OAKLAND, CA—The Uptown District is an urban pocket with cafes, galleries and historic landmarks. Tenants are buzzing about Uptown, whether through moves into the Hive—or simply within Uptown near Lake Merritt. The influx in the Uptown market has driven the vacancy rate down to below 4.5% as of the first quarter.
This is among the lowest levels since CBRE began tracking the market in 1983 and the lowest CBD vacancy rate in the nation. And, the creative office building inventory in the Oakland CBD is even tighter than the overall market with an approximate 2% vacancy rate, GlobeSt.com learns.
A couple of recent Uptown tenant examples include SVA Architects' move to a larger office located at 2335 Broadway in the Hive. This development brings together specialty restaurants, co-working space and walk-up style apartments—all in one square block.
“SVA leadership understands how critical culture and place are to the creative process,” says Christopher Bradley, associate partner at SVA. “I'm excited that our ownership has rewarded us with a modern work environment, cool vibe and unparalleled amenities right outside our door.”
SVA's Oakland office, led by Bradley, is now well positioned to continue expanding. A few current projects include The Residences at Berkeley Plaza, Alameda Shipways and a recent win of Ohlone Community College District's first public and private partnership development with SteelWave. SVA is also responsible for the award-winning design of La Escuelita Education Center in Oakland.
Another move into Uptown was announced by Solar Mosaic, according to The Swig Company. The residential solar platform has signed a long-term lease at 300 Lakeside Dr., a 28-story tower that is part of the Kaiser Center complex next to Lake Merritt. Kaiser Center spans a 7.2-acre parcel that consists of a T-shaped tower, a three-story office/retail building and an adjacent five-story 1,339-space parking garage.
The solar firm will occupy almost 30,000 square feet on the 24th floor when it moves to the building from its current downtown location in the fall. The open-ceilinged creative office environment has views and abundant natural light.
“Leasing activity in downtown/Uptown Oakland's office market continues to be very active,” Ryan Hattersley, executive managing director of Cushman & Wakefield tells GlobeSt.com. “There are several sizable leases pending currently and, as a result, we expect vacancy to significantly decline over the next two quarters.”
Solar Mosaic is the latest in a stream of new tenants to Kaiser Center that has recorded occupancies rising to 97%. Late last year, global construction and engineering giant AECOM moved more than 450 employees into 100,000 square feet of space there after consolidating several Bay Area offices.
CM Commercial Real Estate represented the tenant while Hattersley represented the landlord.
OAKLAND, CA—The Uptown District is an urban pocket with cafes, galleries and historic landmarks. Tenants are buzzing about Uptown, whether through moves into the Hive—or simply within Uptown near Lake Merritt. The influx in the Uptown market has driven the vacancy rate down to below 4.5% as of the first quarter.
This is among the lowest levels since CBRE began tracking the market in 1983 and the lowest CBD vacancy rate in the nation. And, the creative office building inventory in the Oakland CBD is even tighter than the overall market with an approximate 2% vacancy rate, GlobeSt.com learns.
A couple of recent Uptown tenant examples include SVA Architects' move to a larger office located at 2335 Broadway in the Hive. This development brings together specialty restaurants, co-working space and walk-up style apartments—all in one square block.
“SVA leadership understands how critical culture and place are to the creative process,” says Christopher Bradley, associate partner at SVA. “I'm excited that our ownership has rewarded us with a modern work environment, cool vibe and unparalleled amenities right outside our door.”
SVA's Oakland office, led by Bradley, is now well positioned to continue expanding. A few current projects include The Residences at Berkeley Plaza, Alameda Shipways and a recent win of Ohlone Community College District's first public and private partnership development with SteelWave. SVA is also responsible for the award-winning design of La Escuelita Education Center in Oakland.
Another move into Uptown was announced by Solar Mosaic, according to The Swig Company. The residential solar platform has signed a long-term lease at 300 Lakeside Dr., a 28-story tower that is part of the Kaiser Center complex next to Lake Merritt. Kaiser Center spans a 7.2-acre parcel that consists of a T-shaped tower, a three-story office/retail building and an adjacent five-story 1,339-space parking garage.
The solar firm will occupy almost 30,000 square feet on the 24th floor when it moves to the building from its current downtown location in the fall. The open-ceilinged creative office environment has views and abundant natural light.
“Leasing activity in downtown/Uptown Oakland's office market continues to be very active,” Ryan Hattersley, executive managing director of Cushman & Wakefield tells GlobeSt.com. “There are several sizable leases pending currently and, as a result, we expect vacancy to significantly decline over the next two quarters.”
Solar Mosaic is the latest in a stream of new tenants to Kaiser Center that has recorded occupancies rising to 97%. Late last year, global construction and engineering giant AECOM moved more than 450 employees into 100,000 square feet of space there after consolidating several Bay Area offices.
CM Commercial Real Estate represented the tenant while Hattersley represented the landlord.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
