OAKLAND — A busy development firm has collected another property that will become one of several Oakland sites expected to coalesce into a manufacturing and food neighborhood in the East Bay city.
srmErnst, a Bay Area real estate firm, has bought a retail and commercial building in West Oakland, according to documents filed on May 7 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office.
The veteran development firm paid $4.75 million to buy the building, acting through an affiliate, the county property documents show.
Kilovolt Coffee was a long-time tenant in the just-purchased building but exited the space when its lease expired in late April. The seller, not the buyer, was involved with the termination of the Kilovolt Coffee lease. Kilovolt Coffee is expected to relocate to a new West Oakland site nearby.
srmErnst has already bought several properties in an area that includes parcels in the vicinity of 18th Street and Peralta Street as well as adjacent sites on roads such as Mandela Parkway and Campbell Street.
The company envisions a mixed-use manufacturing, industrial and food neighborhood in West Oakland.
“We are building on Oakland’s entrepreneurial and creative culture and targeting innovative manufacturers such as food tech, lab research and development, and robotics,” srmErnst states on its website.
The just-bought parcel is part of a new neighborhood being crafted by srmErnst that involves primarily the redevelopment of existing buildings.
It wasn’t immediately clear if srmErnst intends to buy additional properties in the vicinity to accomodate the new neighborhood, which the real estate firm calls Prescott.
The real estate firm has brought a food hall and a farmer’s market to the Prescott neighborhood. The food market opened in 2024.
More pieces are expected to be added to the evolving West Oakland neighborhood.
“With Prescott Market, we hope to create a vibrant eatery where the community can gather, converse, and celebrate,” said Joe Ernst, founder and principal executive with srmErnst. “We hope to create amenities for a good quality of life.”
