Bob Weinstein, president and chief executive officer of Sunrise, says he has been looking for months for an alternative to the company's cramped, 21,000-sf quarters in Emeryville. "We had bathtubs stacked everywhere," said Weinstein, who plans to have switched the company's entire operation to the eight-acre site on 98th Street site by October.

Weinstein says finding the right space was a tricky task, as very few suitable properties are currently available in the Oakland industrial market. Looking for 60,000 sf initially, the Granny Goose plant seemed too large a facility at first blush, Weinstein said.

Upon reflection, however, Weinstein says he warmed up to the property and what it could ensure for the future of his seemingly ever-expanding company. "I don't want to be going through this again in eight to 10 years," he said of the hassle of finding expansion property.