Business View Magazine - July 2016 59
decades, Union City has grown an innovative and eth-
nically diverse culture with a population of thinkers
and doers from many parts of the world. “Forty per-
cent of our residents were born outside the United
States,” Burch adds. “That presents a lot of opportu-
nities for diversity. . .and amazing food!”
Food aside, the city is a Mecca for potential job cre-
ators looking to establish roots; a place where they
can operate a viable business and still easily connect
with the rest of the region. And the city is more than
happy to assist. “We do a great job helping them work
through the permitting process,” Burch says. “All of
the people who work here really try to help new busi-
nesses that are trying to get started. We don’t have
a lot of red tape.” The good news is that Union City
already has a strong economic base with a wide vari-
ety of large businesses from medical device and food
product manufacturers, to major health care provid-
ers, to industrial and shipping companies.
But Union City is also a wonderful place to live. Its
approximately 18 square miles provides a variety of
housing - ranging from affordable to upscale – across
a number of charming city neighborhoods, all with ac-
cess to parks, sports fields, and other community fa-
cilities. “We have a park within a ten-minute walking
distance of every residence,” boasts Burch.
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Union City, California
WHAT:
A city of 74,000
WHERE:
In Alameda County in the San Francisco
Bay area
WEBSITE
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