City Council, May 12, 2026
Votes on Centerville Train Depot cafe and office lease (item 2E)
What happened
This Fremont City Council meeting contained no zoning, rezoning, or land-use entitlement decisions. The most substantive real-estate-relevant item was item 2E, a proposed new lease for the historic Centerville train Depot cafe (~840 sq ft) and office space (~650 sq ft); staff rec…
- Jurisdiction
- Fremont, CA
- Governing body
- Final authority
- Date
- May 12, 2026
- Decisions
- 4 zoning decisions
- Outcome
- Voted
Free sample: decision 1 of 4
Centerville Train Depot cafe and office lease (item 2E)
Proposed new five-year lease for the historic Centerville train Depot, comprising an ~840 sq ft cafe space and a separate ~650 sq ft office/ticket space. Staff recommended a single-operator lease to Zabihullah Akrami (proposing $200,000 private investment, 5am-10pm operations, 5-6 employees). Competing proposals from current operators Wendell Villela/East Bay Cafe (cafe) and Dirk Lorenz (office). A motion to accept staff's recommendation received no second; item continued to a future meeting for more information. Mayor Sullivan recused (owns business within 500 feet); Vice Mayor Zhang presided.
- Continued to a future meeting when an additional council member is present
- staff to bring back more information on menu, customer counts, staffing/hours feasibility, and minimum-wage/payment concerns
- current operators to provide mitigation and investment information
The other decisions are listed below by title. The full write-up, verbatim conditions, and the audio at each vote are in Pro.
Meeting Summary
This Fremont City Council meeting contained no zoning, rezoning, or land-use entitlement decisions. The most substantive real-estate-relevant item was item 2E, a proposed new lease for the historic Centerville train Depot cafe (~840 sq ft) and office space (~650 sq ft); staff rec…
Key Decisions (4)
Centerville Train Depot cafe and office lease (item 2E)
FY 2026-27 Proposed Operating Budget presentation
CDBG action plan / grant recommendation (item 5B)
Technology disruption policy (item 5C)
Development Activity (3)
Centerville Train Depot cafe and office lease
Commercial
Five new affordable housing projects (over 650 units)
Residential
AI / server facility construction
Industrial
Market Signals (5)
Infrastructure
AC Transit faces a four-year $200 million deficit beginning 2028,…
Commercial Demand
New development in Fremont is heavily concentrated in AI/server facility…
Housing Demand
Fremont expects to start construction on five new affordable housing…
Who Spoke (20)
On the record: the chair, the mayor, 4 councilmembers, 5 staff members, the clerk, an attorney, the applicant, and 5 members of the public.
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