Back to office efforts are potentially going to help some small businesses across the Bay Area, and tech companies are leading that charge.
Salesforce is the most recent company to bring employees back to the office. Now staffers are going to be required to be in the office three to five days a week, and some are noticing the uptick.
"I feel like it's on the uptick, so I'm hoping everything moves forward in a way where it does come back," said Stephanie Bravos, a San Jose State University alumna.
In San Jose, storefronts remain empty, but Jackie Krupnick said business is booming. Krupnick is the owner of Backroads Barbershop.
“Definitely new businesses have opened up, new apartments, we've seen more foot traffic coming in,” Krupnick said.
Nathan Donato-Weinstein, the downtown manager for the City of San Jose, said officials are working to deal with the record-tying vacancy rates.
“We're trying to meet with our top strategic employers in downtown to understand what are their issues,” he said. “What are their concerns? How can we help them come to a location decision that keeps them downtown?”
Local
According to a recent study by CBRE, a local real estate firm, said office buildings in San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland are about 33% vacant.
In San Jose specifically vacancy rates are topping 30% while Silicon Valley, as a whole, has fallen below 20%.
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