Regus nabs three floors of Tribune Tower in Downtown Oakland

Regus has inked a deal to provide flexible workspaces on three floors of the historic Tribune Tower in Downtown Oakland.

The Texas-based unit of IWG, of Switzerland, signed an agreement to manage 17,600 square feet on floors six, seven and nine of the landmark tower at 409 13th Street, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The 100-year-old tower, once home to the Oakland Tribune, is owned by Highbridge Equity Partners, based in the city. Financial terms of the 10-year partnership agreement were not disclosed.

As part of its deal with Highbridge, Regus obtained an option to expand by another 22,400 square feet, which would allow the coworking firm to occupy 40,000 square feet in the Tribune Tower.

Highbridge bought the Tribune Tower in 2019 for $48 million, acquiring the Venice-inspired building from an alliance of Harvest Properties and True North Management Group, which renovated the historic beacon over Downtown Oakland. 

Landing one of the world’s most successful providers of serviced workspaces as a major tenant is a big win for Highbridge and the building, which totals 95,000 square feet.

“Regus has a lot of corporations they work with — IBM, Accenture, McKinsey, consulting and I.T. companies,” Douglas Abrams, a general partner with Highbridge, told the Mercury News. “A project can be three months, nine months, a year or two years, and companies don’t want to sign five-year leases if they don’t need the space for that long.”

PG&E, Kaiser Permanente, Clorox, Blue Shield of California and other big companies are all located in Downtown Oakland, and frequently seek out consulting and information tech experts. 

Regus also can tap into other firms that seek flexible spaces for shorter terms.

“It’s also the startup community, creative companies, as well as individuals who want to get out of their homes after they had been working from home for three years,” Abrams added. “People who are in shared workspaces find these are great networking opportunities.”

The Regus deal was arranged by brokers Cody Kollmann and Jeff Moeller of Lee & Associates San Francisco, and by Joe McGlynn of Lee & Associates Oakland. Kollmann represented Regus while Moeller and McGlynn represented Highbridge.

— Dana Bartholomew