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Advanced Manufacturing Center <br /> <br />Project Overview <br />To most effectively leverage its assets and support local industrial job-creation, San Leandro is looking to <br />establish a Center for Advanced Manufacturing. The overarching goal of the Center will be to help <br />existing businesses transition to modern methods of production, capture start-ups that are spun off from <br />the nearby research centers, and facilitate scaling up of small and mid-sized manufacturers. The Center <br />will keep manufacturing jobs local and generate a stable supply of high-paying, high-quality jobs for the <br />entire East Bay region. <br /> <br />Working in partnership with local research institutions, <br />the Center could provide industrial firms and <br />researchers with access to the latest equipment and <br />technology. With a connection to the Lit San Leandro <br />fiber optic loop, the Center would also be capable of <br />remote processes that change the way industrial <br />operations are controlled and managed. <br /> <br />Additionally, an Advanced Manufacturing Center can <br />play a critical role in ensuring that local workforce <br />development efforts are aligned with the needs of 21st <br />Century industrial businesses. With this in mind, local community colleges will be key partners and the <br />Center would help to provide training resources to the community. <br /> <br />San Leandro is an ideal location for such a center because it has abundant industrial land and a strong <br />manufacturing legacy, is nearly equidistant from UC Berkeley and Stanford University, and provides close <br />proximity to cutting-edge technologies such as the Lawrence Livermore Lab Center for Additive <br />Manufacturing and High Performance Computing. <br /> <br />A Legacy of Manufacturing and Technology for the Future <br />San Leandro has a long history as a manufacturing center, starting in the early 1900’s as agriculture- <br />related factories, including the Caterpillar Tractor Company, began popping up in former cherry fields <br />along the rail lines. The transformation of San Leandro into an industrial center was no accident; critical <br />investments in infrastructure positioned San Leandro to attract postwar capital flows. San Leandro, <br />between 1948 and 1957 alone, gained 15,000 industrial jobs and over $130 million in capital investment. <br /> <br />Times have changed; traditional manufacturing departed California for <br />cheaper land, labor and energy, leaving the City’s industrial areas ripe for <br />repositioning. Although the nature of industrial production is transitioning, <br />the City’s commitment to industrial activity has remained strong. Unlike <br />many neighboring communities, San Leandro has resisted the temptation <br />to convert industrial areas to residential uses. About 25% of the City’s land <br />area is zoned industrial. With a strategic location near an international <br />airport and one of the largest ports on the west coast, San Leandro is <br />poised to capitalize on 21st century manufacturing and technology growth. <br /> <br /> To realize these opportunities, San Leandro has once again invested in <br />infrastructure—this time to modernize the availability of broadband connectivity. Working through an <br />innovative public-private partnership, the City has created Lit San Leandro, a fiber optic