Shining Internet star Pandora could be a boost for downtown Oakland

While Oakland-based Pandora Media's shares nose-dived Thursday,the Internet radio company likely will be a long-term boon for thecity despite near-term struggles for its stock.

One of the biggest proponents of Oakland is Pandora's chiefexecutive officer, Joseph Kennedy. City officials say he frequentlypromotes the city as a destination for hip tech and social mediacompanies.

"Joe Kennedy always says that Oakland is the only place hiscompany could be because of its cultural vibe," Mayor Jean Quansaid. "This is the place where he can find the kind of talent heneeds to make his business possible.

"We are proud that Pandora grew up here."

Pandora suffered a 23 percent decline in its stock priceThursday, falling $4.07 to finish at $13.35. The setback shoved itsshares below the initial public offering price of $16 and erasedabout $640 million in the company's market value in one day.

Pandora has attracted skeptics on the heels of its initial publicoffering. Some analysts question how quickly the company -- whichhas lost money since it was founded in 2000 -- can becomeprofitable.

Still, the high-profile nature of Pandora, an online musiccompany that seeks to revolutionize radio, is being touted as acompany that also can help to transform downtown Oakland.

Pandora occupies about 32,000 square at 2101 Webster St., near22nd Street, in Oakland's trendy Uptown district of restaurants,shops, nightclubs and homes.

"They can absolutely transform downtown Oakland," said WalterCohen, director of the city's Community and Economic DevelopmentAgency.

Much of that is driven by the kinds of employees that Pandora andother digital technology companies tend to hire.

"The young people they are bringing in, the highly technicalpeople they have will bring about that transformation," Cohen said."The notion that we are building a population base downtown makes usattractive to other technology companies."

Executives with Pandora say they are enthusiastic about being inthe East Bay city, which is the third-largest in the Bay Area behindSan Jose and San Francisco.

"The majority of our employees are in Oakland," said DeborahRoth, a vice president with Pandora. "We love Oakland."

The company also is in a hiring mode, Roth said. At the end ofApril, Pandora had 359 employees, according to a regulatory filing.This week, the company listed on its website openings to hire 45employees, including 34 in Oakland.

"People look at Oakland as being a collection of nonprofits,lawyers and government agencies," said Edward Del Beccaro, amanaging director with Grubb & Ellis, a commercial realty firm.

That image could morph into something much more cutting edge ifPandora manages to prosper.

"This is an entrepreneurial firm, a social media company, andthat helps the downtown," Del Beccaro said. "With the new apartmentsand condos being built in the area, you can put the creative typesin jobs in Oakland."

Other cutting-edge companies such as solar firms BrightSourceEnergy, Sungevity and SolarFirst have headquarters in Oakland. Techfirms such as iParadigms, Lucid Design Group, LiveScribe, Xantrionand Skytide also are based there.

City officials hope those ranks will swell steadily. And it mayhappen because Pandora is attempting to be an Oakland ambassador.

"Pandora has been active in trying to convince software andsocial media companies to move from San Francisco to Oakland," Quansaid.

Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477. Follow him at Twitter.com/george_avalos.