Fremont, California
With the ending of the Toyota/General Motors collaboration and the associated closure of the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in April 2010, the future of the NUMMI site and adjoining parcels (a total of 850 acres) was uncertain. Several months later, the electric car manufacturer, Tesla Motors, purchased the 5.5-million square-foot plant, and the City of Fremont sought a study to guide future land use and economic development actions for the surrounding 600 acres.
Partnering with another economics consulting firm and as part of a larger planning team, EPS prepared a baseline market analysis to bring economic reality to the land use alternatives, drafted a white paper on the topic of the future of manufacturing in the United States and locally, and convened an expert panel of academics, economists, developers, and business leaders to test some of the big ideas that were beginning to emerge. Based on this research and analysis, close collaboration with City staff, as well as input from the community and City Council, EPS and its partners defined the realistic economic futures for the area and worked with the planners to develop three land use alternatives for further analysis. Subsequently, EPS and its partners tested variations in the financial feasibility, public financing requirements, and fiscal implications of the three alternatives.