S2 E1: William Ow 5th Generation Santa Cruz, The Old Wrigley Building & University Business Park Now

William Ow, 5th Generation Santa Cruz: The Old Wrigley Building & University Business Park Now How do you fill the largest building in Santa Cruz County when no one wants to drive past Harvey West Park? Fourth-generation Santa Cruzan William Ow of Ow Family Properties shares how his family took on the vacant Wrigley gum factory on the Westside more than 20 years ago and turned it into University Business Park, now known as the Old Wrigley Building, a home for makers, startups and some of Santa Cruz's best-known brands. William talks about his family's roots during the Chinese Exclusion Act, giving back through philanthropy, and why win-win is how they negotiate. In the early days he offered rents as low as 25 cents a square foot just to get companies to the far Westside. Over time he curated tenants the way you'd plan a shopping center, introduced his "no jerks" policy to protect the building's culture, and kept reinvesting, including during the pandemic. We also talk about moving Santa Cruz Bicycles from 27,000 to about 135,000 square feet, the USGS as an anchor tenant, Onewheel and other products made in the building, and how one tenant consolidating opened space for nine new companies. William covers solar with Sandbar Solar since 2006 (now about 1.2 megawatts), Chelsea Market and Turin's Fiat factory as inspiration, First Fridays, the Saturday farmers market and Cars and Coffee, and the target fixation mindset that keeps him focused on solutions. We open with Ryan on mortgage rates dipping below 6% and Jerry on Farmers returning to California wildfire areas. (Rate and insurance details reflect January 2026.) Chapters 0:00 Welcome to Owning The Coast 0:27 Mortgage rates dip below 6% 2:08 Farmers returns to California wildfire areas 3:16 Meet William Ow, fourth-generation Santa Cruzan 4:23 What drives William: curiosity and problem solving 4:48 Chinese heritage and the Chinese Exclusion Act 6:30 A multi-generational family effort 7:59 Philanthropy, paying it forward and win-win 8:52 Buying the Wrigley Building more than 20 years ago 9:39 Westside buildings left vacant 11:18 Taking on the largest building in the county 11:51 "Real estate bribery": 25 cents a square foot 13:37 Santa Cruz neighborhoods and territory 14:22 Live, work and play within three miles 15:09 Tip of the spear for the Westside 15:55 Curating tenants like a shopping center 18:21 The "no jerks" policy and protecting culture 19:52 The building as a big white wall for innovation 20:44 Reinvesting during the pandemic 21:33 What would the Wrigley Building look like in the future? 22:40 Handling pushback and doubters 23:47 Ryan's story and family respect 25:21 Sustaining the building in 2026 27:07 30+ tenants and Occam Labs 28:02 One tenant out, nine new companies in 28:46 E-commerce, TikTok Shop and small footprints 30:00 Chris and Joel: the team behind the building 31:52 Lights, utility bills and running a small city 32:25 Solar since 2006 with Sandbar Solar 33:27 Goal: generate as much power as the building uses 34:28 When William finally slept well 35:01 USGS as an anchor tenant 36:20 Bringing Santa Cruz Bicycles to the building 37:24 From 27,000 to 135,000 square feet 39:03 Dream tenants and motorcycles 40:09 New branding for the Old Wrigley Building 41:24 Inspiration: Chelsea Market and Turin's Fiat factory 43:32 One big tenant vs. many small ones 45:21 Tenants who want to show you what they're building 46:14 Jobs and Santa Cruz's thriving middle class 47:04 Onewheel, Coexist and products made in the building 47:48 Visiting the building: hours and public events 48:35 The art fashion show 49:46 William's closing thoughts 50:47 Optimism and target fixation 52:47 Wrap-up and how to reach the hosts 🏭 Visit the Old Wrigley Building | University Business Park 📍 2801 Mission St, Santa Cruz 📞 (831) 423-8463 🌐 theoldwrigleybuilding.com 📸 Instagram: @theoldwrigleybuilding Hosted by Brandi Jones (Keller Williams Thrive), Ryan Buckholdt (CrossCountry Mortgage) and Jerry Seagraves (Seagraves Insurance), with Brian Upton (Santa Cruz Vibes). If you love Santa Cruz history, local startups and old buildings that get a second life, subscribe and share this with a friend who has always wondered what's inside the Wrigley Building. #SantaCruz #OwningTheCoast #WrigleyBuilding #OldWrigleyBuilding #Westside #SantaCruzBusiness #AdaptiveReuse #CommercialRealEstate #SantaCruzBicycles #SmallBusiness #SantaCruzCounty Brandi Jones | REALTOR® | KW Thrive Santa Cruz 🏡 Real estate strategy + aligned decisions for your next chapter. Reach out anytime if real estate is part of your next chapter. 📞 (831) 588-5145 🌐 brandijonesrealtor.com 📍 Santa Cruz • Monterey Bay • Santa Clara County DRE# 01385191