Bay Area

HNU Sold To Los Angeles Real Estate Firm

After deciding to shut down at the end of May, the Holy Names University (HNU) Board of Trustees has just sold the 58-acre campus in the Oakland hills to a Los Angeles-based real estate firm, BH Properties, a company with minimal connection to education or to Oakland. Though the price was not revealed, previous reports said the asking price was $70 million.

Published

3 years ago

June 22, 2023

Oakland Post

Leading up to the sale, the HNU board operated mostly in secrecy, not transparent with faculty or students, and ignoring proposals of aid from city and community leaders and educational entities, including two proposals to place an HBCU on the campus.

By Ken Epstein

Though the price was not revealed, previous reports said the asking price was $70 million.

Kimberly Mayfield, Deputy Mayor of Oakland and a former HNU administrator, has worked to save the HNU campus as a site for higher education in Oakland. She is hoping that the new owners will be willing to respond to community needs.

In an interview with the Oakland Post this week, Mayfield said, “I hope they will preserve the campus for educational use, especially for higher education, such as an institution like a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). We need more higher education opportunities here in Oakland. That’s what we’re losing.”

She said was particularly concerned for students who were left in the lurch with debts and unfinished degrees when HNU closed.

BH Properties says it seeks to attract new tenants to continue using the property for academic use.

“We are excited to announce this long-term investment in the Oakland community,” said Jim Brooks, president of BH Properties, in a statement quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle.

“This educational institution has long been a resource to the City of Oakland and the Bay Area, and we expect it to continue to be an asset to the community and its students for years to come,” he said.

“There are many organizations in dire need of educational space, and we believe there will be significant interest in leasing this site,” said Andy Van Tuyle, BH Properties senior managing director, investments, according to a statement quoted by the Chronicle. “The history, location, and amenities provide a unique opportunity to provide facilities for the many educational institutions seeking expansion alternatives.”

With connections to a large charter school network, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, BH Properties owns property throughout the country. Since it was founded in 1994. the company has about 10 million square feet of commercial assets and 2,100 multifamily units.

Betting on a “dramatic and troubling increase” in defaults, foreclosures, receiverships and bankruptcy filings across the country, the company created a $200 million fund to target distressed assets in response to the pandemic in 2020.

“BH Properties sees a growing opportunity to acquire attractive real estate by buying non-performing loans over the next few months as raising borrowing costs make refinancing harder and harder. The choppier the markets get, the better for groups like us that thrive on these market disruptions,” Brooks said in an interview in July 2022 on a real estate website, Real Estate Capital USA.

Brokers David Klein and Jeff Moeller of Lee & Associates are leasing agents for the HNU property.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.