Cross Campus Coming to Old Pasadena

Cross Campus, a collaborative, on-demand work space and business event venue, announced today its expansion into Pasadena.  Dubbed “the nerve center of Silicon Beach,” the flagship Cross Campus Santa Monica location is Los Angeles’ largest co-working space and has served as a hub for Los Angeles’ recent entrepreneurship boom.  Cross Campus’ second location will encompass close to 16,000 square feet and three floors in 87 N. Raymond at Memorial Park Station in Old Pasadena. The building complex was recently purchased by Rising Realty Partners (RRP) and technology entrepreneur David Sacks, who immediately launched a rebrand and technological upgrade of the complex together with 5x5 Telecom. Cross Campus Old Pasadena is expected to open in Fall 2014.

“Cross Campus represents a vital hub of startup activity in Los Angeles’ emerging technology community, and we are thrilled they have selected our property to serve as their second location,” said Sacks.  A Silicon Valley entrepreneur who created wildly successful Internet companies, Sacks was the founding CEO of Yammer, acquired by Microsoft in 2012 for $1.2 billion, and the first Chief Operating Officer of PayPal, acquired by e-Bay in 2002 for $1.5 billion.  He was also an early investor in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir, Houzz, and AirBnB.  

Cross Campus Old Pasadena will be larger than the Santa Monica location with close to 16,000 sf of usable space. The new campuswill feature enterprise-class connectivity and audio/video capabilities, a highly intentional design aesthetic that has become a trademark of the Cross Campus brand, as well as new elements tailored to the Pasadena market. As in Santa Monica, the Pasadenacampus will emphasize community and collaboration through rich event programming and members-to-member engagement. The mission is to provide a highly productive and creative environment – not just for the technology sector – but for progressive companies from different sectors focused on innovation. Members of Cross Campus Old Pasadena will have access to business support services as well as introductions to, and office hours with, other entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts.   

As a business event venue, Cross Campus Old Pasadena will be set up to host speaking engagements, launch events, hackathons, and workshops with a capacity of around 250 attendees.  

“Pasadena has a pedigree and the people to be a leading entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is already home to world-class institutions such as Caltech, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, and Art Center College of Design. With great public transit and a density of food, retail and entertainment options, Pasadena has the raw materials to grow and we’re excited to help catalyze this growth,” said Ronen Olshansky, Cross Campus Co-Founder and CEO, adding “ Many of our current Westside members will be excited that we’re adding an Eastside component to our network.” 

Founded in 2012, Cross Campus’s first location in Santa Monica is home to a 13,500 square foot work space and event venue. It houses several hundred member companies and has hosted Silicon Beach Fest for the past three years.  Other events have included luminaries such as Elon Musk, Brad Feld of the Foundry Group, and David Cohen of TechStars.  

“While Pasadena is an exciting market, in order for us to create the right business environment for our member companies, we needed to provide state of the art technology infrastructure. We chose this specific location because of RRP and 5x5 Telecom’s technological enhancements and amenities that we know will be of great value to our member companies,” said Dan Dato, Cross Campus Co-Founder. 

In November 2013, RRP and internet entrepreneur David Sacks acquired 87 N. Raymond at Memorial Park Station, a three-building complex in the heart of Old Pasadena.  The site, formerly known as “The Old Pasadena Plaza,” was constructed between 1895 and 1914, has multiple historical features and includes a 9-story office tower and two adjacent two-story buildings.  Since that time, RRP and Sacks teamed with communications technologies solutions provider, 5x5 Telecom to rebrand the building and completely revamp its technological backbone.  The Heritage Group in San Diego provided investment advisory services to Sacks. 

“When we purchased the complex, we envisioned a fully-connected lifestyle office space that could serve as a hub for technology entrepreneurs.  With Cross Campus, we have the opportunity to bring hundreds of these companies into Pasadena.” said Christopher Rising, RRP President and COO.  “The City of Pasadena has been a great help in securing this tenant. While Pasadena is already a technological hub, the addition of Cross Campus along with increased fiber connectivity will help to further cement Pasadena as a center for technological innovation.”  

5x5 Telecom’s technology initiative for the site includes installation of a site-wide fiber backbone, fault-tolerant network redundancy, multiple ISP's for carrier diversity, and on-premises rack space. All of these elements aid in providing tenants fiber-to-the-suite speeds provisioned in as little as 24 hours. Keeping with RRP's tech-centric culture, Wi-Fi coverage will allow tenants like Cross Campus, and the public at-large, to utilize Wi-Fi along Raymond and Holly Streets in the vicinity of the campus, including in Memorial Park across the street.

“5x5 is bringing carrier-class fiber optic connectivity to Memorial Park Plaza,” said Marc Gittleman, CEO of 5x5 Telecom. “Technology companies require super-fast internet and we are bringing the fastest service to Old Town. The site will quickly become a beacon of connectivity.”

“The Cross Campus expansion into Old Pasadena will have a positive economic impact and will generate even more business opportunities in this dynamic commercial district,” said Bill Bogaard, Mayor of Pasadena.  “I appreciate the effort the Risings and Mr. Sacks have put into re-envisioning these buildings and I am grateful to Cross Campus for working with our Pasadena team. This is a win-win for everybody.”