Tidewater pitches either/or plans for Oakland waterfront

The San Francisco-based developer has proposed two take-your-pick projects near the Oakland waterfront, according to plans filed with the city. Tidewater plans to bring half a million square feet of either office or residential space to the East Bay’s largest city.

The parcel in question is located at 1431 Franklin Street and sits on half an acre. The residential design features a 413-foot apartment building that totals 501,060 square feet, with 421,060 square feet for housing and 80,010 square feet for the 167-car garage. Unit sizes will vary, with 64 studios, 148 one-bedrooms, 150 two-bedrooms and 19 three-bedrooms, for a total of 381 units.

An alternative version of the project envisions a 410-foot-tall office tower of 488,500 square feet, with 419,480 square feet for offices and 69,020 square feet for a 100-car garage and parking for 63 bicycles.

Tidewater will take the project in front of the Planning Commission later this month.

The Oakland office market remains stagnant, according to a fourth-quarter report by brokerage Newmark. The market’s vacancy rate was 20 percent, with Downtown experiencing the highest vacancy in the market. The city center submarket had a vacancy rate of 35.8 percent.

The multifamily family market is more optimistic, according to a recent report by Marcus & Milichap. Rent was up to $2,680, an increase of 8.6 percent year-over-year. The vacancy rate ticked up 1 percent, due to an increase of supply in the market.

“Developers responded to last year’s demand by delivering a historic volume of completions during 2022,” the report said.

Tidewater has been active in the Oakland market both on the residential and office fronts. The developer acquired a 526,000-square-foot office complex in East Oakland that caters to government tenants. It also filed plans to build 300 apartments near the West Oakland BART station.