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13 <br /> <br />2.2.6. A Number of Disengaged Businesses. <br />In interviews, many firms acknowledged that San Leandro has provided a low-cost, convenient location, <br />and that up to that point, the weaknesses did not rise to the level of motivating them to consider <br />relocation. Some commented anecdotally on experiences and perceptions of petty crime, and <br />employees' after-dark fears for personal safety while walking to their on-street parked cars; one <br />comment concerned the difficulty of commuting to and from work among heavy trucks. There did not <br />appear to be much to tie them to the place in terms of a district business culture or larger business <br />community orientation and engagement. Most businesses are focused on the absorbing requirements <br />of their own work. This appears to suggest that many firms may not identify strongly with being in the <br />city or the district, and with the perceived lack of place amenities, there is little to keep them here if <br />their spatial or other needs cannot be met. <br /> <br /> <br />2.3. Opportunities for the Districts include: <br /> <br />2.3.1. Advanced manufacturing is growing. <br />Within the last two years, the low-cost advantages of manufacturing in China have weakened23 and <br />some American firms are returning their operations to the United States 24. Increasing labor and <br />shipping costs, delayed response times, intellectual property concerns, and advancing automation are all <br />factors. This is especially so in food, niche apparel, and computer-controlled machining - sectors that <br />also do not always want large footprint plants and instead must respond rapidly to nearby customers <br />and markets . From interviews, we learned that there are San Leandro businesses considering "re- <br />onshoring" of machinist and other skilled worker jobs. <br /> <br />2.3.2. Berkeley and Emeryville are tight on manufacturing space. <br />Berkeley's per square foot industrial building costs are about twice that of San Leandro’s25 and its <br />regulatory environment is highly constrained by the West Berkeley Plan (see also Table 1). <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />23 "The end of cheap China - What do soaring Chinese wages mean for global manufacturing?," The Economist. <br />http://www.economist.com/node/21549956 London: The Economist Newspaper, March 10, 2012. <br />24 "Reshoring manufacturing: Coming home - A growing number of American companies are moving their <br />manufacturing back to the United States," The Economist. http://www.economist.com/news/special- <br />report/21569570-growing-number-american-companies-are-moving-their-manufacturing-back-united London: <br />The Economist Newspaper, January 19, 2013. <br />25 Based on June 2013 conversations between Rod Stevens and Steve Smith, broker with Norheim and Yost, a <br />boutique industrial real estate firm in Berkeley. These conversations included discussion of the problems with data <br />from some of the larger brokerage houses (which do few deals in Berkeley), and why the comparatively narrow <br />range of asking rates for different markets do not reflect the much greater range of vacancies. Smith provided <br />examples of recent property searches (and closed transactions) in which the buyer searched for properties in both <br />Berkeley and San Leandro.