OAKLAND — The Scottish Rite Center near Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland was bought by a wellness-oriented nonprofit in a deal that will bring a new purpose to the historic site.
Through an affiliate, Art of Living Foundation paid $9.3 million for the building at 1547 Lakeside Dr., documents filed on Oct. 23 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office show.
The new owner is an educational and humanitarian nonprofit that offers breathing techniques and meditation courses as paths to wellness.
Scottish Rite Temple Association was the seller in the transaction, which was arranged by Colliers commercial real estate executives Sid Ewing and Paul O’Drobinak.
“This building is really a jewel box,” said Ewing, a senior vice president with commercial real estate firm Colliers. “We were able to find a buyer in a very challenging market.”
The four-story building totals 85,000 square feet and occupies a 1.5-acre parcel.
With the purchase, Art of Living Foundation also has control of a surface parking lot next to the Scottish Rite Center.
“The parking lot presents a rare, buildable footprint for a future commercial or mixed-use development,” a Colliers marketing brochure states.
When first built in 1927 for fraternal purposes, the center featured a Beaux-Arts neoclassical facade. Salty air from nearby Lake Merritt caused the building’s front to deteriorate, which prompted a redesign and remodel from 1936 through 1939.
The building was redesigned in a Greek-influenced Art Deco style, according to the Oakland Scottish Rite Historical Foundation. A $1.2 million renovation was completed in 2014.
Over the decades, the site was routinely rented out to the general public for special events such as concerts, weddings, banquets, high school graduations and business conferences. That business prospered until the 2020 coronavirus outbreak.
“COVID just shut everything down,” Ewing said.
The building features a ground-floor grand ballroom and an auditorium that seats 1,400 people on the fourth floor. The ballroom seats 800 and includes a small stage.
“The auditorium was designed for presenting the ceremonies of the Scottish Rite in grand form,” according to the Oakland Local Wiki website. “It has a full-sized stage with hundreds of backdrops and a pipe organ.”
The third floor includes a banquet hall, billiards room, library and lounge. The building also contains a second-level mezzanine.
“I’m glad that the building is going to continue to be used,” Ewing said.
Konstantin Savvon, director of operations, walks through the lobby of the Scottish Rite Center in downtown Oakland on Sept. 17, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Main auditorium of the Scottish Rite Center in downtown Oakland. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)