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OFFICE SPACE - OPPORTUNITY FOR LAWYERS (berkeley)
University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704
University Avenue near Shattuck
rent period:
monthly
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2054 University Avenue is a 6-story landmarked office building in downtown Berkeley. The ground floor of the building is occupied by the Berkeley Social Club Restaurant. Each of floors 2-5 has been renovated as a full-floor suite, with high-end finishes, to an A level.
The 3rd floor is currently available for lease, comprising approximately 4,000 rentable square feet, with a fully outfitted kitchen and 2 dedicated bathrooms. The aesthetic is industrial, with corten tile and wool carpet finishes. The space is currently designed to maximize private office space, but nevertheless incorporates 2 separate open areas and a large conference room in addition to its 10 private offices.
Current rents in the building average a significantly higher rate than I am seeking here. However, I am willing to accept a lower return from this floor, in order to foster a community or collective of small law firms in need to high-end space - and access to shared facilities - without the ability, necessarily to afford market rent. Working from home as a lawyer is probably not ideal, but neither is a We Work or other similar space, or subleasing in a larger law firm or other office which subsumes your identity. It occurred to me that I might be able to provide the infrastructure for a space where a group of lawyers could share physical facilities such as conference room, lounge, and kitchen; support services such as administrative staff; and even less concrete resources such as the ability to draw upon each other's expertise and time in cases where more than one set of hands might be beneficial.
Specifically, what I am looking for here is a sole proprietor or small firm willing to serve as an anchor tenant. (Equally, if you are interested in being part of the community described, but don't want to serve as anchor tenant, don't hesitate to reach out, so I can register your interest.)
Ideally, this anchor tenant would require use of 1 or 2 of the 10 private offices. As lead tenant, this lawyer would take it upon themselves, over time, to also oversee the entire floor and to find other tenants for the other private offices. These could be short or long-term users of the space. The idea would be to agree upon a rate for each office - for example, and I am just throwing this out there, $1,250 per month for a private office, which would also entitle the tenant to use of the conference room, the kitchen, the bathrooms, and any shared open areas. These open areas could be used to create a lounge or play area on one side, and cubicles and filing for shared administrative support staff on the other. These are just my ideas. I wouldn't actually want to involve myself in how best to structure the use of the space beyond the initial organizational stages, but would leave that to the lead tenant.
In any event, assuming the example of the $1,250 per month per private office, I would then agree to share a portion of this with the lead tenant, in order to give that tenant an incentive to lease those offices over time. For example, 85% to me, 15% to the lead tenant. Ultimately, the lead tenant could reduce its rent effectively to zero, or even profit from this, if successful, at the cost simply of managing the space - which I don't think would require that much effort in the end.
My guess is that, while I will not initially see a market return for the space as I support the creation of this community, over time this concept could really take hold. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see it take over other floors in the building as they become available, too.
Virtual tours of the building are available on www.2054university.com. Please take a look at the 3rd floor online, and please contact me if you are interested in discussing the opportunity further.