OAKLAND, CA-With an equity partner in hand, Shorenstein Properties LLC this week submitted designs to the city for a 500,000-sf addition to its Downtown City Center development. Tentatively scheduled to get under way next spring and open two years later, the 23-story building will be the first new building in Oakland City Center since Shorenstein completed the 20-story tower at 555 City Center in 2002.

Located directly above the 12th Street BART station, City Center is a 3.5-million-sf mixed-use development with office space, 18 eateries, a dozen retail shops and services, an athletic club and parking for 2,840 vehicles. The new building will replace a full-block parking lot bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 11th, 12th and Jefferson streets.

Shorenstein EVP Tom Hart tells GlobeSt.com that the company's impetus includes the growth needs of its existing tenants as well as some interest from large users not already in the market. “Our experience has been that some San Francisco tenants will look at the Oakland marker for economic rents and to locate more centrally in the Bay Area from a transportation standpoint,” he says. “While we always look for some kind of anchor tenant, right now we are contemplating building this project on spec.”