Jim Falaschi, a member of the Holy Names University Board of Trustees, is a key figure in an Oakland redevelopment project that will boost the sustainable food movement and cuisine culture.

Falaschi, managing partner of Jack London Square, also was a key figure in the recent groundbreaking (photo on home page) of the one million square-foot Jack London Square redevelopment, including a 170,000 square-foot mixed use building that will house the six-story Jack London Market and waterfront offices. The public market will be the largest on the West Coast. Located on Oakland’s historic waterfront, Jack London Market will be a crossroads of California’s agriculture, culinary creativity and cultural diversity, where food lovers will experience a mixture of local produce, fresh foods, restaurants, ethnic bistros, special events and cuisine-related businesses.

“We are creating a regional destination for cuisine, culture and commerce that establishes an important tie among a celebrated culinary community, the diversity of cultures that represent Oakland and the East Bay – all within a vibrant working waterfront,” Falaschi said.

Falaschi also was one of the panelists at the Friday morning “Building Oakland – A View to the Future,” sponsored by the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Falaschi, president of Transbay Holdings and managing partner of Jack London Square in Oakland, was joined on the panel by Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland; Tom Hart, executive vice president and manager of Shorenstein Family Office, and Joe Haraburda, president of the Oakland Chamber. Nearly 700 people attended the breakfast meeting at the Marriott. Haraburda acknowledged Holy Names University as a Chamber partner in important training of the Oakland workforce.