Uptown & Downtown Oakland Community Benefit Districts Note Over 120,000 SF of New Leases & New Businesses in the First Quarter of 2015

Several Company Headquarters Relocate From San Francisco

In the past several months, the Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown community benefit districts have welcomed a dozen new leases and business move-ins, totaling over 120,000 SF of office and retail space.

Businesses who have recently signed a new lease, expanded their space or made the move to Uptown/Downtown Oakland:

·          Six Pack Fitness, Inc., a line of fitness gear and luggage, signed a 4,634 SF lease at 1999 Harrison Street.

·          Jiff, Inc., which helps companies lower healthcare costs and cultivate happier, healthier employees, signed a 3,302 SF lease at 1999 Harrison.

·          Cascade Healthcare, a healthcare services solution company, signed a 4,010 SF lease at 1333 Broadway.

·          Lewis Feinberg Lee Renaker & Jackson , a law firm, signed a 12,000 SF lease at 1333 Broadway.

·          Landau, Gottfried & Berger, a law firm, signed a 1,953 SF lease at 1901 Harrison Street.

·          Thomas Law Group, a law firm, signed a 1,951 SF lease at One Kaiser Plaza.

·          Asian & Pacific Islander Health, a health forum, signed a 7,862 SF lease at One Kaiser Plaza.

·          99Designs, a logo/web design firm, signed a 14,161 SF lease at 2201 Broadway to move it’s headquarters from San Francisco to Oakland.

·          Lennar, an apartment and homebuilding company, signed a 3,410 SF lease and moved their entire operation from downtown San Francisco to 492 9^th Street.

·          Emerson Collective, an entrepreneurial incubator lead by Steve Jobs’ wife Lauren Powell Jobs, signed a 3,700 SF lease at 809 Broadway.

·          Gensler, the largest architecture firm in the Bay Area and the U.S., signed a 24,000 SF lease at 2101 Webster Street.

·          Worker’s Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB), signed a 41,000 SF (two full floors) lease at 1221 Broadway and will be moving its corporate headquarters from San Francisco to Oakland.

Commenting on Gensler’s move to Oakland, Matin Zargari, Principal/Managing Director of Gensler said, “We are very excited about everything that’s happening around us in Oakland. There’s an incredible opportunity to impact the landscape through great design and community engagement, which our team is fully committed to. We’re inspired by the city’s diversity, entrepreneurial energy, and maker-community and are thrilled to be a part of it.”

“I think many of us who are speaking with companies who are considering Uptown and Downtown Oakland are impressed with the amount of serious inquiries we are fielding, as these markets are the hottest we've ever seen them. The daily interest has gone beyond just the restaurant boom or shorter commute times.  In a business decision made around multi-year leases, the Oakland decision is really coming down to a timing issue. As the frequency increases, the choices are getting tighter.  I am getting more questions now about the number of choices than whether this or that restaurant is the hottest.  I get more questions about where the intellectual capital is gathering and which industry groups are clustering, and that’s beyond just the still growing tech and digital communities,” said Scott Greenwood, Vice President, Colliers International.

As part of their hospitality services, The Lake Merritt/Uptown & Downtown Oakland CBDs have started conducting tours for prospective and new tenants, introducing them to the many unique and remarkable restaurants and retail establishments available to them as they make their move to Oakland. Tours began this month with approximately 100 WCIRB employees.