San Francisco Business Times
From the article:
Signature Development Group plans to revive Oak Knoll, a 183-acre former naval hospital site in the Oakland hills where previous development efforts hit major speed bumps.
Former owner Lehman Brothers collapsed into bankruptcy in 2008, putting the property in limbo for several years. Then California shut down the redevelopment program that would have funded new development on the site.
Now the huge site is owned by a holding company for various former Lehman properties. That entity sought out Bay Area developers to take on Oak Knoll, and it selected Signature Development.
“We have a partnership with Lehman, we’re going to move forward and seek the project entitlements for a new community,” said Mike Ghielmetti, head of Signature Development. “It’s a great place to put housing. It’s a beautiful area. We’re obviously underserved with housing in the Bay Area. With the right land plan, it will be fantastic.”
Oak Knoll was largely abandoned for the last few years while Lehman Brothers went through bankruptcy. The firm and former development partner SunCal Cos. paid $100.5 million for a 167-acre portion of the property in 2005 and came up with a plan for 960 homes and 82,000 square feet of commercial space that would hit the market in 2010. That was before the financial crisis of 2008, Lehman’s bankruptcy and SunCal subsequently cutting ties with the project a few years ago.