OAKLAND, CA-Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds of Los Angeles has acquired a recently completed bank-owned project called Thomas Berkley Square and plans to sell the 88 residential units at the complex while offering the ground-floor retail space for sale or lease. The property, which will be renamed Uptown Place, is located at 630 Thomas L. Berkley Way in the Uptown District entertainment and restaurant community in Downtown Oakland.

Thomas Berkley Square originally housed the business and law offices of its namesake, a pioneering African-American publisher, attorney, civic leader and civil rights advocate in the Oakland community. The Strategic Urban Development Alliance planned a two-phase redevelopment of the property and constructed the adjacent 110,000 square-foot office building. SUDA ultimately sold the development rights for the residential component to a developer who encountered significant delays and cost overruns associated with the bankruptcy of its general contractor.

CJUF says it bought the residential building from the construction lender at a significant discount to replacement cost. CJUF managing partner Bobby Turner says that the new owner will deliver “reasonably priced, transit-oriented homeownership in a thriving Oakland neighborhood that we believe is positioned for further growth.” The building is situated one block from the newly renovated Fox Theater, two blocks from the Paramount Theater, immediately across the street from the 665-unit Uptown Apartments development, and within blocks of the 19th Street BART station.

Thomas Berkley Square’s collection of 88 condominiums consists of flats and townhomes ranging from one to three bedrooms at an average unit size of 961 square feet. Building amenities include a common courtyard with seating and BBQ areas, a gym, and dedicated residential parking.