Rob AriasOur Emeryville newswire is a roundup of local news stories and high-performing social media posts relevant to Emeryville residents.
In this post covering the second half of April and early May, we share five stories including:
- Emeryville experienced the highest population growth among Bay Area cities in 2023
- A candidate has emerged to replace John Bauters in the 2024 Emeryville City Council race
- Missing Emeryville resident Laura Hebert was safely located in Davis, CA
- Good to Eat Dumplings is scheduled to appear on Check, Please! Bay Area
- The construction fences are down at the BioMed Realty “Emery Yards” development
(Please note that some linked stories may be behind a paywall).
Emeryville Sees 5% YOY Population Growth
Emeryville is among a handful of cities that are steadily recovering from population declines spurred by the pandemic. In fact, Emeryville’s nearly 5% increase is the highest among Bay Area cities.
Emeryville’s population as of the 2020 census was estimated as 12,905. According to the latest estimates provided by the California Department of Finance, the city’s population as of this year is 13,314 (an estimated increase of 628 from last year and net +409 people since the 2020 census estimate).
The population was likely buoyed by the completion of the 500 unit Sherwin-Williams and 186 unit Bay View projects (both over a decade in the making).
While the increase is encouraging, enthusiasm over the data should probably be tempered. If the city’s median occupancy rate of 1.81 people was applied to these combined 686 units, it would translate to 1,241 additional residents if fully occupied.
BPAC Member Samuel Gould pulls papers for Council Seat
As first reported by The East Bay Insiders Newsletter, a possible candidate has emerged to replace councilmember John Bauters in the upcoming city council election. Bauters qualified for the runoff for the Alameda County Supervisor race versus Nikki Fortunato Bas and will not be able to concurrently seek a third Emeryville city council term.
Bauters’ neighbor and BPAC appointee Samuel Gould has pulled papers signaling an intent to run.
Gould works as a game developer for Irvine-based Obsidian Entertainment according to his X profile. Like Bauters, Gould lists his priorities as housing, transit and cycling.
Gould has been a vocal critic of Councilmember Kalimah Priforce and the two have traded barbs online and in council chambers. Gould entered the small sphere of Emeryville politics when he accused Priforce of intimidation tactics during public comment of a Code of Ethics & Conduct agenda item discussion.
Councilmembers Sukhdeep Kaur and Courtney Welch, both filling terms vacated by resigned councilmembers, have signaled that they plan to seek reelection.
The nomination period for the three vacating seats officially opens on July 15 and closes August 9. The period will be extended by five days if an incumbent fails to file for reelection.
Missing Emeryville Woman Located in Davis
An Emeryville resident who was reported missing last week has been located.
The Emeryville Police Department issued an alert for Laura Hebert on April 25 after officially being reported missing on April 15.
According to a neighbor at the Emme apartment complex where she lived, Hebert was served with a notice to evict her unit on the day she was reported missing.
Fortunately, Laura was located last Sunday, April 28 in Davis by their local PD and is said to be “in good spirits and health.”
Good to Eat Dumplings to appear on Check, Please! Bay Area
For the second time this year, an Emeryville favorite will appear on KQED’s Check, Please! Bay Area. In January, Arizmendi was featured on the popular show that invited a small group of guests to review their favorite local restaurants.
This week, E’ville’s own Good to Eat Dumplings is slated to be featured next Thurs., May 9. Good to Eat serves way more than dumplings providing a range of popular Taiwanese street food dishes. The spot frequently has lines out the door on weekends.
Tune into KQED at 7:30 p.m. or watch online at kqed.org/checkplease.
Horn Barbecue Fire being Investigated as Arson
Horn Barbecue has made headlines several times over the past couple weeks in the wake of the devastating fire to the Mandela Parkway restaurant.
On March 14, chef Matt Horn announced that he would not be reopening his Mandela Parkway location citing an “untenable” business environment along the corridor. All of this amid news of financial and legal troubles he was experiencing.
On April 24, he followed up by announcing that they would be reopening in Old Oakland at the same location as his Matty’s Old Fashioned burger joint on 8th street.
On May 3, an Oakland Fire Department spokesman said investigators probing the fire found evidence indicating the blaze was deliberately set. No suspects have been identified.
Emery Yards’ Chiron Plaza Opens to Public
The construction fences at the BioMed Realty Emery Yards project have come down giving residents cut through access as well as access to their public plaza.
Newer residents may not remember Chiron who were one of Emeryville’s pioneering biotech firms in the 1980s. They were absorbed by Swiss pharmaceutic giant Novartis in 2006.
Fences down at the new Chiron Plaza and Emery Yards campus. #emeryville pic.twitter.com/fBs60RoQrm
— Brad Froehle (@bfroehle) May 2, 2024
Novartis sold the campus to BioMed Realty in 2019 who presented their renovation plans for the Emeryville Center for Innovation the following year. Emeryville-founded Zymergen announced a lease of 300K of the space in 2019 before the company’s abrupt implosion in 2021.
BioMed persisted with the project and received approval in 2021 and began construction shortly thereafter.
The complete project is approved for 1.3M square feet of office and lab space spread out over six buildings, 35K sq. ft. of amenities and 4 acres of green space.
Phase 2 of project is also slated to include a café space in the base of the parking structure along Horton.
