This Week's Bay Area Deal Sheet

Avery Bays Real Estate Development LLC is poised to buy the mixed-use building at 555 Fulton St. in the Hayes Valley area of San Francisco, the potential future home of a Trader Joe's store the neighborhood has awaited for years.

The seller was Z&L Properties, which still owns the unsold condo units. If the deal goes forward as expected, Avery Bays will acquire the unsold units and the retail space, according to the San Francisco Business Times. 

Z&L Properties is owned by embattled real estate mogul Zhang Li, who was arrested in London in November. He is facing extradition to the U.S. to stand trial for alleged kickbacks to Mohammad Nuru, formerly the public works chief for the city of San Francisco.

PEOPLE 

Cushman & Wakefield announced the promotion of Ron Chisolm to senior vice resident of client services for life sciences. Chisolm will focus on accelerating growth in the life sciences real estate sector in the Bay Area. 

“Life sciences is clearly a very important growth area for the firm, and we are thrilled to have an executive of Ron’s caliber and experience join us,” Cushman Services Chief Operating Officer Jodi Swinburne said in a release.

SALES 

Oakstop bought its flagship building, a 25K SF office at 1721 Broadway in Oakland for $8M last week. The flexible workspace provider bought the historic art deco building to add to its stable of properties in and around downtown Oakland.

***

CBRE arranged the sale of a 61-unit multifamily community in San Jose for about $15.4M. The property is called Ranchero Palms, and features 45 one-bedroom units and 16 two-bedroom units at 1175 Ranchero Way.

***

Prologis bought a 21K SF cross-dock warehouse situated on 5.3 acres in Hayward from an undisclosed seller. CBRE brokered the sale, with Chris van Keulen, Bob Ferraro and Michael Barry representing the buyer and the seller. The price was not disclosed. 

“Low-coverage opportunities of this size, quality and overall functionality rarely become available," van Keulen said.

LEASES

Metropolis Dermatology rented a 6K SF storefront in downtown San Jose. CBRE represented Rubicon Point Partners, the landlord in the deal. The occupant is expected to open its doors January 2024.

CONSTRUCTION

Hunter Partners and Sares Regis Group of Northern California announced three buildings in downtown Sunnyvale have topped out, including two seven-story office buildings and one 12-story apartment tower. The construction projects have been ongoing for 15 months and alter to alter the composition of downtown Sunnyvale. 

THIS AND THAT

Newmark will lead leasing efforts at Plaza 360, a 116K SF office at 360 22nd St. in Oakland, following the property lender's foreclosure on the asset. New York-based CIT Group took possession of the property in April a $35M loan that matured in 2022, according to the San Francisco Business Times.

Brickman, an investor also from New York, purchased the property in 2017 for $43.4M.