March 25, 2026
A new line of business for an office building in a changing community
Bakersfield grew up as an oil town: Oil was discovered in the San Juaquin Valley in 1865, and Kern County, with Bakersfield as the county seat, is still California's biggest producer. Standard Oil of California, now Chevron, was a dominant force in the economy. But the economy has changed, and Chevron's decision to vacate and sell one of Bakersfield's largest office buildings posed a challenge.
