Ellis, Intercontinental Break Ground on Bay Area Office Tower

The Key at 12th will contain more than 300,000 square feet of office and retail space, and is expected to be complete by late 2019.

By Jeff Hamann

A joint venture between Ellis Partners and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. has begun construction on The Key at 12th, a Class A office development in Oakland, Calif. The project is planned around the city’s historic Key System Building, constructed in 1911, which will be fully renovated and integrated into the tower. Construction is expected to be complete, and the building occupied, by late 2019. The developers purchased the development site for $9.5 million in March 2017, according to public records.

Located at 1100 Broadway, the development site is in the heart of Oakland’s downtown office district. The 334,000-square-foot office tower will be constructed one block from the 12th Street BART station, offering convenient access throughout the region. The developers additionally plan to construct a 145-space parking garage below the property. More than half of the 18-story building has already been leased to the University of California’s Office of the President, with a JLL leasing team led by Chris Roeder, Sam Swan and Jon Elder marketing the remaining top eight floors to potential tenants.

Green amenities

The tower will feature a number of amenities for tenants, including two roof decks, 10,700 square feet of street-level retail and dining, 20,700-square-foot floor plates and bike parking. The property was designed by Gensler to include a number of green features, with the development planned to achieve LEED Gold certification upon completion.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to transform this long-vacant block into Oakland’s premiere office building,” said James Ellis, managing principal of Ellis Partners, in a prepared statement. “The Key at 12th will integrate a state-of-the-art tower with the historic Key System Building to create a unique and modern workplace with the nexus of the entire BART system right outside our front door.”

In addition to The Key at 12th, three other significant office developments are underway in downtown Oakland, including Uptown Station, a 380,000-square-foot adaptive reuse office project, which Uber recently sold to CIM Group for $180 million.

Images courtesy of Ellis Partners

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