The space was formerly occupied by a Wells Fargo bank branch,which shut down two years ago. ATC Partners has been negotiatingwith the Gap since it purchased the 10-story, 240,000-sf buildingfrom the Keera Group for nearly $32 million last May. The Gap hadbeen negotiating with Keera Group before the purchase, but talksbegan anew when ATC took control. Currently, Providian Financial isa major tenant in the building, which was built as class A officespace in 1972. The building is adjacent to City Center, Oakland'sonly retail cluster--which is owned by the Shorenstein Co.

Currently, Gap is the only national retailer in the nearby areasave for Sears. However, other chains such as Abercrombie &Fitch, Petite Sophisticate, Foot Locker, The Limited, Victoria'sSecret and Gap Inc.'s own Old Navy are said to be seriouslyconsidering Oakland.