Rob AriasIn our quest to uncover interesting and relevant things happening in our town, we’ve aggregated a few news stories of interest from the interwebz and reader tips. This month’s E’ville Biz report profiles a new, reusable food storage bag by a Park Avenue District company, a new coworking and event space along Hollis and the sale of the Art.com building that has helped pad our city’s coffers.
The Workshop-Emeryville Cowork & Event Space
Back in December, we reported that Regus Corporation would soon be adding coworking options to its Watergate office tower. While initially excited, it wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for when we toured (more of a corporate, than a creative, collaborative vibe). The Workshop-Emeryville cowork and event space recently sprouted up, and it’s a bit more of what we envisioned. The new 3600 sq. ft. space is conveniently located in The Hollis Street Building adjacent to the forthcoming Transit Center project on 62nd.
Husband & wife tandem Eric and Kara Matkovich met while Kara was an international student from South Africa. They married soon after and built a successful Emeryville business called Cape Ardor that imports South African wines. A larger space vacated next to them and they decided to expand their operations. They realized the opportunity to furnish the vast unused space and make it available to the surrounding community and neighboring businesses as an additional revenue source. “We built this beautiful space in order to create an environment that we wanted to live and create in, and now we want to share it.” they note on their website.
The Workshop-Emeryville is targeting startups and freelancers who are looking for “good energy and like-minded individuals to surround yourself with.” They offer a private conference room, shared workstations, a lounge area and secure lockers. The Workshop-Emeryville is also available for private events such as launch parties, wine tastings and corporate holiday parties.
Learn more about coworking and event space opportunities on theworkshop-emeryville.com.
Modern-Twist Saving the Planet One Bag at a Time with reusable “Stasher” bags
Kat Nouri founded Emeryville-based Modern-Twist in 2005 with the goal of “changing how people think about the products they use in their everyday lives and their impact on the earth — namely plastic.” Modern-Twist produces minimalist designed products mostly made of silicone including housewares and kid’s products. Kat’s latest product, a non-leaching silicone food tote, is proving to be a game changer.
“As a mother of three, I’ve been making school lunches for years” Kat noted in this Press Release. “Every time I used a plastic self-sealing bag, I’d think ‘what a waste.’ But when it came to ease, convenience and functionality, plastic bags were unmatched—there were no good alternatives out there.” Kat went on to create Stasher Bags as a sustainable alternative to the disposable “Ziploc” style food bags. They are designed to be self-sealing, are airtight and can be reused thousands of times. They are also freezer, microwave and dishwasher safe. “modern-twist is all about designing a plastic-free planet” Kat added. “We hope stasher will encourage people to go healthy and go plastic-free.”
Stasher Bags can be purchased locally at The Berkeley Bowl or online. Read more about Kat, her story and her products at DesignSponge.com.
Art.com building sale nets city $1.46 Million transfer tax
Emeryville collected another handsome transfer tax with the recent sale of the Art.com building at 2100 Powell Street. Art.com building owners Hines REIT announced last July that its board of directors unanimously voted to approve a plan for liquidation and dissolution of the company.
The sale of the 176,000 sq. ft property officially closed in November 2016 for $122 million, or about $690 per square foot. The acquisition by Blackstone Real Estate Partners also includes offices in San Jose, Alameda and San Mateo and totals 3 million square feet and $1.162 Billion.
The 2014 passing of Measure V enabled the city to collect a 1.2% transfer tax from the sale of property which translated to a tidy $1.46 million based on the estimated sales price. toward our general fund that will go toward helping fund city services & infrastructure projects.
Read more on The Registry →
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