The Port of Oakland's new maritime director is overseeing a lineup of projects that stand to give industrial owners and developers in the East Bay a boost when the coronavirus pandemic is over.
Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes said there are currently several port initiatives, including a new seaport logistics center, expanded cold storage capacity and the addition of large cranes, each of which is slated to finish by year's end.
Appointed in June by Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan, Brandes also gave an update on total cargo volume, which is down about 5% from last year. It's a trend the group said it expects to continue the rest of this year, due in large part to a 25.3% drop in shipments of empty cargo containers back to origin destinations.
The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, Oakland's primary West Coast competition, are also on track to fall year-over-year compared to last year, with Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka saying the economy is in a "very precarious position."
For Brandes and others, the addition of a new logistics facility has the potential to generate even greater interest in warehouse property in and around the Port of Oakland, which Brandes told Bisnow is already "at a premium today." CBRE Senior Vice President Kevin Hatcher said Port of Oakland-proximate industrial properties have average triple-net asking rents of $13.20 to $13.80 per SF per year.