Owner of Oakland’s Athenian-Nile Club Building Hits Distress

The owner of a historic building in downtown Oakland has filed for bankruptcy following a loan default and looming foreclosure.

Lamumba, doing business as Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, setting the company up to delay a foreclosure on the building’s $4.3 million loan while a federal court oversees its efforts to reorganize its finances, the Mercury News reported.

The building, at 410 14th Street and 1411 Franklin Street, is valued at $12 million, according to court papers cited by the outlet. In legal documents, Lamumba CEO Geoffrey Pete said the property was last appraised in 2018 for $8.4 million and that he was working to obtain an updated appraisal report.

Property lender Tellone Mortgage Fund filed a notice of default in April saying that the loan Tellone provided Lamumba in 2021 was delinquent.

The four-story structure was built in 1901 and is known as the Athenian-Nile Club Building.

The ground floor contains retail space, while the second floor is used for live events and a jazz music venue, and the third floor boasts a large ballroom and commercial kitchen.

Pete previously sought to stop the development of a 40-story residential tower next door but was unsuccessful. He argued in past Oakland Planning Commission and Oakland City Council meetings that the proposed tower would hurt his longtime business. At the last minute before a final hearing in January 2024, Pete withdrew his appeal, making way for Tidewater Capital to build the residences.

Pete reportedly abandoned his appeal against the housing tower after the Oakland City Council assured him that the city could provide financial resources to Geoffrey’s Inner Circle and the Black Art Movement and Business District. That August, Pete claimed that the item to finalize approval of those resources was removed from the City Council agenda multiple times, according to the Oakland Post.

Though the housing high-rise is approved, the timeline for development and completion is unclear.

Pete’s purchase of the building in 1993 kicked off the transformation of the formerly all-white, men’s only club into a cultural hub in downtown Oakland. Besides Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, merchants located in the historic building include Fourteenth Street Market, Timbuktu 1, Yoko African Art, Minto’s Jamaican Patties and Juice Bar, Oakland Ink, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Central Nails and Truve Fit.

— Chris Malone Méndez