fremont interested in participating, please reach out to Nikki at ninamine@fremont.gov.
With Congress’ recent passage of the FY2023 Omnibus Bill, Fremont was awarded over $2 million for projects that will bring great benefits for the city and local region. The City of Fremont was awarded $1.5M to strategically deploy community Wi-Fi zones in Fremont’s six commercial district plazas located in Centerville, Irvington, Niles, Mission San Jose, Warm Springs and Downtown City Center.
Fremont’s six districts are comprised of microenterprises with 67.5% of the City ‘s small businesses minority-owned, 50% women-owned, and 66% owned by persons born outside of the United States. Examples of this diversity include several Afghan markets in Centerville, antique stores in Niles, or the handful of South Asian boutique clothing stores in Irvington. In many cases, these microenterprises benefit from lower operating costs because they occupy older buildings, often co-locating with other small businesses to share in overhead expenses. However because of the expense involved in private broadband services, many businesses are compelled to opt to not pay for these expensive services. The new citywide Wi-Fi zones will help address the digital divide issues by allowing for equitable access among residents and small businesses who may otherwise not have access to high speed Wi-Fi internet access in these districts, which is also one of the objectives of the recently adopted Fiber Master Plan.
The City of Fremont expresses its great appreciation to federal representatives, Congressman Ro Khanna, Senator Alex Padilla, and staff for their leadership in advocating for these important, long-term impactful projects to be included for funding.
Fremont has an incredible makers’ culture established by creative individuals that do everything from delivering a highly-desired specialty coffee experience to creating allergen-free body products, and so much more. The new Makers webpage on Think Silicon Valley celebrates this growing local community, many of whom have turned their passions into thriving small businesses that meet community needs and foster local entrepreneurship. Meet some of Fremont’s flagship makers, learn more about the initiatives offered by the City to support the local maker community, and find out how you can get involved by visiting the new webpage at https://www.thinksiliconvalley.com/makers/.
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Grab a bite to eat and sit down to watch the game at Billy Roy's Burger Co., complete with a full dessert bar.
3909 Thornton Ave
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