OAKLAND, CA—According to a report put out by Gallen.Neilly, The Lake Merritt Uptown and Downtown District Associations. While both areas have seen years of vacant retail and office space, more than 182,000 sq. ft. of space has been leased in the last year to new businesses. Additionally, a number of companies have renewed their leases and some have even expanded their footprint.
“Historically, when the SF market heats-up, new tenants come to Oakland and ‘kick tires’," said Ryan R. Hattersley, senior director Broker Services at Cushman & Wakefield, in a statement. “But as you can see, over the past year, we have seen more than just tire-kicking. The businesses that are moving here recognize that Oakland has not only become a cool place, but that it offers high quality and well priced office and retail space with a great ‘foodie’ scene.”
Some of the significant businesses leases include Chase Bank taking 7,930 sq. ft. at 1330 Broadway, Circlepoint leasing 6.400 sq. ft. at 1814 Franklin, The SparkArt Group Inc. signing on for 6,333 sq. ft. at 2201 Broadway, and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger leasing 5,500 sq. ft. at 500 12th St.
Government and non-profit agencies has also contributed to the area’s growth. The State of California leased 24,000 sq. ft. at 1111 Broadway, while non-profit Compasspoint took 8,300 sq. ft. in 500 12th St.
Pandora Media Inc. renewed its lease on 50,000 sq. ft. for its headquarters facility at 2100 Franklin, and also expanded to take on additional 25,000 sq. ft.
A plethora of new restaurants have also taken space. The Loring Cade took 5,000 sq. ft. at 468 19th St. Uptown Kitchen leased 2,500 sq. ft. at 2145 Broadway. Sweet Bar Bakery signed on for 2,200 sq. ft. at 2355 Broadway, while Borgo Italia leased 2,200 sq. ft. at 499 9th St.