CIM Lands First Tenant for 2100 Franklin

OAKLAND, CA-CIM Group has landed its first tenant for 2100 Franklin. It acquired the new nine-story office building in Downtown’s Lake Merritt District in October 2008 along with four other Oakland buildings for $412.5 million. The tenant, biotech firm Cerexa Inc., will relocate to the top two floors of the 215,000-square-foot building in early 2009 from its current location in nearby Alameda, CA.

The lease totals 38,000 square feet. The length of the commitment and the lease rate were not immediately available. An executive with Cerexa did not immediately return a request for comment and CIM Group declined to comment on the specifics. The asking rate for class A space in Downtown Oakland ranges from $2.55- to $3.25 per square foot per month, fully serviced, according to Cornish & Carey’s third quarter market report.

Jeff Kreshek, principal for leasing from CIM says interest in the building may have been hurt by brokers and tenants thinking CIM, like Brandywine, wanted to lease all or a majority of the building to a single tenant. In truth, the company is entertaining leases as small as 5,000 square feet, he says.