Overview
As a Black-owned and operated organization and the Bay Area’s fifth largest flexible space provider, Oakstop ensures that BIPOC communities have priority access to its space at below market rates. Its programming focuses on workforce development, business support services, professional development for artists, and arts programming including exhibits, performances, and workshops.
In May 2023, Oakstop acquired its original building at 1721 Broadway in partnership with CAST. The $8 million purchase anchors Oakstop’s four-building campus in Downtown Oakland and represents Oakstop’s decade-long track record for using commercial real estate as a vehicle for advancing social impact and economic mobility.
The historic Art Deco building consists of three levels of space Oakstop uses for co-working, company off-sites, classes, pop-ups, art exhibits, and community-centered events.
Our Approach
CAST’s work in Oakland began in 2016 through Keeping Space – Oakland (KSO), a program established to provide real estate training and funding for Oakland arts and cultural organizations. Oakstop served as a venue for CAST’s space-related programming in 2018 before approaching CAST to partner on the acquisition of 1721 Broadway in March 2021.
CAST has invested $2.5 million in the project, with additional support from Community Vision, and the goal of being bought out by Oakstop after 5 to 8 years. With CAST’s investment, Oakstop expanded from its initial 4,000-square-foot suite to owning and operating the entire 25,000-square-foot building. To date, Oakstop’s real estate footprint includes ~80,000 square feet of affordable space.
For four years, CAST held an office at Oakstop as part of its commitment to the ongoing partnership, providing development consulting to support Oakstop’s operations and structural sustainability.
Impact
Oakstop harnesses its ecosystem to drive its social impact programs, collectively known as The Oakstop Effect, that focus on workforce development, business support services, and professional development for artists. It is this ecosystem that cultivated Oakstop’s partnership with CAST.
The partnership represents new possibilities for activating commercial real estate and mitigating displacement for artists and communities of color. Oakstop has launched a collective ownership model for its employees and workforce development participants, most of which are Black artists based in Oakland. The combination of real estate ownership and employee ownership is a model for job and wealth creation that Oakstop and CAST can proliferate locally and nationally as their partnership evolves.
Visit www.oakstop.com to learn more about Oakstop’s flexible space offerings for artists, startups, non-profits, and other organizations. Organizations interested in working with Oakstop can contact info@oakstop.com for more information on partnership opportunities.
