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2004-03-02 Special CIC PacketCITY OF ALAMEDA•CALIFORNIA SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION TUESDAY - - - MARCH 2, 2004 - - - 7:25 P.M. Time: Tuesday, March 2, 2004, 7:25 p.m. Place: Council Chambers, City Hall, corner of Santa Clara Avenue and Oak Street. Public Comment Anyone wishing to address the Commission on the agenda item only may speak for a maximum of 3 minutes. Roll Call Agenda Item 1. Recommendation to send letters in support of FY 2005 Department of Defense Appropriation Bill for a $1.5 million line item for the development of Advancing California's Emerging Technologies' (ACET's) 35,000 square foot Bio- technology Incubator to be located at the Fleet Industrial Supply Center site. Adjournment CITY OF ALAMEDA Memorandum March 1, 2004 To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Community Improvement Commission From: James M. Flint Executive Director Subject: Recommendation to send Letters in Support of FY 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriation Bill for a $1.5 Million Line Item Amount for the Development of Advancing California's Emerging Technologies' (ACET) 35,000 Square Foot Bio- technology Incubator to be Located at the Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Site in Alameda Background In August 2002, Advancing California's Emerging Technologies (ACET), a non - profit bio- technology incubator located at Alameda Point, received a $6.44 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) to acquire land and construct a minimum 35,000 square foot bio- technology incubator. ACET expressed an interest in remaining in Alameda and identified the Enterprise Landing business park as an ideal location for its new incubator. In July 2003, the City Council and Community Improvement Commission (CIC) both approved resolutions to assist in retaining ACET in Alameda. In November, 2003, the Community Improvement Commission (CIC) authorized the Executive Director, by resolution, to enter into a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) with Catellus Development Corporation and ACET for the Sale and Development of Certain Real Property at the Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC) in support of the development and construction of the new ACET facility. Discussion ACET is building a new 40,000 sq. ft. laboratory -based incubator facility near the entrance to the Webster Tunnel in Alameda on the former FISC site. The new facility is projected to have numerous laboratories and office space for the purposes of producing about 45 start-up biotechnology /environmental companies with an anticipated graduation rate of 15 companies after its first two years in the new building. The bricks and mortar construction resources for this new facility are funded by a $6.44 million EDA grant and by a $1.61 million match in discounted land provided by the City of Alameda. The $6.44 million construction grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) provides no planning or marketing funds to implement the new facility and therefore ACET is seeking a $1.5 million line item from the DoD in order to meet its construction needs, summer 2005 opening, 100% occupancy goals, and opportunities for local and international business retention efforts. ACET is requesting CIC support of its request, through the DoD, for the $1.5 million appropriation for ACET, via a written letter of support to federal congressional members. Dedicated to Excellence, Committed to Service Honorable Chair and Members of the Community Improvement Commission Budget Consideration /Financial Impact None. Recommendation March 1, 2004 Page 2 The Executive Director recommends that the Community Improvement Commission support inclusion of a $1.5 million line item for the development of ACET's 35,000 square foot bio- technology incubator in the FY 2005 DoD Appropriation Bill by sending letters of support to the requested congressional legislators. JF:LA Attachment: Draft Letters of Support Respectfu submitted, Jame . F int Exec tive Director Dedicated to Excellence, Committed to Service DRAFT March 2, 2004 The Honorable Diane Feinstein United States Senate 331 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D. C. 20510 Dear Senator Feinstein: My colleagues on the Alameda City Council and I are writing in support of a $1.5M line item in the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment's FY'05 budget for ACET: Advancing California's Emerging Technologies. These funds are to plan for the development and the expansion of ACET, the international high technology incubator facility to be re- located at the Navy's former Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC) in Alameda next year. ACET has developed a successful and replicable model for military base conversion with a strong economic development component. With the construction of its new 40,000 -ft2 facility, ACET will be the first commercial/R &D occupant of Enterprise Landing, the conversion and reuse of the FISC site. We are anticipating that increased activity in the new incubator will translate to fifteen+ graduate companies per year beginning at the end of the second year of full operations in the new facility. We believe that many of these companies will locate in Alameda, at both the FISC property, now Enterprise Landing, and at the Naval Air Station, now Alameda Point, providing many new jobs and investment in Alameda, and also helping to speed the conversion of these former military bases to civilian use and the tax base for Alameda. ACET graduate companies currently now occupy more than 200,000 ft2 in the Bay Area and directly employ about 500 technical and non - technical staff. Standard economic projection methods indicate that more than 1,500 additional indirect and support jobs have been added to the local economy as well. These ten companies have also raised more than $200M in private sector investment capital. ACET has developed a successful model for military base conversion and will be able to share this model with other communities similarly, or soon to be, affected by base closings. ACET will document its model and disseminate this information as requested by DoD's Office of Economic Adjustment. Dedicated to Excellence, Committed to Service The Honorable Diane Feinstein March 2, 2004 Page 2 The line item ACET is requesting for inclusion in the 2005 DoD Appropriations Bill will also help to bring a mix of American, European, and Pacific Rim new small life sciences, energy, and environmental companies to the City of Alameda. It will also help ACET to achieve 90% occupancy by the end of the second year, and retain in Alameda most of a projected 6,000 to 10,000 new jobs and $1 billion in new private sector investment in ACET graduates. Finally, it will help ACET create a dissemination package based on the successful City of Alameda -ACET base -reuse partnership experience that can help other communities in the same situation survive and thrive by attracting high - technology, high - value added emerging businesses and jobs to locate on former DoD property. Our experience with ACET over the past six years, and our belief in the enormous potential of the new facility, has inspired us to vote to supply ACET with the 20% match required for ACET's $6.44M construction grant by selling the land for the building at a substantial discount, as well as exempting the new facility from several types of development taxes. We hope that you will also support ACET by helping to obtain this $1.5M earmark. The ACET project is an important priority for the City of Alameda and this request is fully endorsed by the Alameda City Council. Very truly yours, Beverly Johnson, Mayor Frank Matarrese, Councilmember Marie Gilmore, Councilmember Tony Daysog, Vice -Mayor Barbara Kerr, Councilmember cc: Representative Jerry Lewis, Representative John Murtha Dedicated to Excellence, Committed to Service DRAFT March 2, 2004 The Honorable Fortney Pete Stark United States House of Representatives 239 Cannon Building Washington, D. C. 20515 Dear Representative Stark: My colleagues on the Alameda City Council and I are writing in support of a $1.5M line item in the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment's FY'05 budget for ACET: Advancing California's Emerging Technologies. These funds are to plan for the development and the expansion of ACET, the international high technology incubator facility to be re- located at the Navy's former Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC) in Alameda next year. ACET has developed a successful and replicable model for military base conversion with a strong economic development component. With the construction of its new 40,000 -ft2 facility, ACET will be the first commercial/R &D occupant of Enterprise Landing, the conversion and reuse of the FISC site. We are anticipating that increased activity in the new incubator will translate to fifteen+ graduate companies per year beginning at the end of the second year of full operations in the new facility. We believe that many of these companies will locate in Alameda, at both the FISC property, now Enterprise Landing, and at the Naval Air Station, now Alameda Point, providing many new jobs and investment in Alameda, and also helping to speed the conversion of these former military bases to civilian use and the tax base for Alameda. ACET graduate companies currently now occupy more than 200,000 ft2 in the Bay Area and directly employ about 500 technical and non - technical staff. Standard economic projection methods indicate that more than 1,500 additional indirect and support jobs have been added to the local economy as well. These ten companies have also raised more than $200M in private sector investment capital. ACET has developed a successful model for military base conversion and will be able to share this model with other communities similarly, or soon to be, affected by base closings. ACET will document its model and disseminate this information as requested by DoD's Office of Economic Adjustment. Dedicated to Excellence, Committed to Service The Honorable Fortney Pete Stark March 2, 2004 Page 2 The line item ACET is requesting for inclusion in the 2005 DoD Appropriations Bill will also help to bring a mix of American, European, and Pacific Rim new small life sciences, energy, and environmental companies to the City of Alameda. It will also help ACET to achieve 90% occupancy by the end of the second year, and retain in Alameda most of a projected 6,000 to 10,000 new jobs and $1 billion in new private sector investment in ACET graduates. Finally, it will help ACET create a dissemination package based on the successful City of Alameda -ACET base -reuse partnership experience that can help other communities in the same situation survive and thrive by attracting high - technology, high - value added emerging businesses and jobs to locate on former DoD property. Our experience with ACET over the past six years, and our belief in the enormous potential of the new facility, has inspired us to vote to supply ACET with the 20% match required for ACET's $6.44M construction grant by selling the land for the building at a substantial discount, as well as exempting the new facility from several types of development taxes. We hope that you will also support ACET by helping to obtain this $1.5M earmark. The ACET project is an important priority for the City of Alameda and this request is fully endorsed by the Alameda City Council. Very truly yours, Beverly Johnson, Mayor Frank Matarrese, Councilmember Marie Gilmore, Councilmember Tony Daysog, Vice -Mayor Barbara Kerr, Councilmember cc: Representative Jerry Lewis, Representative John Murtha Dedicated to Excellence, Committed to Service