Building Jack London Square - San Francisco Business Times:

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The office project has no tenantssigned yet. The publicx market has 15 lettersd of intent and but its opening has been delayed until the end of the Jim Ellis of and Jim Falaschiof , the lead developers on the project, recognize the challenges the projectg faces, but are pushing ahead with the developmenyt plans. “Larger scale projects like this take a longee timeto implement,” Ellis said. “Evem though we’re going though an unprecedented economicdownturn currently, our ownership is committef to seeing through the long-term plan for the which spans 10 years or The new office space will be availabler in June, Ellis said.
The Oakland metropolitahn office market hasabout 13.4 millionj square feet of Class A spaced with a vacancy rate of 8.1 percent during the first quarter of this according to , but market activituy has slowed down. “It’s just a matter of time before itis leased,” Ellis “Even in today’s market, it’s a very uniquse offering of setting, amenities and waterfront We are prepared to meet the market in leasing the The Jack London Market, housed on the bottom floorzs of that office building, delayed its openingf from spring or summer of this year to closert to the end of the year.
Falaschi said the developers want to have 20 to 25 tenantsd on board before themarket opens. “We certainly have been slowefd down in some of our negotiations with tenantds because ofmacroeconomic issues,” Ellis “Obtaining any type of crediy for these prospective businesses has been very The public market will resemble the one in San Francisco’sa Ferry Building and Pike Place Market in Seattle, whicgh offer a mix of produce, speciality foods and prepared foods. “That kind of concept is extremely popularr in Europe and in the futures will become a popular concept here in the saidKurt Fischer, of Mendocino-based , a food and hospitality consulting firm.
“The market has to be more than a placd tobuy things. It has to be a combination betweenm abuying experience, a dining experience and an entertainmentf experience.” The development also features full-service restaurants sprinkle in various buildings. Rick Hackett, who plans to open 6,500-square-fooy Bocanova in August, said he is more concernecd about seeing the office space fill up than thepubliv market. “This project is special enough and important enougj to theBay Area, especially the East Bay, that it will generatde excitement,” said Hackett, who owns MarketBaf in San Francisco.
“I think my restauran t will get people tocome … It’s really important to hit the right pric point, keep prices on the low end and make it a fun and casuapl place.” The developers have teamef up with groups such as the and to recruirt and foster local merchants who could fill spacr in the market. Falaschi said they are setting up programd to provide significant tenant improvements and toolzs tohelp start-up vendors run theitr businesses better. “I don’yt think there’s any question we’re in difficultg times right now withthe economy,” he said. “Tko be successful, you have to get creative.
” One positivre factor is the growing number of residentzs inthe neighborhood. At least 1,000 dwellerxs have moved into new condos and apartmentsa nearby that were built as part of formet MayorJerry Brown’s 10K initiative. The campaign injecteed new housing into various areas ofthe city’s core such as downtown, Old Oakland and but services and retail are still catching up, said Lindwa Braz, a retail broker with in “People do see (Jack London as an opportunity,” she “You have a fairly high concentrationh of residents without a lot of places to go and buy thinges they need.
” The redevelopment of Jack Londobn Square started about nine years ago and still has other phaseas in the works, including a seconds hotel to complement ’s , whichh opened last autumn, as well as more retai l space and another 135,000-square-foot office The entire project will cost $350 million and is years from “It seems like it’s been a long time, which it has, but that’es how long the process takes,” Falaschi “If you look at our timeline and the hurdlez we had to go through to get to this point, we are on