Oracle signs lease, fueling Oakland expansion

Tech giant to expand its offices, bolster its recruiting efforts

OAKLAND — Oracle has signed a lease in downtown Oakland that enables the tech giant to expand its offices in the East Bay city and bolster its recruiting efforts, developers and brokers said Monday.

The technology titan has leased 16,000 square feet at the 1330 Broadway office tower in downtown Oakland.

“This is a big positive for downtown Oakland,” said John Dolby, a Cushman & Wakefield broker who helped to arrange the lease. “It’s a big expansion for Oracle.”

Oracle’s current presence in downtown Oakland consists of roughly 4,000 square feet in offices near Lake Merritt.

“If Oracle wants to recruit highly educated personnel, they need to be in more than one market,” Dolby said. “Oakland is a logical place for companies to locate offices if they want to recruit people. They can’t just be in Santa Clara County or San Francisco.”

Redwood City-based Oracle is expected to move to the new offices by sometime in the fall.

TMG Partners, principal owner of the building near the corner of Broadway and 14th Street, has been upgrading the building, hoping to land a big-name tenant such as Oracle.

“We’re pleased to see that Oracle is expanding its presence in Oakland, and has chosen 1330 Broadway as we are nearing completion of our redevelopment of the project,” said David Cropper, director of development with TMG Partners.

Downtown Oakland has enjoyed a boom in recent years, attracting an array of high-profile firms, including Uber Technologies, Pandora Media and Blue Shield.

Blue Shield in March disclosed it had leased 200,000 square feet in a downtown Oakland tower and would move 1,200 workers to the office, which would become the health insurer’s new headquarters.

The renovation of the 1330 Broadway building included a new main lobby and building entrance, new common area finishes, major modernization of the elevators and building systems, revamped conference facilities, improved bike parking and commuter showers.

More tenants could head into downtown Oakland, seeking to capitalize on mass transit access that includes multiple BART stops and an Amtrak station.

“Oakland has unique qualities, with all of the transportation assets that it has,” Dolby said. “Oakland is very easy to get to.”