Oakland apartment complex along waterfront is taken back by lender
2 mins read

Oakland apartment complex along waterfront is taken back by lender

OAKLAND — A lender has taken back a big apartment complex perched on the Oakland waterfront due to a $100 million-plus delinquent loan, a deal that underscores the feeble state of the East Bay residential market.

The Orion apartment complex is now owned by its lender, an affiliate linked to global investment titan UBS, according to documents filed on April 14 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office.

Open spaces and gathering areas of Orion, a 241-unit apartment complex in the Embarcadero district of Oakland. (Orion)

The streamlined foreclosure procedure represents a fresh setback for the multifamily apartment market in Oakland and other parts of the East Bay.

Foreclosures, slumping property values, and loan defaults are among the financial woes that now haunt the apartment markets in Oakland and other East Bay cities.

Open spaces and gathering areas of Orion, a 241-unit apartment complex at 255 Ninth Street in the Embarcadero district of Oakland. (Orion)

In the case of the Orion apartments on Oakland’s waterfront, an affiliate of UBS Realty Investors took ownership of the 241-unit complex due to a delinquent loan totaling $118.8 million.

Related Articles


More than 400 affordable homes are eyed for San Jose retail property


‘This is irreplaceable’: Locals fight to save historic East Bay theater from demolition


The CEQA graveyard: Projects delayed by California’s powerful environmental law


CEQA makes it ‘too damn hard’ to build. But do Democrats have the will to reform it?


Oakland apartment tower swiftly lands local buyer after foreclosure

The financing vehicle that triggered the foreclosure was a construction loan.

An affiliate of Signature Development Group had developed the Orion apartments in Oakland and had obtained the loan from the UBS Realty entity in 2017, Alameda County documents show.

The Signature Development affiliate was the entity that lost ownership of the building through a deed in lieu of foreclosure, which is a streamlined process whereby a lender can gain ownership of a property.

The developer completed the seven-story Orion apartment complex in 2019 and then opened it for leasing.

Monthly rents range from $2,045 to $4,469, according to the Apartments.com website.

Amenities include a fitness center, rooftop deck, hot tub, a third-level lounge with kitchen and bar area, barbecue areas, a lounge on the seventh level, a landscaped courtyard, a community room, and a game room.