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Mission Statement

To sustain and grow manufacturing jobs for residents of urban communities by creating
more real estate for manufacturing businesses in cities that is functional, accessible, and affordable.

ABOUT PLACEMADE & SFMADE

PlaceMade is the Bay Area’s first non-profit industrial real estate development corporation. PlaceMade was launched in 2013 by, and is the sister non-profit to, SFMade, the San Francisco Bay Area’s non-profit manufacturing support organization. PlaceMade collaborates with both the private and public sector to ensure that the Bay Area has adequate, quality industrial space to support a vibrant and growing manufacturing sector. In addition, our partnership with SFMade affords access to the regional manufacturing community, providing a unique viewpoint on industrial development.

SFMade is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, established in 2010 and headquartered in San Francisco. It is the only organization of its kind focused on building the San Francisco Bay Area’s economic base by developing the local manufacturing sector. SFMade’s mission is to build and support a vibrant manufacturing sector in the Bay Area, that sustains companies producing locally-made products, encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, and creates employment opportunities for a diverse local workforce.

Featured: 150 Hooper

Working with the City of San Francisco, we re-activated a large, under-utilized PDR-zoned lot. Creating a new land-use zoning designation called “Inclusionary PDR”, we formed the Hooper Campus: over 400,000SF of manufacturing and office space, which includes our own multi-tenant, manufacturing building: The Manufacturing Foundry at 150 Hooper.

The Manufacturing Foundry is a 56,000SF industrial building for innovators and manufacturers to collaborate – the first new construction of industrial space in the City of San Francisco in nearly 20 years. PlaceMade has been involved in all aspects of building this foundry from the ground up (development, design, entitlements, construction). PlaceMade owns the building, which will allow for continual affordable industrial space to the manufacturing sector.

Projects: Municipal Advising

  • 150 Hooper
    • Working with the City of San Francisco, we created a new land-use zoning designation called "Inclusionary PDR", re-activating, a large, under-utilized PDR-zoned lot: now known as the Hooper Campus.
  • Bay Area Urban Manufacturing Initiative (BAUM):
    • Launched in 2016, BAUM is a project to facilitate the creation of a well-defined and interconnected regional manufacturing ecosystem, strengthen regional connections, and grow regional manufacturing. We are working with 30 Bay Area city partners who, among other things, have pledged to work together to ensure that the region seizes the opportunity to retain and create middle-class jobs for a more equitable Bay Area.
  • City Government Advising
    • Berkeley:
      • Focusing on West Berkeley, we are consulting with the City of Berkeley on protecting their industrial zone and reviewing the potential for growth.

    • San Francisco:
      • For almost 10 years we have worked with the City of San Francisco to protect industrial space, consult on zoning and land use, and create innovative legislation (e.g., Inclusionary PDR) to keep urban manufacturing alive in San Francisco.

    • San Jose
      • Working with the Office of Economic Development, we have consulted on the retention and expansion of San Jose’s industrial land.

    • U.S. & International
      • Both SFMade and PlaceMade have gained regional and international recognition as urban manufacturing experts. We have met with, and advised, representatives from Zurich, Switzerland; Melbourne, Australia; Vancouver, Canada; Moscow, Russia; Portland, Oregon; and Nashville, Tennessee.

Projects: Property & Development

  • 150 Hooper, San Francisco
  • Pier 70, San Francisco
  • One DeHaro, San Francisco
  • Mission Road, South San Francisco BART Project
  • The Yard, San Francisco
  • Mission Rock, San Francisco
  • Port of San Francisco
  • L Seven, San Francisco

CEO, PlaceMade & SFMade

CEO, PlaceMade & SFMadeKate Sofis

As CEO and co-founder of both SFMade and PlaceMade, Kate leads a set of organizations collectively viewed as new model for creating a more equitable and diverse local economy by growing local manufacturing.

As CEO of PlaceMade, Kate ensures that San Francisco has adequate, quality industrial
space to support a vibrant and growing manufacturing sector. Kate led the conception and development of the Manufacturing Foundry at 150 Hooper, the West Coast’s first permanently affordable multi-tenant manufacturing building.

Kate has also led efforts in partnership with the City of San Francisco, the City of San Jose and, on a regional level, ABAG/MTC to create innovative land use controls to protect and incentivize the development of vibrant industrial areas. Kate also founded and leads the regional Bay Area Urban Manufacturing Initiative, a collaborative of 29 Bay Area cities all working to develop their manufacturing ecosystems. Kate writes and speaks widely on the topic of equitable economic development through manufacturing. She has been a featured speaker at SxSW, Technonomy, the Moscow Urban Forum, the Urban Land Institute, the US Conference of Mayors, and the Clinton Global Initiative.

Kate holds an M.S. in City Design and Social Policy from the London School of Economics and an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University.


Contact Kate at:
☎: 415-408-5605 ext. 1

Director, Real Estate Services

Director, Real Estate ServicesGina Falsetto

Gina serves as Director of and Real Estate at PlaceMade and SFMade.
At PlaceMade, Gina led the design, construction and tenanting components of the Manufacturing Foundry at 150 Hooper. Recent PlaceMade consulting projects led by Gina include Building 12 (at Pier 70) with Brookfield Development (formerly Forest City), and Pier 48/Mission Rock with the San Francisco Giants.

Gina also provides direct assistance to local manufacturers through SFMade’s Places to Make program, which helps companies find or improve their manufacturing space. This direct experience with manufacturers provides Gina and PlaceMade with a unique perspective and deep understanding of how manufacturers use their space. Which, in turn, Gina brings to PlaceMade’s consulting projects.

Gina holds a BA in International Relations from the University of California at Davis.


Contact Gina at:
☎: 415-408-5605 ext. 8