Date: 01/27/ 2022
Lease Negotiations with Sustainable Technologies
Honorable Alameda City Mayor and Council Members:
I am writing to you since you will be discussing the lease agreement for Sustainable Technologies office and shop which, for the last 21 years, has been located at 1800 Orion St. I would like to thank the council for working with Sustainable Technologies on this issue. We appreciate your consideration and would like to find a balanced solution that works for the City of Alameda and for Sustainable Technologies.
Being at the 1800 Orion St. location has allowed us to develop a Direct Solar Pumping Control System that has transformed our operation into a unique Solar equipment manufacturer. Remote Solar pumping and remediation systems are much needed in our transition to a renewable energy economy. Relocation this year would create an incredible hardship given the number of projects that we have -which we have worked very hard to secure and right when our technology is starting to get adopted and recognized. If Sustainable Technologies cannot stay at this location at is so right for us, we would like to find a way to do an orderly relocation.
We are very exited about the path that we are on. We have two modular Solar remediation systems that we are building now. Sustainable Technologies is the recommended contractor to provide an 80 KW modular micro grid system that will provide energy to the Santa Susana Lab (a former NASA Roquet testing facility) Remediation systems. We are awaiting the 1M contract award this week. Sustainable Technologies is also the chosen Solar Ground Water system provider and installation contractor for a United States Department of Energy remediation site. We hired one worker last November and is in the process of hiring one Project manager and one journeyperson to meet the project requirements.
On the Agricultural division side, 6 Solar pumping system projects were submitted to the CDFA Sweep Grant program for funding. 3 projects have received funding already and Sustainable Technologies is on contract for the development and installation of these projects. All these systems will be built at our warehouse and delivered as complete units.
On top of these important projects, we have our local remediation consultant costumers to continue to serve. This month, Sustainable Technologies will be performing a 500 cubic yard excavation of impacted soil at a warehouse in Hayward. All of this detail is to show that this year would be a very disruptive time to spend 2 months+ unable to operate properly.
There are four other business operating at this address as well. Mosaics Metals is a metal fabricator involved in a multiyear project at Building 8 at The Point and with the Harbor Bay condominium.
Alliance Solar is a Solar thermal company. Cameron Cole, an Environmental Consultant, runs their field services operations out of this warehouse. Phasor Corporation, a sustainable technology R& D company, The Cub Scouts of Alameda, Team Oakland Composite High School Mountain Bike team, and several Alameda resident hobbyists also share the compound.
About the properties that we have been shown:
Neither property is ready to receive our operations and would require $100,000 + to have either of them able to work. Neither facility has windows, and the lighting systems are deficient and inefficient. They do not have an office. The one at Orion Street does not have a bathroom or access to water.
The Airplane Wash hangar facility at 1951 Monarch St:
There are no electrical outlets anywhere in the hangar as it was a plane wash hangar. This space has only the hangar door as the warehouse door. The bathroom and electricity would be shared with the neighbors. Most of the floor is grating making the use of warehouse forklift a challenge.
The facility is quite large and the price quoted was 4 times what we are paying now.
We would need to erect a fence around the North side of the warehouse to be able to test the modular Solar Vapor Extraction and pumping systems. The solar access would be very limited especially in the winter since it would be on the North side of a very tall wall.
The Bulk storage warehouse located at 2251 Orion St:
We were informed that we could use this warehouse as long as the developers do not exercise the right to develop. This would be very temporary to move into a residential area. The lighting would need to be updated to be able to work in the facility. Windows would need to be installed to have a healthy work environment. The warehouse does not have a bathroom or running water. The backyard is not connected to the warehouse. A gate would need to be installed. For this amount of investment of time and money, we will need to be thinking about a 10 year lease but the area or warehouse does not really fit.
While not ideal by any means, both facilities with enough money and time could be remodeled to work but it does not warrant the effort. We would like to continue to look for other possible solutions.
A smaller warehouse with a larger yard or a yard that has power and water would probably be a more manageable alternative. For either of the warehouses that we have been shown we would need to buy or rent a modular office and storage units. That would be the same as if operating from a field office. There are yards and warehouses on the West end of Skyhawk St and Hornet St. that look to be vacant. I also inquired about 1851 Monarch St. (it looks to be use for bat storage and crashed cars) but the realtors did not have any information about that property. It is not much of a warehouse but possibly less work to make it partially functional.
If there is land that we can buy to develop our headquarters, we would like to get the opportunity to negotiate, and we will make the investment to build a zero net energy model building that could attract other sustainable technologies R&D start-ups.
We are hoping that the City Council will consider postponing Sustainable Technologies potential relocation until after Astra’s Air Permit is issued and the CEQA exemption is reviewed as it will likely be challenged. It is not reasonable to have Sustainable Technologies and its tenants relocated for a
business that is operating without an Air permit and has not met the environmental regulations to operate within the law.
In conclusion, Sustainable Technologies and its group of tenants would like to stay at 1800 Orion St for 2022 and take this year to find and condition a site at Alameda Point and be able to meet our contract commitments. Or we would like to get a longer lease at 1800 Orion St. to be able to invest in roof repairs that we were planning on doing before we found out about the relocation.
We look forward to continuing to thrive and grow at Alameda Point and to work with the City of Alameda. Thank you for taking the time to consider all these issues in your conversation at tomorrow’s closed door city council committee meeting.
Sincerely,
Ernesto Montenero
Ernesto Montenero
Sustainable Technologies
www.sustainabletech.cc
1800 Orion St Suite 101 Alameda, CA 94501
510 523-1122 phone / 510 523-1123 fax
License #772329 A, C-10, HAZ, HIC,MBE, SBE, Bay Area Green Business