East Bay sites are grabbed for $100 million-plus in big property deal

An East Coast investment group has widened its shopping spree for Bay Area commercial real estate.

FREMONT — An East Coast investment group has widened its shopping spree for Bay Area commercial real estate by grabbing some big properties in Alameda County for well over $100 million.

The buying group paid $133 million for multiple buildings in Fremont and another big building in Oakland, documents on file with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office show.

DRA Advisors, an investment firm, is listed as the managing member of the buying group for the buildings.

The purchases in the East Bay and South Bay by the DRA-led group suggest some properties can still entice big-time investors despite sour prospects and weak values for the Bay Area commercial real estate market.

Including the East Bay purchases, the DRA-led group also bought buildings in San Jose, Milpitas and Santa Clara, paying a combined $222 million for the properties in Santa Clara County.

The East Bay deals mean the buyers paid a combined $355 million for the properties in Santa Clara County and Alameda County.

Here are the locations in Alameda County County that the DRA-managed group bought, and how much they paid for the sites, according to documents filed on May 1:

— $81 million for Fremont buildings at 41444, 41460 and 41762 Christy Street. The buildings constitute the Fremont Commerce Center, which totals 344,000 square feet.

— $52 million for an Oakland building at 7300 Edgewater Drive. The building totals 81,800 square feet.

The just-bought properties in the South Bay and the East Bay consist of low-slung office, industrial, commercial and warehouse buildings.

Here are the locations of the buildings in Santa Clara County that the DRA group just bought, in transactions completed on May 1 and May 2:

— Milpitas, $75 million to buy four buildings located at 901, 1001, 1123 and 1151 Cadillac Court. Together, the four buildings total 301,600 square feet.

— San Jose, $74 million for buildings at two sites in the Bay Area’s largest city. The San Jose deals include $57 million for a building at 591 North King Road that totals 213,600 square feet and $17 million for a building at 1721 Rogers Ave. totaling 22,200 square feet.

— Santa Clara, $73 million for four buildings on Leonard Court. The addresses include 3401, 3501 and 3521 Leonard Court. The Santa Clara buildings total a combined 178,200 square feet.

Real estate investment firm Blackstone, acting through four different affiliates, sold the buildings to the DRA-managed group, county and state documents show.

In 2022, Blackstone obtained the South Bay buildings and many others nationwide through its $7.6 billion purchase of PS Business Parks.

New York City-based DRA says its funds own 597 properties in 49 states. These include office, industrial, retail and apartment properties.

DRA describes itself as a conservative yet also nimble in its investment approach.

“We make sure to stay adaptive to changing market conditions,” DRA states on its website. “We target investments that offer competitive income returns and the potential for capital appreciation. Preservation of capital, downside protection and stability of cash flows are key elements of the firm’s investment approach.”