Oakland’s hospitality scene is experiencing a meltdown that would make even Silicon Valley’s most dramatic startup crash look tame. The Marriott City Center – once a bustling hub of business activity and home to the Golden State Warriors – has been seized at a jaw-dropping 51% discount, leaving the real estate world collectively gasping.

The Fall from Grace

Once a crown jewel of downtown Oakland, this 500-room hotel has gone from corporate hotspot to a cautionary tale of post-pandemic economic turbulence. Gaw Capital, the Hong Kong private equity firm that owned the property since 2017, halted mortgage payments, leading to a foreclosure auction where Invesco scooped up the property for a mere $70.2 million – a far cry from the $143 million paid eight years ago.

Valkyries Standing Strong

Amidst this real estate rollercoaster, the Golden State Valkyries remain unphased. The WNBA team continues to use the property for training and offices, having recently invested $1.45 million in facility renovations. Their resilience is a bright spot in Oakland’s increasingly bleak commercial landscape, where office vacancy rates have skyrocketed from a mere 2.8% to a staggering 37%.

A Broader Trend

This isn’t an isolated incident. Other Oakland hotels are facing similar fates: the AC Hotel defaulted just a year after opening, the Waterfront Hotel in Jack London Square closed abruptly, and the Oakland Radisson is heading toward foreclosure. It’s a domino effect that screams economic distress, with the convention center looking eerily empty this summer.

As Oakland grapples with these seismic shifts, one thing’s clear: the city’s commercial real estate is in for a wild ride.