OAKLAND — A Whole Foods store property in Oakland that a decade ago was a magnet for protests and vandalizations has now enticed a real estate buyer to invest in the East Bay’s largest city.
An unidentified buyer has paid $44.4 million for the Whole Foods site, according to JLL, a commercial real estate firm that arranged the property deal.
The Whole Foods store is at 230 Bay Place on the edge of downtown Oakland.
In 2011, the store was vandalized and its windows were broken as part of the Occupy Oakland and Oakland General Strike protests directed against Corporate America, the government and other large organizations.
Yet the store has remained open and generates enough revenue and attracts sufficient customers that it has landed a buyer for the property.
JLL Commerical real estate brokers Eric Kathrein, Geoff Tranchina, Gleb Lvovich and Warren McClean arranged the transaction.
“We love bright spots to the Oakland story, and this investor was able to understand the quality of this location and make a great strategic bet,” said Kathrein, a JLL managing director.
The Whole Foods Bay Place totals 57,200 square feet. The existing Whole Foods lease runs for more than a decade.
“This Whole Foods ranks top among its 22 locations throughout the Bay Area and with 12 years of lease term is a great acquisition with irreplaceable credit,” said Tranchina, a JLL managing director.
The healthy and organic foods market occupies a 2.2-acre site on a lot at the corner of Bay Place and 27th Street. This gives the store high visibility.
“The immediate area surrounding Whole Foods is densely populated being home to more than 289,000 residents within a three-mile radius,” JLL stated. “Given its location in downtown Oakland, the property is walkable to numerous multi-housing communities and is served by public transport nearby, including BART.”