EAST BAY ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARK
Greater Oakland Region, CA

Managing Entities: Indigo Development and Urban Ore and Economic Development
Alliance for Business
Contact Person' s Name : Ernest A. Lowe (Indigo Development)
Address: 1221 Oak Street, Suite 555, Oakland, CA 94612
Phone : (510) 339-1090 Fax: (510) 339-9361 E-mail: elowe@indigodev.com

Alternate Contact Person: Dan Knapp (Urban Ore)
Phone : (510) 235-0172 Fax: (510) 235-0198 E-mail: N/A

Alternate Contact Person: Mary Ortendahl (Economic Development Alliance for Business)
Phone : (510) 272-3889 Fax: (510) 272-3784 E-mail: N/A

EIP's key features.

  • The anchor for this EIP will be a resource recovery facility encompassing reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, and composting. (We have five companies now looking to move and expand their operations.)

  • Our recruitment strategy will build from this base to include other companies including plants in the park's vicinity, whose participants and energy inputs or outputs will help build a web of by-product exchange. Other potential recruits will be in areas of new renewable materials and energy manufacturing.

  • The project will demonstrate the potential for reindustrialization based on emerging trends toward a resource efficient and renewable energy and materials economy.

  • Site selection and planning will emphasize ecological values in balance with economic issues. The site will be "landscaped" to reflect native ecosystem characteristics.

  • Design of the park infrastructure and buildings will emphasize energy efficiency, use of renewable energy and material, and pollution prevention.


What constitutes success?

  • Traditional economic development and financial values will be met in balance with ecological values.
  • Park performance objectives will reflect this balance and insure continuous improvement.
  • Community support for the project will be strong because it will provide jobs for those who need them in industry that safeguards their environment.


EIP linkages.

  • The by-product exchange network strategy will be implemented through a survey of potential recruits, surveys of neighboring businesses, study of county waste stream reports, and workshops with potential recruits. In addition a business incubator will be set up to support development of new businesses to fill niches in the exchange.

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Recruiting process.

  • A coalition of the Recycling Market Development Zone, the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recycling Board, local and state economic development agencies has already been established.

  • The business incubator and entrepreneurial support network will support development of successful new firms for the park.


Resources available.

Initial organization has been supported by in-kind contribution of the Economic Development Advisory Board. We are seeking Economic Development Administration and/or local foundation funds for site selection and feasibility studies. Our intention is to do the actual real estate development through private investment.

Strategy to continue progressing.

  • Basically we will use standard real estate development management strategies, while
    tracking all of the environmental/ecological issues involved.
  • FIWP funding for feasibility study.
  • Evaluation and selection of sites. Environmental impact assessment.
  • Move quickly enough to meet the needs of the resource recovery firms planning expansion.

 

What is missing?
A adaptation of standard development pro formals to reflect values like life cycle costing of alternative park and building infrastructure options that may cost more initially but yield major savings over the lifetime of the facility. And to back that up, lenders and investors need encouragement to recognize this more systemic financial analysis.


Goals for the upcoming workshop.
Better understanding of how other projects are addressing EIP development, what they're learning, how they define their projects.



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Case Study Source: Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) Workshop, Cape Charles, Va., October 17-18, 1996.