When the news broke about Uber's purchase of the historic Sears building (now known as Uptown Station) in Oakland, social media lit up with collective gasps and groans. Despite laudatory and reassuring words from Mayor Libby Schaaf, many citizens weighed in on Twitter with predictions of rising home prices, displacement, and cultural ruination. The San Francisco Chronicle summed it up with this morning's headline: "Oakland Residents Freak Out Over News of New Uber Headquarters."
During public remarks yesterday, Schaaf said that more than 2,000 employees would be working at the building located at 1955 Broadway when Uber opens the doors in 2017. According to Forbes, the company projects "a staggering one-in-four Uber employees will be from the East Bay." If conventional wisdom is correct, the real estate market in the area will be heating up—way up. Time to get it before it gets too hot?
· OMG! Uber To Pick Up Oakland's Redesigned Sears Building for Office Space [Curbed SF]
· Oakland residents freak out over news of new Uber headquarters [SFGate]
· Uber will change Oakland, but will Oakland change Uber? [SFGate]
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