Although it may not receive as much attention as high-tech powerhouses such as San Jose, Santa Clara and Mountain View, Fremont has attracted numerous small and medium-sized technology companies in recent years. Now, Fremont — in southern Alameda County about 12 miles north of downtown San Jose — is poised to become an even bigger player. Catellus Development Corporation has received nearly all the government approvals necessary for 8.25 million square feet of commercial development in a 325-acre technology-based business park. Catellus's Pacific Commons — between Interstate 880 and San Francisco Bay — is among the largest of its type in the Bay Area. Fremont city officials, who have supported the latest versions of the project, believe 20,000 to 30,000 people could work at Pacific Commons businesses at full build-out, depending upon who locates in the park. "This is where the action will be over the next 20 years," said Dan Marks, Fremont planning manager. "No one else (in the Bay Area) has this amount of land available." That may be an exaggeration, especially as Cisco Systems considers a 400-acre campus in South San Jose's Coyote Valley. Still, Pacific Commons is important to the East Bay and Silicon Valley. The project means that Fremont (population 204,000) likely will add jobs at an even faster rate than projected by the Association of Bay Area Governments. Fremont employment already was expected to grow from 71,500 jobs in 1995 to 84,600 in 2000, then to 118,000 in 2020, according to ABAG. Development plans for the 840-acre site have been around since the 1970s. Earlier proposals called for residential development, which proved controversial because the area is in the city's "industrial heartland," according to Marks. In 1996, the city approved a development agreement and site plans that called for 8.25 million square feet of industrial space, big-box retail development, and homes. However, in the process of receiving a wetlands permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Catellus lost nearly half of its planned development footprint to wetlands and habitat mitigation. The latest version of the project contains only the industrial development, Marks said. Catellus still must receive city approval for a revised development agreement and new site plans. The city has yet to determine what level of review is necessary under the California Environmental Quality Act, Marks said. The earlier version of the project was subjected to an EIR. Because of wetlands restrictions, buildings will assume a more vertical nature, with structures up to eight stories tall, said Don Little, a Catellus senior vice president. But Marks indicated taller buildings could be just fine. The city has encouraged a design that incorporates a major transit spine, and bus- and pedestrian-friendly features. Shuttles will connect with area BART stations. A commuter train runs along the western edge of the site, and the city might pursue a train station, Marks said. Buses would take workers from the train station to their offices. "We're trying to design something that is different from campus business parks of the past, which were designed as a number of isolated projects," he said. The city, which has a joint marketing agreement with Catellus, wants Pacific Commons to have a sense of place, said Rosie Rios, the city's economic development manager. This is especially important because the site is across the freeway from the other, more established, part of town. Sidewalks and trails will link three "activity centers" that offer workers retail shopping and parks. The city has encouraged the Pacific Commons project because city leaders want a bigger slice of the silicon pie. Fremont has seen some campus-style development and the opening of new headquarters, but it wants more. "R and D development is encouraged by any city that I know of because of the level of jobs involved," Rios said. Semiconductor, telecommunications and biotechnology and the three strongest segments of the high-tech world in Fremont, Rios said. According to the city's Economic Profile, Lam Research Corporation, Seagate Magnetics, and HMT Technology Corporation employ more than 2,000 workers apiece, making them the second, third and fourth largest private employers in town. The New United Motors Manufacturing plant, with 5,500 workers, remains Fremont's biggest employer, but the economy of Fremont and other East Bay cities is changing. A report by San Francisco business consultant McKinsey & Co. said the economy of cities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties has shifted from one based on heavy manufacturing, defense-related work and finance to one based on information and services. Little expects telecommunications, software and networking companies to become Pacific Commons tenants. "That's the tenant community that needs and wants the space," he said. "There is such an acute scarcity of land available in that marketplace." Warehousing and heavy manufacturing are not planned, he added. Although they have not provided financial incentives, Fremont leaders did make the city a co-applicant with Catellus for a Clean Water Act §404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps finalized that permit in early September, removing the last major hurdle in the governmental process. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has said it will not challenge the project. The Corps permit allows Catellus to fill 47 acres of wetlands along the edge of San Francisco Bay and to encase about a mile and a half of a flood control canal. In exchange, Catellus must set aside 390 acres for a nature preserve, which will provide habitat for the tiger salamander, vernal pool tadpole shrimp and the Contra Costa goldfields, a flower. The state lists the salamander as an endangered species, while the shrimp and goldfields enjoy federally protected status. Additionally, Catellus must create 77 acres of on-site and off-site wetlands. Catellus also must avoid 59 acres of existing wetlands. Doug Makitton, a corps spokesman, said the agency has permitted very few projects of this magnitude in San Francisco Bay. "This one has gone through a number of changes in the last three or four years to get to this point. Anything in and around the Bay takes careful planning and a lot of negotiations," he said. "The key point is that it is a net gain (of wetlands)." Marks, the city's planner, said Catellus has cooperated a great deal to expedite the 404 process. The three-year review was brief considering the project's scope, he said. Catellus would like to begin infrastructure construction in summer of 2000. Marks is not ready to commit to a time frame but said the city will complete its reviews as quickly as possible. The development agreement runs through 2014, although Little thinks Pacific Commons could build out a few years before that date. Besides getting a major new job site, the city also will get an expensive extension of Cushing Parkway. Cushing is an arterial that will link Pacific Commons with other industrial areas. The extension is expensive because portions must be raised above sensitive habitat. Contacts: Don Little, Catellus senior vice president for Northwest development, (415) 974-4500. Dan Marks, Fremont planning manager, (510) 494-4515. Rosie Rios, Fremont economic development manager, (510) 494-4804. Doug Makitton, Army Corps of Engineers public affairs officer, (415) 977-8658.