Lender Seizes Office Building From HP Investors in Oakland

A lender has seized a 10-story office building in Downtown Oakland through foreclosure after HP Investors fell behind on a $9.1 million loan.

Bank of the Sierra took control of the 31,500-square-foot building from the Solana Beach-based investor during a public auction for 1700 Broadway, in Uptown, the East Bay Times reported.

Since no other bid came forward, the Porterville-based bank took ownership of the building through a proceeding that valued it at $4 million, or $127 per square foot.

An affiliate of HP Investors bought the building in 2017 for $13.3 million, or $413 per square foot. That means the bank picked up the property for 70 percent less than its last traded price.

In 2020, the HP Investors affiliate landed a $9.1 million loan for the slender office building at Broadway and 17th Street. The loan became delinquent in February, when HP ceased making payments. Occupancy in the building was not disclosed

The gray building, built in 1914 as the Thompson Building, has a full-length mural of a woman by artist Joshua Mays, plus 3,300 square feet of ground-floor shops. It was given a modern facade in 1958, and renovated in 2002, according to Oakland Wiki.

Tenants include Essie Justice Group, according to its website.

It’s not clear if Bank of the Sierra wants to place the Class B building back on the market.

At the end of March, office vacancy in Downtown Oakland was 19.7 percent, a tad higher than the 19.6 vacancy at the end of December, according to Colliers. Other reports put the vacancy much higher.

Last summer, office vacancy in the core business district of Downtown Oakland, Uptown and Lake Merritt was 35.7 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

— Dana Bartholomew