Becoming a Burgeoning Silicon Valley Destination

London. Paris. Rome. Hayward?

This unassuming suburb off the I-880 corridor between Oakland and San Jose, Calif., doesn’t exactly rank amongst the world’s destination cities. But for companies seeking Bay Area office space, it may as well be Mecca.

With central accessibility from most ends of the Bay, two Bay Area Rapid Transit train stations and lower-than-local-average rent, Hayward finds its popularity booming with companies seeking a room of their own.

Internet marketing firm AllAdvantage.com made Hayward its new home a little less than year and a half ago. When comparing space prices, company sources said, they were quoted as much as $10 per sf in San Francisco, $5 per sf in San Mateo, and $3 per sf in Oakland.

Although the sources haven’t revealed what AllAdvantage now pays for its 60,000-sf space in Hayward, they were quoted rates there of $1.20 to $1.50 per sf.

Economic-development group Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, of which Hayward is a member, considers Hayward to constitute part of the Valley’s northern border.