The Wakefield Building is a 56,666-square-foot creative office building located in Uptown Oakland.
OAKLAND, CA—The eight-story historic Wakefield Building located at 426 17th St. has sold to Walnut Creek-based investor, Vertical Ventures. The Wakefield Building is a 56,666-square-foot creative office building located in downtown.
The Swig Company, a San Francisco-based real estate investment firm, and STARS Real Estate Investments, a Chilean-based real estate investor, were the sellers. The property represented a value-add opportunity for the investors.
"We saw the potential in this property to offer flexible, open workspace to smaller occupiers wanting classic finishes with abundant natural light in a wonderful historic building and upgraded the property accordingly," said Tomas Schoenberg, executive vice president of investments for The Swig Company. "We are proud to have been the careful stewards of this asset, and to have improved its appeal to tenants and secured LEED Gold status. We are confident the new owners will continue the great legacy of this building into its next iteration."
The building is home to emerging technology companies as well as nonprofits including First Place for Youth. The property is steps from the entrance to the 19th Street BART station and a short walk to numerous bars, cafes, restaurants, shops and music venues in this Uptown neighborhood.
"Having executed our business plan to add value to this asset, it was evident to us there was strong ongoing investor interest in downtown Oakland and we elected to sell. We're very happy with the outcome," Schoenberg tells GlobSt.com.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed but reports based on public filings indicate the price was $29.9 million.
"This acquisition represents a very successful value-add execution and a strategic asset turnaround story for our investors," said Oscar Boettiger, CEO and head of real estate for STARS. "We made a timely purchase of this asset, and had the right partner and the strategy, properly executed, to capitalize on a great rent and value updraft in the market."
Seth Siegel, Ryan Venezia and Ryan Hattersley of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale. Tony Ratner and Jonah Trotz of the law firm Farella Braun + Martel represented the sellers in the transaction. Newmark Knight Frank Oakland brokers Ari Rokeach and Conor Ranahan have been retained as the leasing team for this asset.
The outlook for the Oakland metropolitan office market remains stable for the time being, according to a recent report by Colliers International. However, the slow trickle of the development pipeline is noteworthy. Despite 600,000 square feet of construction completing in the fourth quarter, it was limited to the 12th Street City Center project. Additionally, less than 400,000 square feet is currently tracked as under construction. As investors appear to be proceeding with caution and many city development permits remain unpurchased, a proposed project may soon change the skyline and steady these market conditions, says the report.
Swig and STARS are also partners in the ownership of 945 Bryant St. in San Francisco.
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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.
