Fremont Mayor Highlights Manufacturing Boom In State Of The City: 'Where America Builds The Future'

FREMONT, CA — One key industry remained a constant as Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan highlighted the city's accomplishments during the State of the City address: manufacturing.

Salwan, who is just finishing up his second year in office, continues his efforts to transform Fremont from a "bedroom community" to a leading technology and advanced manufacturing hub.

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The State of the City address on June 30 highlighted Fremont's growth over the last several decades. A growth that has only been bolstered in the past year, with Fremont landing 70% of all manufacturing leases in the region, according to Salwan.

Fremont also secured over $1 in expanded utility infrastructure and doubled the city's electrical grid capacity.

The city, meanwhile, is home to 33 AI server manufacturing facilities, including seven of the world's largest server makers, across four million square feet.

"Fremont has quietly become the place where America builds the future," Salwan said during the address. "...what's happening in Fremont right now is not normal."

Orchards and farmland

Less than a generation ago, Fremont was made up of five small towns, orchards and farmland that much of the Bay Area barely even knew existed, Salwan said.

It would take more than 20 years before Fremont saw its first economic boom brought by high-tech employment, especially in the Warm Springs District. During this period, telecommunications and semiconductor firms moved into Fremont. Apple also opened its first Mac computer manufacturing plant in the city.

By 2010, Fremont had attracted the likes of Tesla Motors, which is now the city's largest manufacturer and employer.

Still, the growth was nothing like the city has seen in the last few years.

"Today, we're the fourth largest city in the Bay Area, a global center of advanced manufacturing, and one of the most diverse cities in the entire country —where more than 100 languages are spoken in our schools," Salwan said. Nobody handed us that. We built it. One decision, one neighbor, one generation at a time."

More to come

Salwan says his first year in office was spent cultivating relationships with fellow mayors, state legislators, and regional partners. He set priorities and strengthened the city's foundation.

Now, Salwan says, the city is turning that work into visible results.

"Building this kind of trust takes time and the fruits of this labor show up later in rooms where Fremont needs a voice," Salwan said. "Of course, there were — and will continue to be — hard days. There always are. But I can tell you that I've never been more certain this city is on the right path."

In the last year, Fremont has delivered its promises to establish more housing. The city added 567 new units last year through five projects. ADU permitting also grew by 33%, creating 177 new units across the city.

And there's more housing on the way, as the city plans to build 769 more units and 10 homes.

Violent crime and property crime declined in 2025, according to Salwan, who partly attributed the drops to full staffing in the police department and investments in the fire department.

Salwan also highlighted the city's "compassionate but not passive" approach to homelessness, citing the encampment cleanup at Isherwood Park, where about 80% of residents were relocated or offered services rather than being displaced.

The number of homeless people living on Fremont streets slightly increased over the last two years, bucking a declining trend across the county. City officials say they're investing in more services to address homelessness, including appropriating $150,000 into rental assistance for Fremont families at risk of losing their homes.

The city also recently launched a Homelessness Response Data Dashboard, where people can see real-time data and how officials are responding.

"There's a lot more to do. But Fremont's in full sprint now," Salwan said. "I think a lot about the Fremont we're handing to the next generation. A city where you can be born here, learn in our schools, build a career making the future, raise a family in a home you can afford, walk to a Downtown that is alive at night, enjoy parks and lakes and trails, and grow old surrounded by neighbors at the Age Well Center — all without ever having to leave the city you love. A whole life — a good life — lived in one Fremont."