When Striking Distance Studios set out to establish a new studio, the old adage rang true: location, location, location.
SAN RAMON, CA—The Tri-Valley is currently home to headquarter locations for major corporations and corporate divisions including Chevron, Safeway, Workday, GE Digital and Sybase/SAP. And, as of 2018, approximately 450 technology companies were located in the Tri-Valley, according to the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. In addition, the region benefited from more than $4 billion in venture capital and private equity investment during the past 10 years.
Not only is the Tri-Valley one of the fastest growing parts of the Bay Area and leading much of the growth in the East Bay, but it is business friendly, and has a highly skilled workforce with access to public schools, new homes and high quality of life. So when Striking Distance Studios was searching for the right headquarters location, San Ramon fit the bill because of its large talent pool and the innovative companies that are establishing offices there.
In this exclusive, Glen Schofield, CEO of Striking Distance Studios, discussed what was attractive about the Tri-Valley and why it is leading growth, appealing amenities at Bishop Ranch and what is in store for Striking Distance in 2020.
GlobeSt.com: What was attractive about the East Bay and Tri-Valley in general when choosing where to locate the Striking Distance Studios headquarters?
Schofield: When we set out to find a place to establish a new AAA studio in the Bay Area, the old adage rang true: location, location, location. First, San Ramon and Bishop Ranch are centrally located and easy to reach for people living throughout the Bay Area. Second, we required an area with enough space for the state-of-the-art facility we needed to build, including our very own motion capture studio. In Bishop Ranch, we found the perfect 25,000-square-foot space. Third, we wanted to find a place where our team felt comfortable planting roots and raising a family, and San Ramon is a city and community ideal for that. I've lived here for several years with my own family, so I know firsthand what an amazing community it is.
GlobeSt.com: Are there specific amenities or elements of Bishop Ranch that your employees enjoy most?
Schofield: It's great having such a huge selection of restaurants and bars in the area, not to mention incredible shopping at City Center Bishop Ranch, which will be just steps away from our new facility. Additionally, several of our team members also love to stretch their legs with a stroll through Bishop Ranch's beautiful property or grab a coffee at Lakeside Coffee for a walk around the lake at Roundhouse.
GlobeSt.com: Why do you think the Tri-Valley is leading much of the growth in the East Bay?
Schofield: A lot of it has to do with the Tri-Valley being such an amazing place for families. With top-rated schools, amazing scenery and competitive housing prices, it's a no brainer for people to want to live and work here.
GlobeSt.com: What will 2020 look like for Striking Distance Studios?
Schofield: 2020 is all about growth for Striking Distance. We have more than 100 positions to fill next year as we head into full production on our game, and all this while moving into our new studio space, which we couldn't be more excited for. We're moving quickly and fortunately we've assembled a team of industry veterans with a clear unified vision of what we're trying to achieve. We'll be heads down on the project, but eyes forward on building a future for the studio at Bishop Ranch.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
