Oakland Extends Data Center Pause as Historic Plant and Homes Sell

Industrial land-use regulation, historic manufacturing preservation, and residential property sales shaped the East Bay real estate landscape this week as the Oakland City Council extended its pause on artificial intelligence data centers, a century-old West Oakland cereal plant completed a multi-million-dollar sale, and Alameda home buyers continued bidding over asking prices.

Oakland Extends Data Center Moratorium Through October 2027

The Oakland City Council voted 8-0 on Tuesday evening to extend the city’s temporary moratorium on new data center approvals by 10 months and 15 days, keeping the suspension in place through October 5, 2027. Originally enacted on October 6 as a 45-day prohibition scheduled to expire on November 20, 2026, the measure pauses land-use approvals for high-density computing facilities while city planners craft zoning definitions and environmental standards.

As reported by KTVU FOX 2, Oakland has already received inquiries from developers, including a proposal to install a data center inside a downtown office building, and Councilmember Carroll Fife noted growing interest from large technology companies in her West Oakland district. In a Tuesday staff report, Oakland Planning and Building Director Bill Gilchrist explained that because the city’s existing Planning Code does not specifically define data centers as a land use, staff are consulting with PG&E, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, and Ava Community Energy regarding electricity and water capacity. During public comment, members of the West Oakland organization Care 4 Community Action reported that their survey of more than 400 residents found approximately 73% supported a full ban, while Oakland joins neighboring cities such as Richmond—which extended its pause by 22 months and 15 days—alongside Oakley and Hayward in reviewing data center rules.

Century-Old West Oakland Cereal Factory Sells for Nearly $5.6 Million

In West Oakland’s Oak Center neighborhood, an affiliate of California Cereal Products paid nearly $5.6 million for the historic manufacturing plant at 1267 14th Street in a transaction recorded with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office on November 6. The seller was J. Nikima Co., which had owned the property since purchasing the facility in 1994, when California Cereal Products began restoring and retrofitting the plant following a three-year hiatus that started in 1991.

According to the Pacific Coast Architecture Database and historical reporting, the Gothic-Revival factory was designed by architects Lewis P. Hobart and Charles Cheney and built between 1915 and 1916 by the Shredded Wheat Company at a total investment of $500,000, opening its West Coast bakery in 1916 and celebrating a formal event on March 15, 1917. Purchased by the National Biscuit Company—now known as Nabisco—in December 1928, the plant operated continuously for decades until 1991, and California Cereal Products later expanded by opening a larger facility in Macon, Georgia, in 2006.

Alameda Records 15 Home Sales With 11 Above Asking Price

Across the estuary in Alameda, 15 homes sold between October 26 and November 8, 2026—comprising 12 homes in ZIP code 94501 and 3 in 94502—as inventory held steady at 84 homes for sale and pending sales rose from 28 to 30. Although the median list price dipped from $1,092,500 to $998,000 and the median sale price moved from $1,252,857 to $1,160,000, 11 of the 15 properties sold above list price, with 13 buyers using conventional loans and 2 paying all cash.

The highest transaction closed at 1339 Bay Street, a 1910 home that accepted an offer in 4 days and sold for $3,050,000—$355,000 over its $2,695,000 asking price—while 316 Fair Haven Road jumped 43% from a $995,000 list price to $1,425,000. Other sales spanned from an 1890 residence at 2520 Clement Avenue ($670,000) and a 1964 condominium at 615 Willow Street, Unit C ($370,000 after 92 days, listed at $375,000) to a 2022 build at 2815 Crusader Street ($1,450,000, listed at $1,399,000).