Business View Magazine | September 2019

187 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019 was here, is still here, and opportunity is going to continue to be here.” Reed says that the City is in “the building relationships stage,” getting its name “out there” via conferences and expos, as it pertains to business attraction. The Economic Development team is also going through the process of gathering supporting data to make sure that any industries it contacts will have a good chance of succeeding. “Ultimately, we’re looking to diversify,” he remarks, “so that if one industry struggles, it doesn’t affect the City’s economy. Some of the major industries that we are looking to capitalize on would be medical supply chain vendors - because of the existing hospitals and healthcare service providers. We’re also looking at cannabis. Antioch is a cannabis-friendly city. Our City Council approved Cannabis Guidelines last September that provides information to would-be cannabis business operators on the locations within Antioch where it’s allowed and the requirements to operate. We are looking at everything from dispensaries, large-scale cultivators, and production and manufacturing.” City Manager Ron Bernal adds that Antioch is also looking at industries that could utilize the City’s waterfront, which has been underutilized over the years. “Antioch has significant heavy industrial waterfront opportunities,” he says. “We have deep- water port opportunities. We also have a very active BNSF rail line that goes along our heavy industrial area. We’re trying to capitalize on the infrastructure that is already in place and bring in businesses that, maybe in California, are having a hard time finding a location with heavy industrial approved type of uses. Whereas, we have it already zoned and ready to go with significant acreage for them to come to. We are investing $4 million installing sewer and water lines in our heavy industrial area, so it will be more shovel-ready for developers that want to locate here in Antioch.” Reed adds that another potential industry is the “blue technology” sector. “We are making connections with organizations like the Sustainable Ocean Alliance,” he says. “They’re located in San Francisco and are trying to start pictured below City Manager, Ron Bernal 100 incubators within the next three years – companies that are trying to utilize the ocean or other waterways in a sustainable way.” Meanwhile, the City’s residential and commercial growth continues apace. “We’re going to exceed 600 residential permits this year,” says Bernal. “We have our first gated 440-unit senior community approved. This project type is new to Antioch and is going to provide a new opportunity for existing residents that, in the past, haven’t had the opportunity to age in place. We are also hoping for this development to attract new residents to the City as well. We’ve had several new developments opening up. One is called Wildflower Station – it’s 90,000 square feet of commercial/office space, 98 condos, and 22 single-family houses on a prominent piece of property close to Highway 4 and the new BART station. BART extended their ANT IOCH , CAL I FORNI A