Rob AriasIn this edition of our Emeryville Semi-Monthly newswire, we share five stories relevant to Emeryville that you may have missed including:
- Emeryville Biotech Company Acquired for $2.2B
- $10,000 Luxury Sleeper coming to Emeryville Amtrak?
- Emeryville Builder Awarded $35M Govt. Contract
- South SF Biotech company “downsizes” to Emeryville
- Urban Ore Employees’ Union Ratifies Contract
- Convicted Killer Nima Momeni Sues Local Media Outlets
Urban Ore Employees Union Ratifies Contract
After nearly three years of organizing and a six-week strike, workers at Berkeley salvage and reuse retailer Urban Ore have ratified their first union contract, bringing a formal end to a prolonged labor dispute. The agreement includes wage increases and stronger job protections, while reducing the company’s revenue-sharing program.
While the contract resolves the immediate conflict, Berkeleyside reports that underlying tensions between worker-owners and management may persist as the octogenarian founders explore a succession plan for the business they founded in 1980.
South SF Biotech company “Downsizes” to Emeryville
CytomX Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology biotech headquartered in South San Francisco since the mid-2010s, has signed a lease for about 35,500 square feet of combined office and lab space at EmeryStation West with plans to relocate its headquarters there later in 2026.
The move comes as the company streamlines operations following restructuring and shifts in pipeline priorities.
While the downsizing is bad news for CytomX, the move is good news for Emeryville representing the largest office lease in the Oakland submarket in the last quarter of 2025.
Emeryville Builder Awarded $35M U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract
Emeryville-based Anvil Builders Inc., a civil construction firm specializing in underground, water, and public-infrastructure projects, has been awarded a $35.9 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to raise the height of a sediment-retention dam near Toutle, Washington.
The project targets ongoing sediment flows from Mount St. Helens following its 1980 eruption and is intended to reduce flood risk for downstream communities. Construction is expected to begin this summer and wrap up by October 2027.
Founded in 2010, Anvil Builders is headquartered in Emeryville’s renovated Air Reduction Co. building at the foot of Park Avenue.
Emeryville Biotech Company Acquired for $2.2B
French biopharmaceutical company Sanofi announced an agreement to acquire Emeryville-based Dynavax Technologies in an all-cash transaction valued at about $2.2 billion that is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
Dynavax was founded in Berkeley in 1996 and has operated in Emeryville for most of its existence. The deal brings Dynavax’s marketed adult hepatitis B vaccine HEPLISAV-B and a Phase 1/2 shingles vaccine candidate into Sanofi’s global immunization portfolio, with Sanofi saying its broader commercial reach and development capabilities will shape Dynavax’s future under its ownership.
$10,000 Luxury Sleeper Coming to Emeryville Amtrak?
For those not content with the standard offerings of Amtrak, an “ultra-premium” option is now being offered by a third party.
A startup named Halloway is looking to revive luxury rail travel by meticulously restoring Union Pacific dome-lounge cars with panoramic views and onboard chefs.
Available routes that currently depart from the Jack London Station including the Coast Starlight to Los Angeles ($10,000) and the California Zephyr to Denver ($18,500).
Convicted Killer Nima Momeni Sues Local Media Outlets
Nima Momeni, the Emeryville-tech consultant convicted in December 2024 of second-degree murder in the April 2023 stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, has filed a civil lawsuit against several media organizations alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and related claims tied to their coverage of the case. He is seeking $17 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Momeni’s sentencing has been delayed more than a year after his conviction after he replaced his legal team. He is facing 16 years to life in prison.
