Alameda Officials Seek Buyer for Alameda Point Building

The winds of change are blowing from the San Francisco Bay over Alameda Point.

A commercial building, known as Building 92, at the former naval air base is poised to come under the ownership of one of three interested parties, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

Local investors Riaz Capital, SrmErnst and Alameda Point Redevelopers have been vying to buy the 89,000-square-foot building at 650 West Tower Avenue in competing bids. One investor has been chosen for continued negotiations, though Alameda’s director of base reuse and economic development Abby Thorne-Lyman didn’t disclose which, the outlet said.

The city of Alameda has been trying to sell the property for two years as part of its effort to offload buildings and lease out others to close funding gaps for infrastructure upgrades. Alameda city officials opened a request for proposals seeking a buyer earlier this year.

Riaz Capital’s plan for Building 92 involves developing a smaller version of Arthaus Studios, a 100,000-square-foot artist and maker space in East Oakland. Riaz owns thousands of residential units across the Bay Area, but the company’s Alameda Point proposal doesn’t include housing, founder Riaz Taplin told the outlet.

Alameda Point Redevelopers similarly floated a plan to divide the property into three spaces for arts, culture and entertainment tenants. Three companies have already expressed interest in renting space there under this plan, project manager Jonah Hendrickson told the Business Times.

Under SrmErnst’s plan, the building would be converted into several small and mid-sized research and development and advanced manufacturing suites. The existing R&D space at Alameda Point is in large warehouses and airplane hangars, leaving few options for smaller companies.

It would be another play at Alameda Point for SrmErnst, which already owns two buildings near Building 92. Those buildings are leased to Almanac Brewing, Kairos Power, Artisan Breads and Admiral Malting.

Building 92 is in Alameda Point’s Adaptive Reuse District, which is zoned for uses including retail, artist studios, office space, food and beverage production and manufacturing.

The Alameda City Council will discuss price and terms of payment with the selected buyer over the next few months, with a vote to approve the sale coming after that.

— Chris Malone Méndez