Newmark tapped to lease Oakland's Plaza 360, now in the hands of its lender

After foreclosing on Plaza 360 in Oakland, Manhattan financial services provider CIT Group has enlisted Newmark to lease the office building, the real estate services firm announced Monday. 

CIT, a division of First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA), took ownership of Plaza 360, a 116,000-square-foot office building at 360 22nd St. in Uptown Oakland, at the beginning of April, according to documents filed with Alameda County on April 4. 

The building had been owned by Manhattan-based investor Brickman, which purchased it for $43.4 million in 2017 using a $35 million loan from CIT. The loan matured in 2022. 

Conor Ranahan, managing director with Newmark, described the building ownership as “highly motivated to attract new tenants.” Ranahan and Thomas Southern are listing the building.

First-quarter data showed landlords are, for the first time since the onset of Covid-19, beginning to make meaningful reductions in asking rents in an effort to curb vacancy rates in Oakland office buildings. The city’s total availability rate clocked in at 32.1% in the first quarter, according to data from real estate services firm CBRE.

Newmark’s release described Plaza as “partially leased.” Sources familiar with the property told the Business Times it is between 35% and 40% leased, leaving roughly 87,000 square feet available for rent. Spaces in the building range from 1,500 square feet to 20,000 square feet, according to Newmark. The property — to which CIT plans to add a new workout facility and make other improvements, per Newmark — is less than a quarter mile from the 19th Street BART Station.