SF New Developments

Developer Rich Robbins has a rep for straight talk, getting things done

San Francisco Business Times - February 3, 2006 by Ryan Tate

As far as Bay Area cities go, Emeryville is a little unusual. As far as

Emeryville developers go, Rich Robbins is in another universe.

In the span of one 45-minute interview, Robbins called the output of the nation’s second-largest homebuilder, an Emeryville neighbor, “cheap, s— housing;” considered asking the CEO of one of the East Bay’s largest technology concerns, “Are you out of your mind?”; and expressed the vehement opinion that Emeryville should be making life harder on builders like himself.

That was after a profane tirade about wiretaps authorized by President Bush and a round of verbal sparring with his own publicist — in front of a reporter — about whether he is a risk taker.

In a town once best known for its gambling, bootlegging and brothels, Robbins is the resident cowboy, a swaggering, speculator whose bets on Emeryville have paid off handsomely.

Appropriately enough, it was a railroad deal that put Robbins on the map 12 years ago, when the budding tycoon convinced Amtrak officials to replace a West Oakland train station with a depot in Emeryville — a deal that Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris felt had been stolen out from under him.

Oakland had 10-year-old plans for a landmark Amtrak hub at Jack London Square, a project not finished until May 1995 after significant cost overruns. By then, Emeryville’s station had been open for 21 months.

“It was nine months from…[continue to article]