[BTinSF]

Source: http://www.601citycenter.com/#

Friday, September 5, 2008
Shorenstein to start Oakland office tower
San Francisco Business Times - by Blanca Torres

Shorenstein Properties expects to break ground in the next few weeks on 601 City Center, a 23-story office tower encompassing 500,000 square feet, with hopes that Oakland’s weak office market will rebound by the time the building is ready in 2010.

Downtown Oakland’s proximity to BART, mild climate and lower cost of doing business continue to draw in new companies and employers — many of which want to move into shiny new buildings.

“You’re better off to start a building in a bad market and open it in a good market than trying to start a building at the top of the market,” said John Dolby, who handles leasing for Shorenstein. “Our goal is to get tenants from outside of Oakland, who can be in San Francisco or on the Peninsula (and are) getting pushed out or need to expand or want to be in newer space.”

Shorenstein is building on spec. The site is across the street from another Shorenstein property, 555 City Center, that was built in 2002 and has attracted tenants including Ask.com and Matson.

“It’s going to be a beautiful addition to the skyline,” said Deborah Acosta, who handles office real estate for Oakland’s Community and Economic Development Agency. “We’re really looking forward to the type of tenant they are going to be able to attract with that building.”

Like much of the real estate industry, the office market is slow right now, but not in all segments. The vacancy rate for Class A space in downtown Oakland is 12.8 percent, according to a recent report from Cornish & Carey Commercial.

“There isn’t a lot of opportunity for major players to find space in Oakland,” said Larry Westland, senior vice president with TRI Commercial in Oakland. “Shorenstein is starting their building at just the right time. They will have no trouble finding an anchor tenant or filling the building.”

New Class A space is coming online in several projects. Brandywine Realty Trust had just completed its 215,000-square-foot building at 2100 Franklin St. before selling the building to CIM Group in July. That project has yet to sign any leases.

SKS Investments continues its search for an anchor tenant for a 20-story tower at 1100 Broadway. Ellis Partners is still shopping space at its 320,000-square-foot office building in Jack London Square.

“Developers like Shorenstein and SKS are really ahead of the curve by four or five years,” Acosta said. “When (companies) are looking to lower costs, they look for a place with a similar feel to San Francisco, so Oakland becomes a natural place to look.”


btorres@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4960

More renderings: http://www.601citycenter.com/renderings.php

Fact Sheet

Gross Square Footage
767,791
(includes 120,000 sq. ft. of underground parking)
Rentable Square Footage
596,767
Average Rentable Floor Size
26,400
Number of Tenant Floors
23 (1-12, 14-24)
Number of Mechanical Floors
1 (Mechanical Penthouse Level)
Elevators
Elevator Banks: 3
Passenger Elevators:11
Parking Shuttle: 2
Freight/Service: 1
Parking
Striped: 213
(Includes 9 tandem standard & compact spaces)
Motorcycles: 26 (12 on P2 & 14 on P1)
Bicycles: 58 (on P1)
Mechanical Engineering System Facts
HVAC:
Boilers -3 Qty
BTU's/Boiler - 4,500,000
Fuel Source - Natural Gas
Chillers - 3 Qty
Tons/Chiller: (2) 500-ton & (1) 200-ton

Life Safety:
Sprinkler (Percentage) - 100%
Life Safety System - EST
Back-up Water: 22,500 gallons

Emergency Generator:
Size - 1625 kVA
KW Rating - 1300 kW
Fuel Capacity: 600 gallons
Supplemental Cooling Provision:
24-hr Condenser water stubout is provided at each floor to provide supplemental cooling for tenant use.

Green Facts
When completed, the 23-story 601 City Center will incorporate a number of green design strategies. These strategies were integrated into the building to achieve LEED Certification, and to provide an environmentally sensitive workspace for its tenants and visitors.
The building will be designed to have a reduced impact on the environment while creating healthy, daylight-filled workspaces for the occupants.
The following will be incorporated into the building design.
The selected site of 601 City Center in downtown Oakland meets a number of criteria identified by the LEED rating system as having a low environmental impact:
Access to Public Transit: 601 City Center is being developed in an urban area and providing easy access to public transportation. 601 City Center is located in the downtown core area of Oakland and access to the BART system is less than 1⁄4 mile away. See commuting options on OaklandCityCenter.com.
Parking: All of the parking provided on site will be in two underground levels thereby eliminating any need for surface lots. Preferred parking will be provided for vanpools and low-emitting vehicles. Also, the parking will not exceed local zoning requirements. Find parking information on OaklandCityCenter.com.
Green Roof: A notable feature of 601 City Center is the green roof over its two one-story buildings. These one-story buildings contain the loading dock and a portion of the building lobby. The green roof will help reduce the impact on the environment in a number of ways. During storms, the green roofs will slow down the discharge of storm water into the storm drain system. In addition, the roofs will reduce impurities in the storm water. The green roofs also reduce the urban heat island effect by providing a roof surface that will not absorb and radiate heat. To reduce the impact on water usage, the roofs will contain native and drought tolerant planting.
Water Efficiency: The building employs a number of strategies to reduce the water usage. In the restrooms, low-flow and ultra low flow fixtures will be used to reduce the water usage by 30% compared to average buildings. In addition, the landscaping will comprise of high-efficiency irrigation and drought tolerant plantings to reduce the use of water.
Energy and Atmosphere: To reduce the energy usage of the building, a number of cutting edge technologies will be employed. The glazing, a major factor in energy usage, will consist of dual paned, low emissivity, tinted glazing. This glazing employs recent advances in glazing technology. The low-emissivity coating reduces the amount of solar heat gain while allowing a large percentage of daylight in to create light filled interiors. As the solar heat gain is reduced, the demand on the air-conditioning systems is also reduced.
Building Materials: The structural steel used in the construction of 601 City Center will have greater than 70 percent post-consumer recycled steel.

Source: http://www.601citycenter.com/factsheet.php#