A “Black Ivy league” research university has set its sights on expanding into a Bay Area city, and it’s not San Francisco, despite the recent attention that city has been receiving from universities across the nation.
A spokesperson for Howard University, a historically Black, private university in Washington, D.C, confirmed to the Chronicle that the school has been engaged in talks with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee about expanding into the East Bay city – but stopped short of confirming concrete plans.
“We have had preliminary discussions with Mayor Lee, but it is premature to discuss any real estate endeavors in this area at this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the Chronicle.
Lee’s office also acknowledged the initiative to bring Howard to the city.
“I have been leading discussions with Howard University and will continue to engage with them about exploring opportunities in Oakland,” Lee said in a statement to the Chronicle.
The mayor has documented ties to Howard: She received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the university in May.
Another Bay Area political icon has ties to Howard. Oakland native and former Vice President Kamala Harris is an alumna.
Real estate insiders confirmed to the Chronicle that representatives from Howard have toured several properties in downtown Oakland in recent months, including the Trans Pacific Centre at 1000 Broadway. The purpose of the touring appears to be a future satellite campus, though details remain elusive – even to real estate professionals, some of whom described Howard’s effort as “stealthy.”
Real estate insiders say Howard University has shown interest in moving into the Trans Pacific Centre office building at 1000 Broadway in Oakland. (Google Maps)
One market participant said the real estate community has not been “engaged” in the process. Another individual noted that one of the initial tours took place during a weekend over the summer.
The interest comes at a time when downtown university campuses have been hailed as a solution to sky-high office vacancy rates in major Bay Area cities.
Earlier this year, San Francisco leaders confirmed to the Chronicle their plans to diversify that city’s downtown – which, in the past, has leaned on the tech sector to fuel its office real estate – by bringing in a prestigious national university that could not only convert some of the area’s languishing office buildings into educational space, but also into dorms for students. With real estate values now at a fraction of what they were pre-pandemic in historically pricey office markets like San Francisco, educational institutions from across the country have a rare opportunity to enter the Bay Area’s most iconic locations.
And, San Francisco’s latest chapter as the global hub for the artificial intelligence industry’s evolution also appears to be a draw for research focused institutions that are on the expansion course. Vanderbilt University, which is working on a satellite campus in downtown San Francisco, is reportedly seeking to tap into the momentum and innovation of the city’s growing AI startup scene.
Though, it is unclear what Howard’s programming at a potential Oakland campus would entail.
One source told the Chronicle that Howard has a requirement for some 60,000 square feet of space, which is roughly the equivalent of one floor within the 375,000-square-foot office building at 1000 Broadway. However, the property is largely vacant, having lost tenants like the Oakland Unified School District and the Cal State East Bay Oakland Center in recent years, which means that there is room for the university to grow.
The Chronicle attempted to reach the property’s Florida-based owner, GCB Associates – which last year pitched 1000 Broadway as a potential residential conversion project – but did not hear back.
The arrival of Howard could be a significant jolt to Oakland’s depressed downtown area.
Like San Francisco, Oakland’s core was hit hard by commercial vacancy and quality of life and safety issues in the wake of the pandemic. The city’s downtown office market closed the third quarter of the year with a 37.7% vacancy rate, according to real estate firm CBRE. That mirrors the historically high vacancy in downtown San Francisco, although that city’s office market is significantly larger than Oakland’s, and began showing signs of life in recent years due to fresh demand from growing AI startups.
Oakland’s downtown, on the other hand, continues to struggle with the drop-off in foot traffic due to remote work, even as conditions around crime and safety have notably improved.
Experts say that Oakland’s office market trends have always trailed behind San Francisco’s by a year or two. But, on the downtown university front, the two cities may be on similar expansion courses.
In January, Samuel Merritt University will welcome 2,000 in-person Oakland students and hundreds of faculty and staff to its new, $240 million downtown campus at 525 12th St. The school is relocating from its current home at 3100 Telegraph Ave. in Pill Hill.
The Broadway Street building that Howard is said to have toured is located just a block from Samuel Merrit’s new campus. It is unclear what other sites are in play.
Howard certainly has plenty of options. Oakland has seen a number of office building sales driven by distressed debt, which lowers costs for new owners, allowing for lower rental rates.
The same is true for San Francisco, which has also tried to appeal to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, for a downtown satellite campus under former Mayor London Breed, though that effort appears to have stalled since she was voted out of office in favor of Daniel Lurie.
This article originally published at Exclusive: An elite East Coast university is in ‘stealthy’ discussions to expand into Oakland.