Market Updates: Retail

July 2008 News

The City of Oakland has completed a year-plus-long Citywide Retail Enhancement Strategy, composed of four components. City economic development staff worked with Conley Consulting Group and composed of representatives from JRDV Architects, Strategic Economics and Colliers International.  The Strategy goes to the Community and Economic Develoment Committee on July 22. 

• Phases II and III looked at the 53 retail nodes (other than Upper Broadway) around the city to develop a profile of each including demographic and sales tax trends, opportunities and what role they play in Oakland's retail scene. Five (combined to four) "exemplar" nodes were further analyzed to develop retail enhancement strategies which can be used in the exemplar nodes and elsewhere.

December 2007 News

The City of Oakland is in the midst of a year-long Citywide Retail Enhancement Strategy, composed of three phases. City economic development staff is working with a team led by Conley Consulting Group and composed of representatives from JRDV Architects, Strategic Economics and Colliers International.

• Phase I looked at Oakland as a whole -- demographics, sales tax trends, existing and potential areas of retail activity (nodes) and what retail potential the Broadway Auto Row/Upper Broadway area offers. Two major areas of sales "leakage" - purchases by Oakland residents that could be made at Oakland retailers but are instead made at non-Oakland retailers -- are for comparison goods (apparel, toys, sporting goods, furniture, appliances, etc.) citywide, and grocery items, particularly in East and West Oakland. Download the 100-page, color Upper Broadway Strategy report (19.1 MB PDF file) from September 2007. Staff is pursuing implementation steps including adoption of consultant report, development of preferred alternative, interim zoning controls, and specific plan. Review September 2007 staff report and November 2007 staff report. Consultant's work on this phase was completed in September 2007.
  
  

Spring 2007 News

Check out Oakland Retail news in the Retail Fact Sheet (March 2007) and Retail Hot News (May 2007). Both are PDF files.

Market Profile

Marcus & Millichap ranked Oakland as the 6th best retail market in its 2008 National Retail Report.

There is a large untapped retail market as indicated by the recent Keyser Marston Associates Inc. and Hausrath Economics Group downtown market analysis. One third of Oakland’s residents retail expenditure is now lost to locations outside of Oakland. Close to $400 million in expenditure potential could be recaptured by comparison goods development in Downtown such as apparel, accessories, and footwear. Estimates show that close to 1.9 million square feet in comparison goods retail could be supported including recaptured support from local trade area residents and the downtown workforce.

The primary trade area for Downtown Oakland extends north to the Alameda County line, east to the Berkeley Hills and Skyline Boulevard, south to route 238 and west to the San Francisco Bay. This area includes the cities of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro, and portions of Castro Valley and San Lorenzo.

Downtown Oakland is strategically located in the East Bay with easy access to four freeways (I-880, I-580, Hwy. 13, & Hwy. 24). San Francisco is just 13 miles away by freeway. Over 12,000 structured parking spaces are available in the downtown area. For those who prefer mass transit, downtown has three downtown BART stations, a major transfer station for AC Transit bus service, Ferryboat service to and from San Francisco, and a new downtown Amtrak station. These factors equal unparalleled access for shoppers.

The 300,000 households in this trade area have a population of nearly 750,000 people. Nearly 50,000 households have incomes of over $100,000 per year.

"It (Oakland-East Bay) is currently a very strong market." -Grubb & Ellis, Retail Market Trends, Summer 2002.

With its increasing resident population and strong daytime worker population, Downtown Oakland is emerging as a niche urban retail market ideally situated to handle local and regional shopping demand. Its architectural legacy of beautifully-crafted buildings allows shoppers in Downtown Oakland to have a more satisfying experience not replicated in the bland boxes of suburban strip malls and retail centers. As the growth of a 24-hour city continues, retail demand will continue to blossom.

Shop Oakland, an innovative collaboration between the City of Oakland and the Oakland Merchants Leadership Forum, conducts targeted marketing campaigns to capture a greater percentage of retail dollars spent by Oakland and East Bay residents.

For More Information

For assistance in finding information, locations and money for your retail, restaurant arts or entertainment business, please contact Keira Williams at 510.238.3853. Information on Oakland real estate is also available at www.oaklandexplorer.com.