Berkeley's 2024 Economic Dashboard: hospitality, startups and rising vacancies

On Feb. 25, Berkeley's Office of Economic Development presented the 2024 Economic Dashboard to the City Council, reporting modest job growth in the East Bay alongside notable stress in commercial real estate. Eleanor Hollander, OED manager, said East Bay employment rose about 0.9% in 2024 even as unemployment in Berkeley edged up slightly.

The dashboard highlighted three broad themes: a strong hospitality rebound, a buoyant innovation sector and elevated vacancy in lab and office space. "We're thrilled to share the 2024 Economic Dashboard," Eleanor Hollander said as the presentation opened. Staff said hospitality outperformed many East Bay peers, citing events and visitor draws; presenters reported roughly 2.4 million visitor nights, an average room rate presented as $187.05 and transient occupancy tax revenue of about $7.1 million for the year.

The innovation sector drew attention for both scale and concentration. Staff reported more than 400 innovation companies and about $1.2 billion in venture funding in 2024, driven in part by a few very large deals. "A couple of companies raised very large amounts that contribute to that $1.2 billion," the presenter said, citing headline deals such as Cobalt Metals ('4537 million) and a West Berkeley company that raised about '4205 million; staff also reported '414.3 million in government research and development grants and six exits or acquisitions in 2024.

At the same time, presenters said rapid growth in wet-lab space has pushed vacancy higher. The deck showed a Q4 2024 wet-lab vacancy figure presented as 48.6%; staff emphasized that the percentage is driven by several very large facilities and said that if a major facility (for example, the Berkeley Commons) were removed from the denominator, the adjusted vacancy would be closer to roughly 20%.

Office-using employment also remains below pre-pandemic levels: staff said there were about 10,000 fewer office-using jobs than before COVID-19, and that higher vacancy has placed downward pressure on rents. Vincent Coy, who reviewed district-level metrics, said the citywide commercial vacancy rate presented on the dashboard was about 7.5% but cautioned that a single large floorplate changing use can swing district percentages substantially.

The presentation also summarized other OED programs: city loan funds (six active loans), the Discover in Berkeley marketing campaign (more than 4 million impressions and about 180,000 engagements in 2024), green-business certification (79 certified businesses and 171 expressing interest) and civic-arts grantmaking (—11 111 grants totaling '4760,000 in 2024). Jennifer LaVourne said the Civic Arts program received National Endowment for the Arts awards in recent years and that OED has contracted a consultant to produce an economic-impact study on the arts.

Council members pressed staff on data methodology, unit mix and whether recent federal job losses could affect Berkeley's near-term outlook. Staff said the dashboard covers data through 2024 and offered to provide district-level breakdowns and to collaborate with council offices on pilot programs and quick-win strategies. "We're happy to dig into the data in your district," Hollander said.

The council took no formal policy vote on dashboard items at the session; members thanked staff and directed follow-up analysis. The meeting adjourned by unanimous voice vote.