TMC Financing is Coming to Oakland

As of January 1^st, TMC Financing will occupy 8,700 SF with 33 employees at 1720 Broadway, just above the 19^th Street BART station.  TMC Financing provides commercial real estate loans with as little as 10% down to small businesses in California and Nevada, mainly through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Founded in 1981, TMC is the largest provider of SBA 504 commercial real estate financing in the Bay Area (and all of Northern California). TMC consistently ranks among the top certified development companies nationwide, and has funded projects worth more than $8 billion across California and Nevada. Nearly 5,000 businesses have benefited from this financing, resulting in the creation of an estimated 48,500 jobs. In 2015, TMC became the largest SBA 504 hotel lender in the Western United States.

“We’re looking forward to moving to the new and vibrant uptown area of Oakland,” says TMC Founder and President Barbara Morrison. “It reminds me of our early days in San Francisco, South of Market before the transformation, and we watched it spring to life around our office. Oakland has a bright future and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

For more information on TMC Financing and our SBA 504 loan program, visit: http://tmcfinancing.com

The Hive Adds Another Culinary Treat to Uptown

Recently, The Hive added another great culinary treat: Firebrand Artisan Breads (along with recently added Drake's Dealership & Calavera).  

According to The Hive, Firebrand is "your daily source for fresh artisan breads... the only wood-fire, brick oven bakery in the Bay Area." (Made with wild yeast starters.)

Berkeleyside reported "The wholesale bakery moved its operations from West Oakland to a 4,800-square-foot space in the Uptown neighborhood and opened its first retail outlet, which sells breads, pastries and sandwiches." 

Keeping with The Hive's theme of supporting local, Firebrand will also be offering coffee from Oakland's Highwire Coffee Roasters, says SFGate.

Support Local Businesses, Shop Plaid Friday in Oakland: November 27

This holiday season, the Uptown/Downtown Oakland Community Benefit Districts would like to encourage you to shop local and support the “Plaid Friday” campaign that includes some of the most exciting retailers in the Bay Area!  Plaid Friday, which takes place on Friday, November 27 is an alternative to big box store “Black Friday” and promotes both local and independently owned businesses during the holidays. (The name Plaid Friday was conceived in 2009 from the idea of weaving the individual threads of small businesses together to create a strong fabric that celebrates the diversity and creativity of independent businesses.)

This year there will be over 50 businesses in the downtown Oakland area participating (along with many other businesses around Oakland and the East Bay.)  Individual shops will be offering an exciting/unique variety of retail offerings and perks for Plaid Friday- including discounts, music, vendor pop-ups, food tastings and giveaways.

A map of the Broadway Corridor businesses that will be participating in Plaid Friday is available now!  Printed versions of the map will also be available at various retailers on Plaid Friday.

Come shop local on Plaid Friday, and throughout the holiday season, and support those businesses that call Downtown Oakland home.

Plaid Friday sponsors include: KRON 4,  Oakland Central, The Lake Merritt/Uptown &Downtown Oakland CBDs, Townsquared, Oakland Grown, Jack London Oakland, The East Bay Express, The Broadway Shuttle and more!

Lake Merritt/Uptown & Downtown Oakland Record 592,000 Square Feet of New Transactions In Third Quarter

During the third quarter, companies moved into or expanded their presence in the heart of Oakland by more than 592,000 sf of office and retail space.

According to a compilation provided by real estate brokers to the Lake Merritt/Uptown and Downtown Oakland community benefit districts, among the significant transactions were:

* Uber, the ride-on-demand giant, purchased the 1945 Broadway building capturing 381,622 sf of prime space for their expansion purposes.

* Brown & Toland signed a 59,514 SF lease at 1221 Broadway for a medical office.  

* Sierra Club, an environmental club, signed a 38,776 sf lease at 2101 Webster.

* Corelogic, a global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider,

signed a 23,842 sf lease at 555 12^th Street.

* California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a stem cell agency, signed a 17,097 sf lease at 1999 Harrison Street.

* Fluid, a digital shopping software firm, signed a lease for 16,004 sf at 1611 Telegraph Avenue.

* Union Bank signed a 37,244 sf lease at 1221 Broadway.

* The Punchdown, a natural wine bar and bottle shop, signed a 1,600 sf lease at 1737 Broadway.

* Itani Ramen, a gourmet ramen shop, signed a 2,000 sf lease at 1736 Telegraph Avenue.

* Cape Cowl Comics, a comic store, signed a lease for 1,400 sf at 1601 Clay Street.

* Left Coast Power Yoga, a yoga studio, signed a lease at 563 16^th Street for 1,300 sf.

* SPUR, a leading civic planning organization, signed a 6,000 sf ground floor and 1,500 sf mezzanine lease at 1544 Broadway.

* And two up & coming restaurant/bar concepts, that have yet to be named, have signed leases at 1915 Broadway for 3,500 sf & 1,600 sf at 1739 Broadway.

“The creativity with which Oakland businesses have embraced and developed new business concepts and services has gone beyond anyone’s expectations and is having a major positive impact on the health of our commercial real estate market. As this list of leases demonstrates, jobs are growing in our office towers, within street level retail and off Broadway both north and south,” said Steve Snider, Lake Merritt/Uptown & Downtown Oakland District Manager. 

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The jointly administered Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown District Associations were formed in February 2009. Property owners in both Downtown Oakland and the Lake Merritt/Uptown Districts voted by a margin of almost 8 to 1 to support a voluntary property tax to fund services that would improve the quality of life in their respective communities. Services funded by these Districts include maintaining cleanliness and order in the public rights of way, improving district identity and advocating on behalf of the area’s property owners, business owners and residents.  The Districts are key supporters of “Oakland Central”, a new lifestyle marketing campaign that employs several platforms and content partners to promote the heart of Oakland, otherwise known as Downtown Oakland’s Central Business District.

Qulture Collective, A Queer Community Space, Now Open

Recently, a new cafe/retail shop/gallery/shared workspace dedicated to serving the queer and allied community in Oakland opened at 1714 Franklin St, Suite 102.

According to their profile on Oakland Central, "Qulture Collective focuses on providing a platform for creative and entrepreneurial ventures. Having a shared space will allow for the diverse and talented queer and allied community to connect, share stories and promote inspiration and growth."

Qulture Collective's website describes their mission as "to provide a central, devoted space for queer folks to network, cultivate creativity, and develop and accomplish entrepreneurial goals."

To find out more details about their opening and space, see:

"Qulture Collective, A Queer Community Space in Oakland, Just Opened and is Truly Rad" (11/5/15, Autostraddle)

"Qulture Collective: A Downtown Hub for Oakland Queers" (8/26/15, East Bay Express)

Repair Revolution in Oakland

Recently, we have seen a few interesting articles about a recent pop-up at OwlNWood called "Repair Revolution".  This pop-up brought services from a seamstress, shoe repairman, a tailor and an electronic 'techie' all under one roof to help customers fix what they love.  Repair Revolution may eventually go from a pop-up to a permanent space.  Read more here:

SF Gate & Oakland North: "Neighborhood Repair Revolution pops up in Oakland"

Visit Oakland: Pop Up Launch: Repair Revolution

BayMozaic: Rethinking Longevity with Repair Revolution

Recent Oakland Food News-

There have been a number of key media acknowledgments of Oakland's food scene recently! Whether they are noting Oakland's authenticity, its amazing bites or its collaborative co-working kitchens... the coverage is not to be missed:

San Francisco Business Times: "Co-working food spaces serve up community"

Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown: "It's 100% Authentic!" 

NOSH: 'Flavors of Oakland' Weaves Local Culinary Narrative 

Moves from San Francisco to Oakland

Last week, we mentioned that the San Francisco Business Times had noted upcoming space available at 300 Lakeside Drive in Oakland... but to further detail the push to move to Oakland, The SFBT posted an article today, complete with a map/graphic, noting over 610,000 sf of moves that have been made in 2015! (And yes, Uber is one of them... but there are MANY more-- including Brown & Toland, Huge Inc., Women's Foundation of California, 99 Designs, Fluid and more...)

Want to Move Your Business to Oakland?

With the recent confirmation of Uber moving to Downtown Oakland, and with many other businesses (both large and small) thriving there... is it time to consider moving your business to Oakland?  

If you are considering Oakland, now is a great time according to a recent article by Roland Li in The San Francisco Business Times:

"Oakland's office market has rapidly filled up in the past year, with the vacancy rate falling below 6 percent in the city's downtown core amid migration from San Francisco and local expansions.

Now, the city has a rare chunk of Class A office space for lease at the Swig Company's 300 Lakeside Drive, which has over 120,000 square feet on the market."

The Town Kitchen: Great Food. Great Jobs. Stronger Community.

“Oakland is really diverse with great youth supportive programs out there to encourage development. We are partnering with those that are already doing great work,” said Sabrina Mutukisna, founder of The Town Kitchen.

The UC Berkeley graduate is equally as modest when she describes The Town Kitchen’s own connections, progressions and plans.

The Town Kitchen is a socially-sustainable enterprise, employing low-income youth to create and deliver chef-crafted lunches and meals throughout Oakland. The meals are prepared in The Port Kitchens, a collaborative kitchen in Uptown Oakland. The Town Kitchen prepares the main course and then partners with other local businesses such as Mamacitas Café, Red Bay Coffee and others to complete and plate each meal.

While there is a minimum of 10 lunches required for local delivery, there is no minimum for delivery to facilities like the Impact Hub Oakland.  “We are proud to partner with many Oakland businesses, I can’t imagine having launched a business anywhere else. It’s such a nice energy,” said Mutukisna.

Town Kitchen’s motto: “Great Food. Great jobs. Stronger Community.”

Mutukisna also partners with Beyond Emancipation and Youth Uprising to recruit employees, all while offering fair wage employment of $15 to 20 per hour. In partnership with The Town Kitchen’s non-profit partner, ISEEED, employees are trained in entrepreneurship and can receive course credit from SFSU.  The average age of Town Kitchen employees, 90% of which live in Oakland, is 20-something. A small group of high school students work on the weekends and throughout the summer.

Town Kitchen Quick Facts:

•     Town Kitchen has been featured in the East Bay Express, Co.Exist & Stand4Magazine.
•     Town Kitchen sources locally & is organic, whenever possible.
•     Town Kitchen’s Executive chef hails from Google.
•     Find out more at: www.thetownkitchen.com

"Oakland Central" Presents the Heart of Oakland to the World

What’s been obvious to Oaklanders for quite some time is that “There Is No Place Quite Like This!” Oakland is the ‘most diverse city in America’ (U.S. Census); is ranked #3 of the 14 top cities for start-ups (Popular Mechanics); has a tech sector that is home to more women than 15 of the top 17 tech cities in the country (RJ Metrics); and is projecting to add more than 50,000 jobs, a 60 percent growth rate, by 2040 (SPUR).   

Now it’s time that the rest of the country – and the world – knows what Oaklanders have long known:  that Oakland is truly a beautiful and unique city made up of committed and engaged citizens. The Lake Merritt/Uptown & Downtown Oakland Associations are actively spreading this message to the rest of the world through a new, innovative destination marketing campaign called Oakland Central. This campaign is designed to shine a light on the Downtown Oakland lifestyle by promoting all the great things happening in and around Downtown Oakland from Jack London to Uptown, Old Oakland to Lake Merritt.

“From our fabulous arts and music scene to our amazing architecture, from our excellent restaurants and nightlife to our innovative spaces for living and working, Downtown Oakland has it all,” said Steve Snider, the District Manager for the Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown District Associations. Snider has been actively working with community stakeholders to create the new Oakland Central brand and marketing campaign.

“The website acts as a portal to the many resources available that improve the visitor and user experience of Downtown Oakland: from transportation options to housing, from events listings to resources for opening a new business in our Downtown,” Snider added.

In addition to the beautiful new website, there is a social media campaign to match that urges locals and visitors alike to “Explore The Heart of Oakland.” Downtown Oakland is not just centrally located and easy to get to, it is central to the cultural vitality of the city of Oakland and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Over the past six years, Downtown Oakland has welcomed more than 250 new ground floor, storefront businesses including many restaurants, bars, cafes and retail shops. This influx of energy has created a booming urban neighborhood as featured by numerous media outlets.  USA Today recently recognized Oakland as #7 Best Local Food Scene.  The Chicago Tribune also recently featured the successes of the Fox Theater and the revitalization of Uptown Oakland.

Office vacancy is at an all-time low.  According to JLL’s Q2 2015 Office Insight, “As the east-bound migration continues, Oakland will continue to see economic growth across all business sectors, translating into swelling demand for office space.” 

“With all the great things that are happening here, it’s no surprise that so many businesses are flocking to uptown and downtown Oakland,” said Michelle Lane, President of the Downtown Oakland Association.