A trio of Emeryville-related business stories aggregated from around the interwebz in our June edition of E’ville Biz.

The City of Emeryville is considering including the use of “Mass Timber,” said to be a more “sustainable” building product, be included in a list of community benefits developers can provide in exchange for additional building height.

A battle may be heating up between the city and Oxford Properties over plans to eliminate a housing component of their ongoing marketplace project. The developer has offered to pay an “in lieu” fee of $17 million for the 18 affordable units they committed to. The city is looking to negotiate more. Oxford is also offering to build a 5,174 sq. ft. “pavilion” near the Amtrak bridge that would provide bicycle parking and retail space (rendering in above feature image).

Emeryville companies Upside Foods and Finless Foods are among a handful of food tech companies profiled by the SF Business Times for their ambitious manufacturing plans. Upside debuted its “EPIC” headquarters last November and Finless is working on a 11,000 square feet combination pilot plant, headquarters and R&D facility on 53rd street.

Developers who forgo steel or concrete in favor of mass timber may soon find themselves able to build taller and denser in Emeryville.

The East Bay city is considering adding the use of mass timber, a wood-based product said to be a more sustainable building product, to a list of community benefits developers can provide in exchange for additional density.

Read More on SF Business Time (Paywall may apply)

Oxford Properties has offered to pay Emeryville $17 million to build lab space in lieu a residential complex with 18 affordable units at the Public Market. Now the city has come back with a counteroffer: $20 million.

The draft proposal, which will appear before City Council for a study session next week, will need council approval as well as buy-in from Toronto-based Oxford and its partner, City Center Realty Partners. The two developers did not respond to request for comment.

Read More on SF Business Time (Paywall may apply)

Construction crews are massing in the parking lot at the Alameda headquarters of food tech unicorn Eat Just, beginning a project as massive as it is unprecedented: a 40,000-square-foot pilot plant that will be able to brew tens of thousands of pounds of cell-derived chicken and beef from bioreactors when construction wraps up in the fourth quarter.

But Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick is already thinking bigger. Even before the pilot plant delivers, he is drawing up plans for a 200,000-square-foot facility — location undetermined — to produce 30 million pounds a year.

Read More on SF Business Time (Paywall may apply)

If so, consider a one-time or recurring contribution to help support our local journalists.

is a third generation Californian and East Bay native who lived in Emeryville from 2003 to 2021. Rob founded The E'ville Eye in 2011 after being robbed at gunpoint and lamenting the lack of local news coverage. Rob's "day job" is as a creative professional.

Check your inbox or spam folder now to confirm your subscription.

Community powered news made possible through the generous contributions of:

©2022 The E'ville Eye LLC Disclaimer  |  Corrections  |  Comment Policy

We believe reliable and timely information is essential to the Emeryville community. If you agree and can spare a few bucks to help us continue to provide free content, we’d appreciate it.