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Berkeley\u2019s Toveri Tuppa Finnish Hall, at 1819 10th St., is heading to the tax default auction block. Credit: Zac Farber\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\nBerkeley\u2019s Toveri Tuppa Finnish Hall, at 1819 10th St., is heading to the tax default auction block. Credit: Zac Farber\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
After years in an ownership black hole, with community members donating their time and dollars to keep it from falling apart, the next chapter of Berkeley\u2019s Old Finnish Hall<\/a> will soon be up to the county auction block.<\/p>\n The 1908 building has racked up nearly $1 million in back property tax to Alameda County,\u00a0 a mushrooming liability years in the making that shows no signs of abating.\u00a0<\/p>\n And so the hall, which has been declared a city historical landmark, will come up for sale at Alameda County\u2019s online tax defaulted property auction<\/a>, which starts Friday and runs through Monday, along with more than 200 other properties countywide. (Interested bidders must submit a refundable $5,000 deposit by 1 p.m. Tuesday.)<\/p>\n \u201cI just hope whomever takes on the building is willing to preserve it and find the best possible use for it, preferably as a community asset,\u201d said Krista Gulbransen, executive director of the Berkeley Property Owners Association, a landlord group, and one of several people who\u2019ve volunteered over the past several years to help the landmark.\u00a0<\/p>\n Architecturally distinct, if maintenance challenged, the hall is located on 10th Street between Hearst Avenue and Delaware Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n Known by the Finnish name Toveri Tupa, which translates closely to \u201cComrades Lounge,\u201d the hall was once a popular gathering place for Berkeley\u2019s sizable Finnish immigrant population<\/a> in the early 1900s. Many Finns moved to Berkeley after San Francisco\u2019s 1906 fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n The building later transitioned to more general community use. A leaking roof and other upkeep issues halted most public use for several years, but today it hosts occasional rentals.\u00a0<\/p>\n This Finnish-rooted center isn\u2019t to be confused with Berkeley\u2019s other The Finnish Hall<\/a>, on Chestnut Street, which was built in 1932. That hall, run by a nonprofit, has had some financial struggles<\/a> over the years, but maintains a strong rental calendar and is paid up on taxes.<\/p>\n Efforts to prevent auction sale failed\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the challenges faced by the volunteer group trying to stabilize Toveri Tupa over the past several years \u2014 they spearheaded a project replacing the building\u2019s roof in 2022<\/a> \u2014 is that the property doesn\u2019t really have an owner.\u00a0<\/p>\n The nonprofit organization that owned and ran the hall since it was built, Finnish Hall Inc., has been defunct for years, with no functioning board and no budget. It\u2019s not listed on the state\u2019s registry<\/a> of charitable organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Based on interviews and records, the business kept up on taxes until about 15 years ago, when it hit rough times. In 2009, the organization didn\u2019t pay property taxes for Toveri Tupa, which were then about $21,000 for the year.<\/p>\n Taxes were paid in 2011, but nothing has been paid since. The tax bill now runs to around $950,000, which includes more than $500,000 in fees and penalties.\u00a0<\/p>\n The community group trying to preserve the hall, which includes the office of Councilmember Rashi Kersawani, whose district it\u2019s in, hoped the original nonprofit owner could be made viable, or that another organization would take over.<\/p>\n After years of discussions, neither took hold.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had been in conversations with nonprofit agencies regarding this property but that was some time ago and have heard nothing since,\u201d said Beth Gerstein, staff person to Kesarwani.<\/p>\n Todd Jersey, a Berkeley architect active with the roof project, said: \u201cWe all gave up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hank Levy, Alameda County\u2019s tax collector and treasurer who oversees tax auctions, was among those working with the group with the goal of keeping the building in productive, sustainable use.<\/p>\n \u201cI was hoping that a coherent development plan would be forthcoming,\u201d Levy said.<\/p>\n When property taxes go unpaid for five years, the county tax collector is required by law to step in. Tax collectors can sell to the highest bidder at auction (called Chapter 7) or to sell outside of an auction to a viable nonprofit or government entity planning to use it for public benefit (called Chapter 8), such as affordable housing.<\/p>\n When properties go to auction, the minimum bid is set to recoup back taxes and associated fees and fines. For properties sold under a Chapter 8 arrangement, the main goal is to get the property into beneficial public use, with some pricing leeway. Assessments are required to help set a base price. Tax auctions are unpredictable. Some properties are competitive; others get no bidders.<\/p>\n If the hall isn\u2019t sold in March, it will be re-listed at a follow-up auction in May, Levy said..<\/p>\n If still not sold then, the tax collector has greater ability to negotiate a sale to a government entity or nonprofit, including on the price.<\/p>\n Live-in caretakers, landmark status come with the mix<\/p>\n Among the looming unknowns of Toveri Tupa\u2019s future is the fate of the elderly caretakers who\u2019ve lived there for more than 30 years, a husband and wife who raised their now-adult kids at the hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n The couple live in an apartment unit created in the back of the building, rent-free in exchange for maintenance and keeping an eye on the property.<\/p>\n Around the time of the roof project, the nonprofit Rebuilding Together<\/a> helped with safety repairs of the apartment. There were also efforts to help them find alternative housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_8268.jpg\")
Toveri Tupa is a city of Berkeley landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Credit: Zac Farber\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6384.jpg\")
Toveri Tupa\u2019s second-floor theater. Submitted photo<\/p>\n
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Built in 1908, Toveri Tupa served for many years as a hub for services and events for the Finnish community. Submitted photo<\/p>\n