EMERYVILLE — An Emeryville office building was purchased in a deal that shows some commercial property values in the Bay Area continue to decline.
The building at 6001 Shellmound St. was acquired for $20.6 million through an all-cash deal in a streamlined foreclosure process, according to documents filed on March 19 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office. The price is 44.6% below the $37.2 million estimated value for the office building as of January 2024.
San Francisco-based Blox Ventures, acting through an affiliate, bought it through a deed in lieu of foreclosure from a real estate group headed up by Colorado-based Everwest Advisors.
Blox Ventures put itself in position to acquire the property by paying $6.8 million in January to buy the loan from PNC Bank.
The 109,300-square-foot eight-story office building was built in 1988, according to commercial real estate database Compstak. It is adjacent to Public Market Emeryville, a popular venue that includes a food court.
The office building is about 60% occupied and Blox sees plenty of potential in the Emeryville market.
“Emeryville is a leading innovation hub in the Bay Area,” Blox Ventures CEO Jason Oberman said at the time the Blox affiliate bought the loan for the building.
Blox noted that several dynamic companies are located in the vicinity.
“With global leaders like Pixar Animation Studios, Bayer and Novartis, along with the area’s expanding residential offerings, the long-term potential of this property is very promising,” Oberman said.
In recent years, Blox staged a successful turnaround for another significant commercial property in the Bay Area after it teamed up with New York City-based investment firm Angelo Gordon to buy a mixed-use complex of offices, shops and long-vacant supermarket space in Palo Alto for $78.3 million.
Blox and its partner eventually landed specialty grocer Real Produce International Market to fill the long-empty grocery store space in the complex on El Camino Real.
Buoyed by the leasing success, Blox and Angelo Gordon sold the complex in 2020 for $103.6 million — a profit of 32%.
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