Landmark Properties Jumps at Berkeley Development Opportunity

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Landmark Properties recently paid $18.5 million for the Bancroft Center, completing the first ever sale process in the property’s history. Colliers International handled the transaction on behalf of the seller, Bancroft Center Co., who has put the asset up for sale in 2014.

The Bancroft Center

Located at 2580 Bancroft Way, the Bancroft Center offers its new owner the possibility of redeveloping the asset as a mixed-use complex. According to a press statement announcing the transaction, local authorities have conducted a feasibility study on the property which concluded that the lot could accommodate a mixed-use project with up to 132 residential units and a retail component of roughly 21,000 square feet.

Aside from the 30,370-square-foot retail building, the lot also includes the Fred Turner Building. The building’s status as a city-designated landmark forces any developer to preserve the property as a part of an upcoming project. Given Landmark Properties’ track record of developing and managing off-campus student housing throughout the country, as well the property’s proximity to the UC Berkeley campus, the Bancroft Center’s future is all but certain.