Hacienda Network Has Provided a Unique Lens on Park History and Happenings

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Hacienda has seen many changes in the 24 years that Hacienda Network has chronicled its progress.

The mid-90s were a time of rapid growth and development, as numerous projects came to fill the raw land that was available in the park at that time. PeopleSoft, a rapidly growing software company which arrived in Hacienda in 1994, announced plans for a custom-built campus in 1997 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1997-01-peoplesoft-unveils-plans-for-campus). It was the first of several construction projects for the company, which added to its park presence in 1998 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1998-07-peoplesoft-construct-major-project) and 2002 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2002-02-peoplesoft-add-facility-to-campus). In 2005, PeopleSoft was acquired by Oracle, but the story continued with construction of a new 185,702 square foot facility (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2009-01-hacienda-significant-construction). Today, Oracle remains one of Hacienda's largest tenants.

A similar story may be told of Boehringer-Mannheim, a pharmaceutical company which opened its headquarters in 1997 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1997-10-businesses-new-hacienda-facilities). The company's initial Hacienda project came with plenty of land set aside for additional expansion, and those plans began to come to fruition in 1998 when Boehringer-Mannheim was acquired by Roche Molecular Systems, which immediately announced plans for further construction (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1998-03-roche-to-expand-after-acquisition). The growth of Roche's campus continued in 2006 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2006-09-roche-breaks-ground-on-facility) and continues to this day, with the imminent completion of an additional building first announced in December, 2015 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2015-12-roche-expands-hacienda-campus).

Also arriving at that time was Shaklee, which broke ground on its campus in May, 1998 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1998-05-shaklee-break-ground-on-campus) Shaklee's facility was ground-breaking in other ways, too, particularly with regards to the use of sustainable materials and its green energy practices. That commitment was honored again in 2006, when the company launched a global initiative, "A Million Trees, A Million Dreams," with Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Wangari Maathai participating in a tree-planting ceremony in Hacienda (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2006-05-shaklee-launches-global-campaign). The company's environmental efforts were recognized again just last year, when its water conservation efforts were lauded by the California Public Utilities Commission (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2015-07-shaklee-water-conservation-efforts).

Changes in the ways Hacienda employees and residents get to work made repeated headlines in Network. The biggest change came in 1997, when Network was the first media outlet to announce the opening date of the East Dublin/Pleasanton BART station (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1997-03-bart-to-open-may-30). When the station opened that May, Network was on hand to cover that, too (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1997-05-festivities-ceremony-bart-opening).

Having a BART station within the confines of the park was a great advantage, but it was not the only rail project that would benefit Hacienda. Starting in October, 1998, the Altamont Commuter Express - ACE - began shuttling riders between Stockton and San Jose with stops in Manteca, Tracy, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont, and Santa Clara (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1998-07-ace-train-arrival-comes-closer).

One constant throughout the Hacienda Network era has been the park's award-winning transportation program, the most notable element of which is the free WHEELS ECO Pass. This pass, available at no cost to park employees and residents, allows for free travel on WHEELS, the local bus system. More information is available at www.hacienda.org by choosing "Employees/Residents" under the Amenities menu and then clicking on "Commute Solutions."

Hacienda's expanded housing options have also been covered extensively in Network. What is now known as the Park Hacienda Apartments, a 540 unit complex on Owens Drive, was first announced in October, 1997 (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-1997-10-new-housing-approved-for-hacienda). Two projects totaling 506 units, a public park, and over 5,000 square feet of retail space - now known as Galloway at Owens and Galloway at Hacienda - were announced by BRE Properties in 2012. In 2013, St. Anton began construction on their new 168 unit community on W. Las Positas Boulevard and Sares Regis received approval for the Residences at California Center, 305 units of housing and 7,500 square feet of retail.

Network has also been a source of information on a number of other Hacienda housing options. Signature Properties has been building housing in the park since 1993, when construction began on Verona, a project consisting of 140 townhomes. That was followed up by the single family homes of Valencia and Valencia II; the 162 townhomes of Siena; and the 146 courtyard homes of Avila. Signature also built its headquarters in Hacienda in 1997.

The 354 units of the recently renamed Avana Stoneridge (www.avanastoneridge.com) apartments - formerly known as Springhouse Apartments - have featured in Network since the publication's birth, usually as part of the publication's biennial feature on Tri-Valley housing and housing resources (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2015-10-tri-valley-housing-resources).

The days of new projects rising from undeveloped land are almost gone with only a few such sites left owned by Roche, Oracle, and Shaklee for their future expansion. However, Hacienda has a number of additional development opportunities both in the form of infill and redevelopment. In fact, the park has already seen several examples in this vein, despite the fact that Hacienda itself is less than 40 years old.

The Dahlin Group, an architecture firm, turned heads with a re-imagining of an insurance company claims office in 2004, earning LEED Silver status along the way (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2006-06-dahlin-groups-major-local-projects). Mercedes of Pleasanton, a Hacienda mainstay since 1987, built a new facility in 2012, replacing its longtime home and removing structures that had once been occupied by a Chevys Fresh Mex restaurant and S&G Discount Carpets (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2012-08-mercedes-benz-pleasanton-expansion). Finally, the 177 unit SummerHill Apartment Communities project on W. Las Positas Boulevard is currently underway, following the demolition of a single-story office building that was constructed in 1984.

It has been particularly interesting to follow the rise of some Hacienda companies into the business pantheon. Two such companies exemplify the many growth stories Hacienda has watched unfold over the years.

EllieMae, now a publicly-traded company with a market capitalization of over $2.7 billion, was first introduced to Hacienda Network readers in August, 2000, when it was an 18-month-old startup occupying 18,000 square feet of office space (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2000-08-ellie-mae-making-friends). As Ellie Mae grew, Network interviewed the company founder, Sig Anderman, in a 2003 Executive Profile (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2003-04-executive-profile-sig-anderman); observed the company's debut on the New York Stock Exchange (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2013-02-mortgage-automator-ellie-mae); and covered the company's growth as it expanded again (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2015-02-ellie-mae-expanding-in-hacienda) and again (www.hacienda.org/ho-network/ho-nw-2016-08-ellie-mae-milestones).

Perhaps even more impressive is Veeva Systems. Network readers first met Veeva and its founder and CEO Peter Gassner in 2009, when the company was just over two years old and had moved into a 3,600 square foot suite at 4637 Chabot Drive.

By October, 2010, Veeva had expanded to a 12,000 square foot space at the same location. Gassner enjoyed his own Executive Profile feature in 2012, just over a year before Veeva's NYSE IPO.

Our last visit with Veeva came in 2014, as the company moved to its current 141,000 square foot Hacienda headquarters - a building the company now owns. Veeva's current market capitalization is over $6 billion.

While not every startup will meet with the same success as Veeva and Ellie Mae, it is surely an inspiration to entrepreneurs at startups throughout the park to know that the path they seek has already been traveled by their neighbor businesses. This success is also indicative of the level of support, amenities, and infrastructure offered by Hacienda. As the park's history shows, there is always room among the corporate giants for a company which offers new and innovative products, services, or simply a better way of doing things.

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