As dust collects on the abandoned Nut Tree facility, the sleek new five-story teal and brown Travis Federal Credit Union office building takes shape on the opposite side of I-80 near Vacaville's outlet row.
A few miles south, youngsters and adults crowd onto one of the city's two new indoor ice rinks, built in a plant that once processed onions.
Throughout Solano County, construction crews work to complete 475,000 square feet of new industrial space - to add to the 2 million square feet completed and occupied in the last 18 months.
Brink of a Boom
Projected to have the fastest growth in jobs, households and population in the next 20 years of any San Francisco Bay Area County, it might appear Solano is about to abandon its agricultural roots.
At first glance, the numbers might bear that out, as traditional agricultural production - currently valued at $209 million annually - continues to slide.
Yet, despite the numbers, Solano County is working hard to preserve and even expand its agricultural base. Just don't expect it to be the kind of agricultural activity you're used to seeing. Welcome to the age of bio-agriculture. Thanks to leading-edge research at UC Davis, Solano County is becoming a Mecca for firms attempting to genetically alter seeds to enhance plants, according to Mary McCarthy, president of SEDCORP, the Solano Economic Development Corporation.
A Japanese firm, for example, on farmland near the university is searching for a better sprout.
"Sesame sprouts are very nutritious but bitter," explains McCarthy. The firm, called Salad Cosmo, hopes to capture a share of the large sprout market in Japan by sweetening the taste by redesigning the seed.
ABCO labs is another new-age firm. It is what McCarthy calls a "nutri-pharmaceutical" company. Located in Fairfield, it produces spices and food supplements, as well as homeopathic medicines.
Agricultural divisions of Monsanto and Dow "are talking with the county" about locating facilities in Solano, McCarthy adds.
They would join the premier Bay Area bio-tech firm, Genentech, which already has a plant in Vacaville.
But the county isn't relying on just technology to preserve agriculture. County supervisors recently extended ag preserve legislation for 10 to 20 years that calls for all urban growth to be centered in the county's main cities. The agricultural preserve legislation can only be rescinded by plebiscite. Even with that, there is still plenty of space for growth.
41% Growth by 2020
Drawn by the county's relatively affordable housing, population is expected to grow countywide from 383,000 in '95 to 540,400 in 2020. Leading the surge during that period will be Fairfield (from 90,000 to 147,300) and Vacaville (83,300 to 125,800). Tiny Rio Vista will explode from a town of 3,900 to a city of 24,100.
Currently, almost 46 percent of Solano's wage earners commute beyond county lines. A total of 45,000 commute to San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Cost Counties; 8000 commute to Yolo, Davis and Sacramento, while 9000 drive to Napa, Sonoma and Marin. McCarthy sees this workforce as a stable, well-educated labor pool that helps attract new industry to the county.
In particular, McCarthy hopes to entice more "value-added" manufacturing. Such industries enhance existing products made elsewhere. Meyer Corporation in Vallejo, for example, applies Teflon coatings to pots and pans manufactured out of state BOC Coating in Fairfield applies a special coating to industrial glass. It's also doing research and development on a next-generation product expected to replace liquid crystal displays.
Which all adds up to home-grown jobs.
"We are bucking a national trend. We have increased jobs in manufacturing by 39 percent since 1990," McCarthy boasts.
Expect the construction industry to continue to be robust. That new Travis Federal Credit Union in Vacaville is already leased, months before its opening - illustrating Solano's shortage of "Class A office space," McCarthy notes.
At the other end of the county, a developer is negotiating to build a new 200-acre industrial park on a portion of the onetime Naval base at Mare Island, whose massive buildings have attracted movie crews. Underwater shots for the movie Sphere, for example, were facilitated by flooding one of the island's massive dry docks.
A Belly of Fun
Tourism is playing a growing role in Solano's economy as well.
Marine World in Vallejo has been revitalized by new owners, Six Flags Theme Parks. The Jelly Belly plant in Fairfield - which drew 400,000 visitors last year - has opened a new $5 million, 35,000 sq. ft. tourist center. Two chocolate candy plants, tours and all, have also opened next door. All of which is adjacent to that longstanding landmark for thirsty tourists - the Anheuser Busch brewery which offers tastings and tours.
With all this good news, could a re-opening of the granddaddy of Solano tourist attractions - The Nut Tree - be far off?
Don't bet on it. Ever.
Even a Solano booster like McCarthy concedes a Nut Tree re-opening is not in the cards. Several concepts have failed to get off the ground, McCarthy said. The county now plans a corporate park by its Nut Tree airport.
But the Nut Tree itself remains grounded.