A Tale of Two Cities Provides Stark Price Contrast
Assets in Alameda are now priced roughly half that of trades in downtown Oakland just one mile away, which presented an attractive value proposition for investors in the purchase of Alameda Center.
ALAMEDA, CA—Just one mile away in Oakland, office/R&D properties are selling at 50% higher pricing, which translates to a large plus sign in the investor value proposition column. Recent sales reflect the exuberance for the pricing imbalance.
Case in point is Alameda Center, a 155,040-square-foot four-building office/R&D campus adjacent to Alameda Landing. It has been purchased by North River Company LLC, which invests in markets with strong path-of-growth characteristics. North River Company owns and operates 4 million square feet of mixed-use properties in eight states.
Erik Burke, Lisa Whitescarver, Coleman Burke, Chris Flagg and Chris Pachios of North River led the purchase. Rob Hielscher, Michel Seifer and Erik Hanson led the JLL capital markets team handling the sale on behalf of the seller, Pacific Coast Capital Partners. Alex Witt, John Manning and Tom Gilliland of JLL Capital Markets worked with North River to arrange acquisition financing. Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed.
“Alameda Center received strong interest from a broad group of investors, both institutional and private, who recognized the high quality of the asset and durability of the tenancy. In addition, the fact that assets in Alameda are now pricing roughly half that of trades in downtown Oakland, just one mile away, presented an attractive value proposition for investors,” said Hielscher.
Alameda Center was built in two phases between 1990 and 1998. The property is 100% leased and is anchored by Sila Nanotechnologies, which recently expanded to occupy 87,000 square feet.
“Alameda Center offers a top-quality and amenity-rich work environment at a steep discount to downtown Oakland,” Hanson tells GlobeSt.com. “In addition, Alameda Center features efficient and functional R&D space that is currently in high demand from modern economy tenants seeking a presence in the East Bay.”
The campus is adjacent to the 72-acre Alameda Landing mixed-use development, offering significant existing retail as well as future residential amenities. Construction is underway north of the campus on hundreds of residential units, a public promenade along the estuary and a third commuter ferry terminal.
The Oakland metropolitan area’s office market surged forward in the third quarter, as vacancy and asking rates continue to regain momentum throughout the submarkets, according to a report by Colliers International.