ALAMEDA, CA—The Waterfront is a 385,000-square-foot class-A office campus comprised of six buildings on 26 acres within the Harbor Bay Business Park near the Oakland International Airport. It was constructed by SRM for Ascend Communications, later Lucent Technologies, as its corporate campus in the late 1990s.

SRM sold the property in 2006 to BPG Properties Ltd. Denver-based real estate private equity firm, Ascentris, on behalf of a pension fund client, acquired the property in 2012, knowing several large tenants would soon vacate, leaving more than 150,000 square feet of space to lease.

The original business plan for the property included making significant building improvements followed by a revised leasing strategy targeting tenants looking for lower-cost options relative to other Bay Area submarkets. Ascentris enhanced the campus' amenity offering with several additions including a new fitness center and yoga studio, electric vehicle charging stations, a bocce ball court and free Wi-Fi in the courtyard.

Ascentris recently executed a long-term lease there with Exelixis, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes therapies for cancer. The property will be fully occupied once Exelixis completes its tenant improvements and takes occupancy in 2018.

“Tenants are attracted to Alameda and The Waterfront in particular because of its relative affordability, amenity-rich campus environment with spectacular views of the Bay and San Francisco skyline as well as its central Bay Area location with abundant transportation options including a free shuttle to the nearest BART station and a ferry to the San Francisco Ferry Building,” James Proffitt of Ascentris tells GlobeSt.com.

Exelixis is relocating from South San Francisco, where it has been headquartered for almost 25 years. The move will allow the company to realize significant cost savings while also benefiting from a culture-centric campus environment that helps companies attract and retain quality employees.

“We are thrilled that Exelixis chose The Waterfront as its new corporate headquarters. Their long-term commitment is a testament to the quality of the real estate and the value proposition both the East Bay and The Waterfront provide tenants,” said Ascentris vice president Jake Rome. “A significant amount of the recent leasing success has been a result of tenants moving from San Francisco to The Waterfront looking to reduce occupancy costs while also upgrading the quality of their office environment.”

Ryan Hattersley and Elisa Konik of Cushman & Wakefield represented Ascentris and Gregg Domanico of Kidder Mathews represented Exelixis.

“When Ascend Communications constructed The Waterfront as their corporate campus, no expense was spared. 20 years later, this remains the highest quality and most amenity-rich campus environment in the inner East Bay,” said Hattersley. “The project is centrally located, offers convenient BART, water ferry and vehicular access, an onsite café, fitness center, basketball court, bocce ball court, locker rooms in every office building and access to miles of waterfront trails.”

Ryan Hattersley and Elisa Konik of Cushman & Wakefield represented Ascentris and Gregg Domanico of Kidder Mathews represented Exelixis.

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