San Francisco: The World’s Most Creative City? Come Hear What An Expert Thinks on May 24th at SFCED Event

San Francisco has a knack for bouncing back from difficult economic times, as as we have seen in the past few years following the dot com bust. According to Richard Florida, author of bestselling book The Rise of the Creative Class, one of the reasons for our city’s resiliency is its creativity and diverse population.

Dr. Florida will be joined by Mayor Newsom and a host of other presenters to discuss the city’s creativity and its economy at a May 24th event. The event will be co-sponsored by the San Francisco Center for Economic Development, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), and the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. For more details, contact SFCED managing director Todd Ewing at tewing@sfced.org or stay tuned to the SPUR website (www.spur.org) regarding how to sign up online.

San Francisco Economic News

Below please find news about San Francisco, all of it good:

Real Estate News Signals Improving Labor Market

For first quarter 2005, San Francisco enjoyed its seventh consecutive quarter of positive net absorption in the office real estate market. The city’s overall vacancy rate declined to 18%, and the Central Business District vacancy now stands at 16.4%. The positive movement in the vacancy rate suggests that the city’s employment picture is on the mend, though with steady, but slow job growth projected for the coming years, mending will take time.

(Source: Cushman & Wakefield)

Stem Cell Research Institute Headquarters Bid: San Francisco Comes out on Top

For those who don’t already know, last week it was announced that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) -- aka Stem Cell Research Institute – ranked the bids it received from various cities that are vying to host the institute’s administrative headquarters. Although the headquarters will only account for some 50 jobs or so, hosting the headquarters would carry great prestige and serve as a magnet for firms basing their activities on stem cell research. How did the rankings come out for San Francisco? Out of a possible score of 200, San Francisco scored 158 points, followed by Sacramento with 133, San Diego with 116, and Emeryville with 114. While the process of selecting the host city is by no means over – the final announcement is expected in May – San Francisco is grateful to have the superlative quality of its biotech assets recognized through this scoring process.

NOTE: The SFCED would like to acknowledge the generosity of Zoomedia, Bauer Limo, Hathaway Dinwhiddie, Gensler, Marriott, Joie De Vivre Hospitality, Kimptoin Hotels, Hyatt Regency, Nor Cal Waste, City Car Share, Delancey Street, Giants Enterprises and others for their generosity in making the details of the stem cell headquarters bid compelling and competitive through their contributions.

City College of San Francisco Announces $780K Grant from the State for Stem Cell Job Training

The City College of San Francisco recently announced an $780,000 grant from the California Employment Development Department. The purpose of the grant will be to train city college student in techniques useful in stem cell research labs. The college’s announcement was made the day after San Francisco’s number one ranking in the Stem Cell Research Institute Headquarters bid was announced. This grant will be one more asset that the city can use to attract companies focused on biotech and discovery of stem cell therapies.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Announces Move of Oncology Division to San Francisco

New York-based Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASD: KERX) announced that it has opened a division dedicated to oncology drug discovery South of Market. The company decided to move to San Francisco because of the presence of UCSF and the talent here. The company plans to move into Mission Bay itself when space is available, and plans to have hired 15-20 people here by that time. BT Commercial Broker Frank Fudem worked with Keryx to locate the right space in San Francisco.

For more information on these and other stories, please contact SFCED managing director Todd Ewing at tewing@sfced.org or 415-352-8838.