Longtime HRE firm Meridian converts the facility into a 60,000 square foot med facility
By John B. Mugford
Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Meridian, a well-known HRE development firm with a long history of completing redevelopment and repurposing project, recently completed the conversion of a former Masonic Hall Oakland into the 60,000 square foot Broadway Medical Plaza. The MOB is just a block or so away from the 349-bed Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in the heart of Oakland’s “Pill Hill” area. (Photo courtesy of Meridian)
On the surface, it might have looked like a bit of a gamble for a well-known healthcare real estate (HRE) firm to acquire a half-century-old, vacant, former Masonic Hall in Oakland with the intention of repurposing it into a modern “Class A” medical outpatient building (MOB).
However, even though the building was acquired for a speculative project with no tenants signed, it didn’t seem all that risky to Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Meridian, thanks to the firm’s local market knowledge and extensive experience in converting other facility types into medical buildings.
To move forward with the spec project, Meridian structured a joint venture (JV) with an institutional capital partner to buy and eventually repurpose the fraternal organization’s former home. That partner was Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, which manages $56 billion in “alternative” real estate assets. Despite the lack of pre-leasing, strong demand for medical space in the area made it possible to secure financing on a spec basis, Meridian says.
The JV partners had no medical tenants lined up in early 2022 when they acquired the building, which they subsequently rebranded as Broadway Medical Plaza. But
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