Another residential highrise about to get going in Downtown Oakland:
With new developers, 23-story Oakland tower to break ground this summer
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranc...-tower-to.html
After gaining approval from the Oakland City Council earlier this week, developer Holland Partner Group plans to break ground on a 223-unit residential project at 2016 Telegraph Ave. later this summer.
Holland took over the project from Lane Partners, which had a development agreement with the city and gained approval for two residential towers at 2015 and 2016 Telegraph Ave. two years ago. City council voted to transfer that development agreement from Lane to Keller Holland Telegraph Investors LLC — a partnership between Holland and Dick Keller. Holland will lead the development efforts while Keller will provide equity capital, with PNC Bank expected to provide debt capital, according to the city’s staff report.
The Vancouver-based developers are in the process of finalizing building permits for the 23-story building — designed by SCB Architects — and plan to break ground by late August or September, according to John Wayland, executive managing director for Holland’s Bay Area office. The units will be market-rate with Holland paying a $2.6 million fee for affordable housing. The project will also include retail space. “Holland is very excited about starting construction and believes that this project will significantly contribute to the vibrancy of Oakland's Uptown District and Telegraph Ave," Wayland said. He declined to share construction and development costs.
Oakland Councilmember Lynette McElhaney, who represents District 3, said in an email that the project will turn an underutilized lot into “much needed housing and retail,” while also helping to address affordability in the city through its $2.6 million fee payment. “This development fits within our vision of a vibrant downtown that serves the needs of Oaklanders and the region,” McElhaney said.
The project is located a block away from the former Sears retail store at 1955 Broadway, now known as the Uptown Station. Uber Technologies Inc. bought the building from Lane Partners in 2015 with the intention of opening its first East Bay office, but sold it in 2017. Last year, Square Inc. fully leased the building.
The site at 2016 Telegraph Ave. has long been dormant. In 2005, the Oakland City Council came to an agreement with Sears on a ground lease at the site for the retail giant to build an auto center and parking garage. In exchange, Sears sold its building at 1911 Telegraph Ave. — a site with its own history of delayed and failed developments — to the city for $12.5 million. But, the new auto center at 2016 Telegraph was never built and it has remained a parking lot to this day.
In 2017, Lane Partners and the city came to a development agreement, and Lane proposed the two residential towers — an 18-story, 230-unit building at 2016 Telegraph Ave. and a 14-story, 144-unit building at 2015 Telegraph Ave. Despite gaining approval from the city, the two residential towers did not progress. In December 2018, Holland sought to have the development agreement transferred to them, but its equity partners fell through — delaying the transfer until this week with its new equity partner, Dick Keller.
Holland has several other residential development projects in Oakland that are currently under construction. A mixed-use, 419-unit building with 60,000 square feet of retail at 24th and Harrison Sts. is expected to deliver in May 2021, and two other mixed-use projects — a 247-unit building at 1721 Webster St. and a 261-unit building at 226 13th St. — complete construction in February 2020, according to the city’s staff report.
Holland is not involved with the 2015 Telegraph Ave site. Property Markets Group (PMG), a Manhattan-based developer, are the new developers there and have gained approval for an 18-story, 112-unit building as part of its co-living strategy, called PMG X Social Communities. Fitzgerald Architects are the architects of record on the project and Studio KDA are the design architects. The project is PMG’s first in Oakland.
PMG did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.