South San Francisco CA February 28, 2022 Submitted by City of South San Francisco
The old US Bank on Grand is now home to Economic Advancement Center
Today the City of South San Francisco officially opened the Economic Advancement Center (EAC), strategically located at 366 Grand Avenue, to offer workforce development and small business and entrepreneurship services to residents of South San Francisco and throughout North San Mateo County. The goal of the Economic Advancement Center is to provide much needed economic recovery tools to some of the most vulnerable residents and small businesses, offering support in both English and Spanish.
One of South San Francisco’s partners at the EAC is JobTrain (www.jobtrainworks.org/south-san-francisco-career-center), a nonprofit accredited in vocational training, academics and essential skills development for adults of all ages to help move unemployed and underemployed individuals to successful and self-sufficient employment with skills development. Since the city’s partnership, JobTrain has served over 73 clients, had 22 job placements (14 full-time, 6 part-time and an average hourly wage of $22.65/hour), and nine clients pursuing training and education.
South San Francisco also partnered with
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center (Renaissance)(
www.rencenter.org/mid-peninsula/), a nonprofit who works with individuals who want to start a small business and helps them successfully do so by offering training on a variety of topics, such as, business planning, access to capital, as well as offering ongoing assistance for the business owner. Services offered by Renaissance are currently being offered to all small businesses in North San Mateo County (Daly City, Pacifica, Colma, San Bruno, Millbrae, South San Francisco, and Brisbane). Since starting the partnership, Renaissance has served 91 clients, secured $86,700 in capital for 19 client businesses in Daly City, San Bruno, and South San Francisco, and offered 45 consulting classes and workshops and English and Spanish.
Mayor Mark Nagales announced at today’s grand opening that the City of South San Francisco has been selected to receive a $1.1 million grant through the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA) to support services offered by Renaissance at the the EAC. This grant is estimated to create 372 jobs, retain 748 jobs and generate $43.7 million in private investment. The City has committed $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the EAC, and has received $200,000 in funding from the County of San Mateo, $500,000 in federal funds through Congresswoman Jackie Speier and private donations from Genentech and Lane Partners. City staff and its partners continue to pursue additional funding sources to expand and sustain all services offered to the community.
“The initial idea of the EAC was introduced at a City Council meeting less than one year ago, and now that we are here celebrating the grand opening is incredible. So much work has been done between city staff, contractors, and our non-profits, and it’s amazing how many residents this center has been able to help even before the doors officially opened” says South San Francisco Mayor Mark Nagales.
“Securing this grant for entrepreneurship services was a huge undertaking and our application being awarded shows not only the rest of California, but the entire nation, what amazing things we are doing here in South San Francisco. This will put us on the map in terms of economic development” says South San Francisco Mayor Mark Nagales.
All the services offered at the EAC are free to residents. To learn more about the EAC, please visit
www.ssf.net/EAC. To learn more about JobTrain and workforce development services, please contact Julia Horiuchi at
jhoriuchi@jobtrainworks.org, call (650) 505-4727 or visit the EAC at
366 Grand Avenue. To learn more about Renaissance and entrepreneurship services, please contact Amanda Anthony at
amanda@rencenter.org, call (650) 321-2193 x 1103 or visit the EAC at
366 Grand Avenue.