Hundreds of homes, including affordable housing, are eyed in Oakland

OAKLAND — Hundreds of homes could sprout at a site in downtown Oakland’s Uptown district that a veteran developer has just bought, the real estate firm said Thursday.

Grosvenor Americas has bought sites with addresses of 2600 and 2630 Telegraph Ave., documents filed on May 10 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office show.

The developer disclosed Thursday that it is planning hundreds of residential units on the two parcels.

“Grosvenor is excited about the opportunity to invest in Oakland and develop 225 new homes, including much-needed affordable housing,” said Steve Buster, a senior vice president of development with Grosvenor.

The Uptown district where Grosvenor has bought the sites is a hip and trendy Oakland neighborhood that’s dotted with restaurants, entertainment, theaters, nightclubs and cocktail lounges.

Grosvenor paid $12 million for the parcels in an all-cash deal, county property documents show.

Gogi Time and Blind Tiger, two existing, well-known merchants located on the site, would operate in ground-floor retail spaces of the new project, according to concepts crafted by project designer BAR Architects.

The just-bought downtown Oakland site appears to command a high-profile presence. The properties have considerable frontage on Telegraph Avenue between 26th and 27th streets and are a block away from Broadway.

Recently, the Kissel Uptown Oakland, part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, opened its doors, adding 168 rooms at 2455 Broadway. The hotel also contains 74 apartment residences. And Telegraph Arts, a large new apartment complex, is located across the street from the Grosvenor parcels.

The Grosvenor real estate business dates back to 1677, when the Grosvenor family obtained pastures, swamps and orchards west of London, sites that eventually were transformed into that city’s fashionable Mayfair district.

The 225-unit residential development in downtown Oakland would become the second East Bay mixed-use residential and retail project that Grosvenor has in the construction pipeline. In Berkeley, Grosvenor is planning to build a residential and retail tower on Shattuck Avenue.

“2600 Telegraph is our most recent East Bay multifamily rental development, following our 163-unit project at 1951 Shattuck in Berkeley, which is starting construction this quarter,” Buster said.

Grosvenor’s Bay Area properties also include retail and office buildings in San Francisco’s Union Square and a North San Jose tech campus.

“We continue to believe in the long-term growth of the greater San Francisco Bay Area,” Buster said.