BH Properties to rent out former Holy Names University in Oakland

For lease by BH Properties: a 58.6-acre college campus in Oakland.

The Los Angeles-based investor has hung a “for lease” sign at the former site of Holy Names University at 3500 Mountain Boulevard, in the Oakland hills, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

BH bought the 66-year-old campus in early June for $65 million after Holy Names defaulted on a $49 million loan. 

It put out a request for qualifications for a single or multiple tenants interested in leasing the school. The request for qualifications is due Friday. 

Terms of any potential leases were not disclosed.

More than 20 schools have expressed interest in the campus, BH spokesman Andy Lync said.

Each will need to provide information regarding their current facilities, student enrollment, finances and willingness to share buildings. Based on the responses, BH Properties will send out proposals with suggested lease terms.

Candidates include local schools and those from outside the Bay Area with a range of sizes, grade levels and subjects.

Jim Brooks, president of BH Properties, said in a statement that he’s “eager to start vetting qualified applicants so we can once again have this community resource serving the educational needs of the community.”

The campus contains 19 buildings, including a gymnasium, performing arts center, chapel, library, 30 classrooms and housing for 450 students.

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Oakland officials have called for its preservation for educational use. A group of city leaders sent a letter to Holy Names last spring, saying the college was vital to the city’s economic development and workforce.

The campus has also served various community groups, who have used it for choir and performance practices.

Holy Names University, founded in 1868, was a private Roman Catholic university started by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, a teaching order from Quebec, Canada. 

The school had defaulted on a $49 million loan from Preston Hollow Community Capital, based in Dallas. It had listed the shuttered campus last spring for $70 million, citing $200 million in deferred maintenance. The 155-year-old university closed in May. 

— Dana Bartholomew