Sterling Organization Advancing on Fremont Industrial Plans

Former Fry’s Electronics stores across the Bay Area are being targeted for redevelopment, with one location in Fremont poised to become an industrial property.

Sterling Organization plans to spend $18 million to renovate the former Fry’s store at 43800 Osgood Road into an industrial building designed to meet the demand for manufacturing space in the East Bay city, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported.

On Tuesday, the Fremont City Council unanimously approved a zoning change for the site, clearing the way for the Florida-based firm to begin redevelopment. Shovels could hit dirt this fall and finish next year, according to Sterling. The company’s total investment at the site is expected to climb to nearly $65 million, including the acquisition of the 11-acre property. It bought the parcel in 2024 for $36 million with plans to turn the 143,800-square-foot former big-box store into an industrial facility.

Sterling’s plans add to a growing list of other redevelopments plotted for additional shuttered Fry’s Electronics stores in the region. The chain announced its closure in 2021 facing competition from the e-commerce sector.

Fremont has emerged as an industrial and manufacturing hub for the Bay Area, making up 75 percent of advanced manufacturing leasing activity in Silicon Valley last year. In total, Fremont and Newark boast 38 million square feet of industrial space, representing nearly three times the amount in Santa Clara, the second-largest industrial market in the region, per CBRE data cited by the Business Journal.

In the first quarter, Fremont and Newark saw more than 600,000 square feet of leasing activity. Technology and artificial intelligence companies led that demand, accounting for 53 percent of active tenant requirements in Silicon Valley in the first quarter. Most tenants seeking space were looking for buildings larger than 100,000 square feet, such as the decommissioned Fry’s store. By converting the existing Fry’s rather than constructing a new building, Sterling could bring in new tenants quickly as manufacturers hunt for space.

— Chris Malone Méndez