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San Francisco

Aviation startup Pyka leases former hangar for HQ on Alameda Point

Autonomous aircraft maker among aerospace firms moving to former naval base

Pyka leases former hanger for new HQ on Alameda Point
Pyka's Michael Norcia and Chuma Ogunwole with 950 West Tower Avenue, Alameda (LinkedIn, Loopnet, Getty)

Pyka has leased a 110,000-square-foot industrial building at Alameda Point to serve as its headquarters and manufacturing plant.

The Oakland-based autonomous aircraft startup inked an eight-year deal with the City of Alameda to lease the former aircraft hangar at 950 West Tower Avenue, Bay Area Inno reported. 

Under terms of a deal agreed to in August, Pyka’s lease would have begun March 1 with a three-year extension option. Its monthly rent would be $100,700, or 95 cents per square foot.

Pyka would be responsible for building maintenance, but would be allowed to credit up to $1.2 million in improvements towards its rent. The lease would require it to host an annual “student science event” for local children.

The seven-year-old company will relocate operations from its 23,000-square-foot hub at 1960 Mandela Parkway in Oakland.

Chuma Ogunwole, Pyka’s chief operating officer, called the move a “big upgrade.” The firm will use the one-time hangar to design, develop and manufacture autonomous electric aircraft at scale, he said. 

“The building is absolutely perfect for what we’re going to do. It’s purpose-built for developing and testing and producing advanced aircraft systems and that’s exactly what we do,” Ogunwole told the Business Times.

“It has the right infrastructure for that and has the really great high bay space for prototyping (and) production work.” 

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Pyka, which raised $37 million in a Series A round last year, has less than 50 employees, according to its LinkedIn page. It told Alameda last fall it expected to grow to more than 130 employees by 2026. A company video shows a pilotless crop duster spraying farm fields.

The aircraft firm joins other aerospace industry tenants to lease buildings at the former Naval Air Station Alameda, now known as Alameda Point. The military base, which opened during World War II, closed in 1997.

In 2022, Astra Space, which develops, builds and launches rockets, leased a nearly 180,000-square-foot headquarters at 1900 Skyhawk Street, according to the San Francisco Business Times.

Alameda now favors a site-by-site approach to its commercial buildings at the former base, selling some and leasing others.

Last month, the City of Alameda said it was poised to sell four commercial buildings on Alameda Point to raise money to fund an estimated $700 million in infrastructure for new businesses and homes. The East Bay island city was readying for sale Buildings 92, 101, 114 and 607 for an undisclosed price. 

The city has worked for nearly a quarter of a century to redevelop the 1,000-acre air station site into a mixed-use village.

In the next 10 years, Alameda officials hope to develop 5.5 million square feet of commercial buildings and 1,425 homes across 878 acres at Alameda Point.

— Dana Bartholomew

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Pyka