Oakland City Center
A mixed-use office, retail, hotel, and civic redevelopment complex in downtown Oakland, California.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Oakland City Center is a large mixed-use complex in downtown Oakland, California, combining office buildings, retail space, a hotel and convention facilities, public-oriented open areas, and structured parking. The development occupies approximately twelve city blocks bounded broadly by Broadway on the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Way on the west, Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and 14th Street to the north, and the Oakland Convention Center and Marriott Hotel toward 10th Street. Its retail component includes restaurants, take-out establishments, stores, an upscale fitness and racquet club, and an underground parking garage. The complex is directly served by the 12th Street/Oakland City Center BART station, reinforcing its role as a downtown employment and commercial destination. The project emerged from an ambitious urban-renewal program conceived in the late 1950s. Oakland officials initially considered clearing a much larger portion of the Central District, but opposition from residents and downtown property owners reduced the plan to twelve blocks west of Broadway. The redevelopment displaced existing residential and commercial uses, including ornate Victorian and Italianate buildings, residential hotels, pawnshops, and the Moulin Rouge Theatre. The city used eminent domain, and an aggressive code-enforcement campaign known as Operation Padlock was associated with the eviction of residents from several residential hotels. Community resistance helped preserve Ratto's, a long-established delicatessen that was threatened by demolition. These events remain an important part of the complex's social and urban-planning history. Designed by William Liskamm and Rai Okamoto, the redevelopment plan received a 1966 design award from Progressive Architecture. The first office building opened at 14th Street and Broadway on December 18, 1973. The adjacent Clorox Building, the project's first skyscraper, followed in 1976. Development then slowed substantially. By the 1980s, the originally envisioned enclosed shopping mall had not been completed and much of the site remained vacant. The project was subsequently redesigned around a smaller outdoor retail district, a federal office complex, and a partial restoration of the historic street grid. Several buildings were completed in 1990, including the retail area known as City Square and 1111 Broadway, which became the headquarters of American President Lines. Downtown economic conditions were weakened by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the recession of the early 1990s, halting additional private construction for several years. The completion of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building complex in 1994 brought substantial government employment and additional pedestrian activity to the area, helping support the underperforming retail district. In December 1996, Oakland City Center and development rights to its remaining undeveloped parcels were sold to Shorenstein Properties. The new owner proposed four additional high-rise office buildings, but only 555 City Center was completed, in 2002. Development rights for another parcel were later returned to the city and sold to the Olson Company for market-rate condominium construction. Shorenstein also proposed residential development on one remaining parcel and an office tower on another; the office project received approval in 2007 and had a groundbreaking event in 2008. In June 2010, the majority of the complex was sold to CB Richard Ellis Investors for $360 million. The property is best understood not as a conventional consumer brand but as a named downtown real-estate district whose identity is tied to Oakland's redevelopment, office economy, transit network, and civic-commercial landscape.
History
Oakland City Center developed from Oakland's postwar effort to redevelop a substantial part of the Central District. Planning began in the late 1950s, when the city envisioned an enclosed shopping mall, high-rise offices, a hotel, and aboveground parking. The original Central District Plan contemplated clearing as many as seventy blocks, but residents and the Downtown Property Owner's Association opposed the scale of the proposed clearance. The plan was reduced to twelve blocks between 10th and 14th Streets west of Broadway. The redevelopment required the removal of a significant existing neighborhood. Through eminent domain, the city acquired and demolished Victorian and Italianate apartment buildings with ground-floor shops. Several residential hotels were emptied in connection with code enforcement, including an effort referred to as Operation Padlock. Commercial properties such as pawnshops and the Moulin Rouge Theatre were also lost. Public criticism and citizen protest prevented the demolition of Ratto's, a delicatessen that had operated in the area since approximately the beginning of the twentieth century. The displacement and demolition remain central to historical assessments of the project. William Liskamm and Rai Okamoto prepared the design for the redevelopment plan. Its architectural ambitions were recognized in 1966, when Progressive Architecture gave the plan a design award. Construction eventually produced the first office building at 14th Street and Broadway, which opened on December 18, 1973. The Clorox Building opened in 1976 and was the first skyscraper associated with the complex. The project then entered a prolonged period of uncertainty. The enclosed mall was not built as initially planned, and much of the site remained undeveloped into the 1980s. The development was redesigned around an outdoor retail complex, a federal office building, and a partial restoration of the original street pattern. This approach produced several important completions in 1990, including City Square and 1111 Broadway, which became the headquarters of American President Lines. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the recession of the early 1990s weakened downtown Oakland's recovery and led to a pause in private development. Public-sector construction continued, however, because government payrolls were less affected by the downturn. Completion of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building complex in 1994 brought employees and pedestrians to the area and helped sustain the retail district. In December 1996, Shorenstein Properties acquired Oakland City Center, including rights to develop the remaining vacant parcels. It planned four high-rise office buildings, but only 555 City Center was completed, in 2002. Development rights for one parcel were sold back to the city and subsequently transferred to the Olson Company for market-rate condominiums. Shorenstein pursued additional condominium and office development on other vacant sites. An office tower was approved in late 2007, followed by a groundbreaking event on October 1, 2008. The cited historical account does not establish whether that proposed tower was completed. In June 2010, CB Richard Ellis Investors acquired the majority of the complex for $360 million. Oakland City Center's history therefore reflects several overlapping phases: urban renewal and displacement, delayed private construction, redesign from a superblock mall concept to a more open mixed-use district, reliance on federal office employment, and repeated changes in ownership and development plans. Its continuing identity is tied to downtown Oakland's commercial and civic infrastructure, particularly its office inventory, retail services, hotel and convention uses, parking, and BART access.
- 2010
Majority interest is sold to CB Richard Ellis Investors
[1]The majority of Oakland City Center is sold in June for $360 million.
- 2002
555 City Center is completed
[1]The 555 City Center office tower becomes the only one of four planned Shorenstein high-rises to be built.
- 1996
Shorenstein Properties acquires the complex
[1]Shorenstein Properties purchases Oakland City Center and development rights to remaining parcels.
- 1994
Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building complex is completed
[1]The federal complex is completed, adding government employment and pedestrian activity to the district.
- 1990
City Square and 1111 Broadway are completed
[1]The redesigned retail complex and the 1111 Broadway office building are completed.
- 1976
Clorox Building opens
[1]The Clorox Building opens as the complex's first skyscraper.
- 1973
First office building opens
[1]The first office building opens at 14th Street and Broadway on December 18.
- 1966
Redevelopment design receives a Progressive Architecture award
[1]The plan prepared by William Liskamm and Rai Okamoto receives a design award from Progressive Architecture.
- 1950
Downtown redevelopment planning begins
[1]Oakland begins planning a major Central District redevelopment that would eventually become Oakland City Center.
Products and positioning
A transit-connected downtown mixed-use district serving office workers, government agencies, visitors, hotel guests, shoppers, diners, and nearby residents.
Commercial real estate · 1973
Office buildings
The complex's principal function is as a downtown office district. Its office inventory includes the initial 14th Street and Broadway building, the Clorox Building, 1111 Broadway, 555 City Center, and the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building complex. These structures represent successive phases of private and public development.
Retail · 1990
City Square
City Square is the outdoor retail component created after the original enclosed-mall concept was abandoned. It includes restaurants, take-out businesses, stores, and related services intended to support office workers, visitors, and nearby downtown users.
Hospitality
Hotel and convention facilities
The southern portion of the development extends toward the Oakland Convention Center and Marriott Hotel. These facilities add lodging, meetings, and event functions to the office and retail uses of the district.
Health and recreation services
Fitness and racquet club
The retail complex includes an upscale fitness and racquet club, providing recreational services alongside dining and shopping. The cited reference does not identify the operator or current trading name.
Parking infrastructure
Underground parking garage
An hourly parking garage is located beneath the shopping area, supporting visitors and users of the surrounding office, retail, hotel, and convention facilities.
Controversies
1960
Displacement and demolition during urban renewal
The redevelopment relied on eminent domain and cleared a substantial section of downtown Oakland containing residential hotels, apartment buildings, and small businesses. An aggressive code-enforcement effort known as Operation Padlock was associated with evictions from several residential hotels. The clearance, loss of historic buildings, and disruption of established businesses generated community opposition and remain controversial aspects of Oakland City Center's formation.
Brand decisions
2010
Transfer majority ownership to CB Richard Ellis InvestorsM&ABackground
After a period of ownership and development under Shorenstein Properties, the complex changed institutional ownership.
Action taken
The majority of Oakland City Center was sold to CB Richard Ellis Investors in June 2010.
Aftermath
The transaction established CB Richard Ellis Investors as the majority owner as reported in the cited account; later ownership details are not established by the supplied material.
Sale price. $360 million (June 2010)
1996
Sell Oakland City Center to Shorenstein PropertiesM&ABackground
The complex still contained undeveloped parcels and required a new private-development strategy after years of delays and economic weakness.
Action taken
Oakland City Center and development rights to the remaining parcels were sold to Shorenstein Properties in December.
Aftermath
Shorenstein proposed four high-rise office buildings and completed 555 City Center in 2002, while other parcels moved toward residential or proposed office development.
1980
Replace the enclosed-mall concept with an open mixed-use designStrategyBackground
Construction had stalled, the planned enclosed shopping mall had not been completed, and much of the site remained vacant.
Action taken
The project was redesigned around a smaller outdoor retail complex, a federal office building, and partial restoration of the original street grid.
Aftermath
The redesign led to the completion of City Square, 1111 Broadway, and later federal facilities, giving the project a more varied office, retail, and civic character.
1960
Scale the Central District redevelopment back to twelve blocksStrategyBackground
Oakland's initial redevelopment ambitions covered as many as seventy blocks, but residents and downtown property owners opposed the scope of the proposed clearance.
Action taken
The redevelopment plan was reduced to twelve blocks between 10th and 14th Streets on the west side of Broadway.
Aftermath
The smaller project became the geographic foundation of Oakland City Center, although it still involved significant displacement and demolition.
Sources1 sources
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