OAKLAND — A new tower in downtown Oakland is offering what its developer calls a “full stack” of lifestyle amenities and choices in a new approach to the realities of the post-coronavirus era.
The 39-story mixed-use tower that has sprouted atop the 19th Street BART Station was built with the concept that the highrise could offer its residents an array of live, work, play and go options, according to the project’s developer and principal owner, Behring Cos.
1900 Broadway features 452 luxury apartments on Broadway between 19th Street and Thomas L. Berkley Way.
Yet this highrise, located in Oakland’s hip and lively Uptown district, goes well beyond a conventional residential tower, in the view of Colin Behring, president of Behring Cos.
“1900 Broadway’s fully integrated ‘Live-Work-Play-Go’ model provides a ‘full-stack’ lifestyle experience that combines tech-enhanced luxury apartments, headquarters-quality flex-office and coworking space,” Behring Cos. states in comments about the project.
The tower’s prime office spaces are located on two floors and are flexible enough to appeal to both larger companies and smaller entrepreneurs.
“1900 Broadway is the flagship for Behring Cos.’ StakSite concept, where the integration of luxury apartments, office, amenities and transportation come together,” Behring said. Colin Behring is the grandson of Kenneth Behring, the legendary developer behind the Blackhawk residential enclave, Blackhawk Plaza and Blackhawk Museum in Danville.
In 2020, an affiliate led by Behring Cos. paid $27.5 million for the development site, landing a $175 million loan at the time of the property purchase.
The tower has become an eye-catching addition to the Oakland skyline while it was under construction and now is slated to sign up its first residents.
The 1900 Broadway tower will also offer 53,700 square feet of office space in the building.
The workplaces make it possible for residents to experience a “zero-commute lifestyle that caters to the needs of all employees, whether hybrid, remote or full-time in-office,” the company stated.
The developers also listed several amenities that could make the building quite different from other more conventional residential towers.
Among the amenities:
— a 6,700-square-foot fitness center.
— a fourth-floor lounge overlooking the historic Fox Theater. The space offers a social lounge, billiards and table games, a poker and card room, media lounge and a taproom.
— a fourth-floor deck with a cocktail pool flanked by day beds and chaise lounges, barbecue areas and firepits.
— outdoor coworking spaces.
— a 3,000-square-foot sporting turf lawn and a dog park.
— a 39th-floor penthouse lounge with panoramic views, gathering spaces, cocktail bar, 16-seat boardroom, kitchen, media wall, an outdoor lanai and terrace seating.
— sky terraces, a paw spa with washing and grooming facilities, bicycle and self storage and electric vehicle chargers.
The tower also offers vehicle-free options powered by a proprietary app to enable access to a fleet of Tesla vehicles, scooters and micro-mobility options.
The 1900 Broadway highrise may represent one type of unique approach that developers must take to attract residents at a time when skyrocketing interest rates, inflation and an uncertain economy loom over the real estate market — even housing towers.
“The most valuable companies in the world created dynamic ecosystems, not single products,” Colin Behring said. “At 1900 Broadway, we’ve applied this approach to real estate to create an exceptional residential experience.”