Lender Forecloses on Two Oakland Apartment Complexes

A lender has forced two downtown Oakland apartment complexes into foreclosure, a sign of the persistent weakness in the East Bay rental housing market.

The properties, located just blocks apart in Oakland’s Uptown district, were taken over by affiliates of CWCapital after defaulting on loans issued in 2020, Mercury News reported. The properties are named Telegraph  Arts at 471 26th Street and The Moran at 570 21st Street.

According to Alameda County records, Telegraph Arts defaulted on a $31.6 million loan, while The Moran fell behind on a $20.7 million loan. The lender acquired Telegraph Arts for $31.1 million, nearly 50 percent below its assessed value of $61.9 million as of January 2025. The Moran sold for $20.3  million, about 53 percent below its most recent valuation.

These steep discounts highlight the sharp decline in multifamily property values across downtown Oakland, where rising vacancies, falling rents and higher financing costs have eroded investor-buyer confidence.

Both buildings — which combined, include 175 units — were once marketed as symbols of Uptown’s post‑pandemic revival, featuring modern amenities and proximity to transit and nightlife. Their foreclosure now joins a growing list of distressed assets in the city’s commercial core, where apartments, hotels and office towers have slipped into receivership or lender ownership.

Last year ArtHaus Partners and Belay Investment Group foreclosed on a loan which gave them ownership of nine apartment complexes in Oakland’s Lake Merritt neighborhood. The portfolio price of $30 million was about 68 percent lower than the assessed value.

Also last year, CWCapital foreclosed on a $99 million office loan in Chicago. The lender, run by CEO David Iannarone, employed a similar strategy after the 2008 financial crisis, absorbing properties worth billions of dollars in the process.

The dual foreclosures reflect a broader regional trend: developers and investors who financed projects during the low‑interest boom of 2020 are now struggling under tighter credit conditions and slower leasing activity. While some lenders are repositioning foreclosed properties for eventual resale, the markdowns at Telegraph Arts and The Moran suggest that Oakland’s rental recovery remains fragile, with valuations still far below pre‑pandemic peaks.

– Joel Russell