Market Updates: Office

According to Cushman & Wakefield, downtown Oakland is projected to experience the largest increase in national CBD rents over the next two years. This projection has lead the firm to name Oakland as the top of 55 U.S. commercial real estate markets.

In late 2005, Brandywine Realty Trust broke ground on the nine-story, 215,000 square foot Center Twenty-One building. This is the first speculative commercial project in downtown Oakland since the completion of Shorenstein's 555 City Center in 2002. At 677,000 square feet, the 555 building was Oakland's first new Class A office building in 12 years. The building was 93% leased by mid-year 2004 and enjoys an occupancy rate hovering around 97% today.

Colliers International notes, "The overall office market in the Oakland Metropolitan Area has quietly been recuperating after the tech implosion." Developers are seeking entitlements now in anticipation of this market recuperationt. Over two million square feet of office space is fully entitled for development in downtown Oakland including prime sites in City Center and along the Broadway corridor.

Downtown Oakland is home to a vast telecommunications network with hundreds of miles of fiber-optic cable underground. Oakland's infrastructure is a major attraction in the global information industry. Downtown alos has excellent access to BART and other transit systems, an abundance of restaurants, and other amenities.

Oakland's Central Business District (CBD) and Jack London Square commercial distrcts contain nearly 8 million square feet of Class A office space. Average occupancy rates for all Class A buildings have consistently exceeded 92% since 2004. Average asking rents have risen 15% between year-end 2004 and 2007, to $28.41 per square foot, with rents going as high as $41.94 for premium office space.

Oakland's Class B space in the CBD and Jack London Square commercial districts expands the office space inventory to a total of 15.2 million square feet. A large amount of Class B office space is located in historic buildings which have undergone significant renovation.

2007 Building Permits

Valuation of Non-Residential Building Permits Issued: $181.6 million.

Available Real Estate

For a list of available sites, please contact the Business Development staff or visit www.oaklandexplorer.com.