Real Estate Professionals, Civic Leaders, and Makers Convene to Learn about Small-Scale Manufacturing Opportunities
Jennifer Chen
Economic Development Coordinator
As mentioned in a recent post, last week we hosted an audience of more than 60 makers, manufacturers, brokers, developers, and civic leaders at Ellison Technologies to hear Recast City’s Ilana Preuss discuss Real Estate Opportunities for Makers and Small-Scale Manufacturers.
The resurgence of small, local producers has become a type of social amenity and is creating “connection centers” for communities. Many communities have started to allow mixed-use industrial buildings in their downtowns and have refurbished historic buildings in order to provide economic opportunities and help integrate industrial spaces into central places for gathering, meeting, and producing.
These small-scale manufacturers often utilize dedicated production spaces of less than 5,000 sq. ft. and sometimes as little as 1,000 sq. ft. They are filled with a variety of industries such as food, beverage, electronics, and fashion. Ilana shared stories about how small-scale manufacturing and makers can be a vehicle for economic resilience, community building, and image branding. She provided several examples of cities that have seized the “Maker Movement” to retrofit older industrial buildings across the country. A local example is San Francisco’s Pier 70 that’s working in collaboration with Forest City and SFMade.
To assist Ilana with her analysis of Fremont’s maker scene (currently in progress), we did some field work and took her to meet a few local small-scale manufacturers.
Family-owned Zeefoods manufactures Indian-flavored exotic kulfi desserts and ice cream flavors such as pistachio, mango, malai, saffron, and lychee. The husband and wife team is passionate about creating high-quality, delicious ice creams. Find Zeefoods’ creamy and exotic sweets in the frozen aisle at Indian grocery stores in the Bay Area.
This German-style microbrewery and tasting room hosts daily happy hoursto showcase how they craft each batch of beer with dedication, attention, and care. DasBrew’s beers have won awards at many competitions. Thirsty? Visit them at their tasting room or at next year’s Art and Wine Festival in Fremont.
SchmartBoard manufactures prototyping development boards that can be easily hand-soldered by engineers, technicians, teachers, students, and DIY enthusiasts. Each board and component fits together similarly to Lego pieces. SchmartBoard pieces are available at electronics retailers such as Fry’s.
Carole Wang is a designer label with over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry. In the 90s, her clothes were sold in high-end retailers, ranging from Nordstrom to NYC boutiques. Currently, Carole sells her clothes online directly to clothing boutiques. Her clothing uses knits and fabrics made from bamboo and other natural fibers. Carole prototypes her clothing out of her 300 sq. ft. office in Fremont.
