Rob AriasIn this edition of our Bi-Monthly newsletter, we share five stories relevant to Emeryville that you may have missed including:
- SFBT details Emery Yards sale to Sutter Health
- Emeryville among localities suing Trump administration over “Sanctuary” policies
- Another fire at abandoned former Horn Barbecue space
- Emeryville rolls out “Animal Prints” crossings detection system
- 3 Emeryville residents elected as Democratic Party delegates
SFBT Details Cost, Reasons Behind Emery Yards Sale to Sutter Health
The San Francisco Business Times may have gotten scooped on maybe the biggest business story in Emeryville in the past decade (SF Chronicle reporter Sarah Ravani got the exclusive), but they’ve come through with a more comprehensive story detailing the transaction and the price tag of the sale.
According to their report, the purchase cost of the 12-acre campus came out to $450 million spread out over 7 transactions. A Commercial Real Estate Broker described the purchase as “a deal for Sutter” and that the inclusion of the nearly 2,000 parking garage made the site particularly valuable. The broker noted that getting approval on such a project today would be unlikely as cities and activists have increasingly fought the inclusion of what they consider too much parking. “Every other new development in town … the city was fighting them on parking for all of it.”
BioMed Realty was likely willing to sell the campus amid a poor outlook for lab space that had reached a vacancy rate of 39% in Emeryville. Emeryville may be seeing a shift to medical tenants with several unoccupied lab spaces and pending projects in the city.
The cost leaves $550 million of Sutter’s $1B commitment for the planned medical center and other renovations.
It’s unclear what forces may organize to oppose the project, but the powerful National Nurses Association has already come forth to advocate that Sutter “fulfill its obligation to seismically retrofit the [Berkeley] Ashby campus.”
City Rolls Out “Animal Prints” Passive Pedestrian Detection at Crossings
The City of Emeryville has rolled out “passive pedestrian detection” crossings centered along Hollis and 40th Streets. The system leverages existing traffic signal video detection systems to identify and monitor pedestrians at intersections.
Crossings enabled with this technology are marked with fluorescent green paw prints of various animals stenciled on the sidewalk. These paw prints queue pedestrians on the optimal place to stand to ensure they are detected.
The city rolled out a similar program during the pandemic when hard surfaces were feared to be spreading the coronavirus.
Signs have been installed for education, but the now-redundant push buttons remain.
A key to the various prints and a map of their locations can be found on the city’s website at emeryville.org/pedprints.
Former Horn Barbecue Space Torched Again, Demolished
Another suspicious blaze occurred at the former Horn Barbecue space on Mandela Parkway on Thursday, February 27.
The building has been abandoned since 2023 when the establishment suffered a suspicious fire. After initially vowing to reopen, proprietor Matt Horn opted to move on, citing persistent squatting, vandalism, and stripping of the interior. He has since opened a new location in Lafayette.
The space has continued to be a target of squatters, and fires have become increasingly common, according to the Oakland Fire Department. “We’ve been here before, at least a handful of times in the past six months,” provided in this KRON4 report.
Demolition of the space seems increasingly imminent as the tagged exterior and gutted interior has become a source of blight along the corridor.
March 6th Update: The badly damaged property at 2534 Mandela Parkway has been completely demolished. The space existed as Horn Barbecue from 2020-2023, Brown Sugar Kitchen from 2008-2019 and Triangle Coffee before that. The first reference to the address, when it was Cypress, was in 1941.
Three Emeryville Residents Elected as Democratic Party Delegates
A little-known but significant election was held recently for the Assembly District 18 Democratic Party delegates that includes Emeryville. Delegates help shape the priorities of the State Democratic Party.
Voters were tasked with selecting 7 candidates from each gender column that included OSIF (Other than Self-Identified Female) and SIF (Self-Identified Female) and a total of 14 candidates.
Two slates emerged with competing priorities including a Labor-backed “People’s Slate” and a YIMBY-backed “Housing & Climate Progressive” slate. The competing slates reflect a widening chasm in the Democratic party in regards to how to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis with the Labor side typically advocating for strict rent controls and the “YIMBY” side pushing to streamline housing production including market-rate housing.
Turnout for this election was abysmal with barely 1,000 valid votes cast in a district with over 180,000 registered Democrats (barely .5%). Pre-registered voters must be registered with the Democratic Party and elections are held online and in person. The anemic turnout make “gaming” the election easier and more easily influenced by organized fundraisers.
Winning delegates from Emeryville included Emery School Board trustee Regina Chagolla (472 votes), former city council candidate Sam Gould (421 votes) and City Councilmember Kalimah Priforce (294 votes). The top vote-getters are elevated to the Executive Board if they seek this.
Complete results for all Assembly Districts can be found on CADem.org.
Emeryville Among Bay Area Cities Suing Trump Administration over Sanctuary Pushback
The City of Emeryville has joined a coalition of local governments in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to withhold federal funding from so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. Emeryville is standing with larger cities like San Jose and San Diego in opposing federal attempts to force local authorities to assist with immigration enforcement.
“Unfairly targeting cities based on ideology goes against the democratic values that created this country,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement. San Jose’s policy eschews the term “sanctuary city” instead referring to itself as a “Welcoming City”.
Neighboring Berkeley founded the concept of a sanctuary city in 1971 during resistance to the Vietnam War. In 1985 under then Mayor Dianne Feinstein, San Francisco took the concept a bit further by adopting a resolution to protect “law-abiding” undocumented asylum seekers from civil war-torn areas of Central America. The resolution forbade the use of local resources and collaboration with federal immigration enforcement agencies. The policy continued to evolve throughout the years to include even those involved in the criminal justice system arguing that it helped build trust within immigrant communities.
Emeryville was thrust into the conversation in 2007 following the passage of Measure C that boosted pay and benefits for hospitality workers. The aftermath of the law’s implementation and enforcement led to the Woodfin Hotel (now Hyatt House) firing 12 undocumented hotel workers.
Emeryville affirmed its status as a sanctuary city 10 years later in 2017 after Trump won his first term in the White House. Then Police Chief Jennifer Tejada confirmed that it was not the policy of the Emeryville Police Department to report the immigration status of an arrestee. Then Governor Jerry Brown signed The California Values Act into law to provide similar protections to everyone in California.
Some fear that the protections may have gone too far, with some resistance to deportation of even those convicted of violent crimes (California allows ICE to be contacted only after a sentence is served).
Republicans have continued to amplify criminal cases where undocumented immigrants are involved in heinous crimes for their political gain. Nationwide, a recent ABC poll shows that only 6% of Americans oppose the deportation of those living in the country illegally who have been convicted of a violent crime.
The lawsuit filed by these municipalities attempts to block a Presidential executive order that threatens to withhold billions of dollars in federal funds from local and state governments that have passed these sanctuary policies. These governments successfully sued the Trump administration in 2017 to prevent this funding from being withheld.
Any idea what the Emery Yards sale means for revenue for the city in the short term?
Great question. The city does have a Transfer Tax which last I checked was 1.2% which would amount to $5.4 million in revenue. Let me 100% fact check this though.
OK, finally heard back from the city.
In 2022 in the wake of the pandemic, voters passed Measure O which increased this property transfer tax.
This $450M sale is taxed $25 per $1,000 equaling $11.25M!
https://www.ci.emeryville.ca.us/1443/Measure-O—Real-Property-Transfer-Tax
is property taxes a big source of revenues for the city? can’t parse through priforce and Donahue’s brouhaha over budget shortfalls and over business taxes cap since their rhetoric is always so misleading.
9.6% of the city’s general fund revenue.
https://evilleeye.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-14-at-3.37.50 PM.png
Source (page viii):
https://www.ci.emeryville.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/16388/FY24-FY25-Budget-Approved-111723?
Sanctuary Cities are great, but what Emeryville really needs are tenant protections and a Rent Board. Landlords get away with murder here because the protections are so utterly inadequate. Learn to walk before you attempt to run, Emeryville. Prioritize.