Claremont Hotel Owners Considering Building Condos in the Hotel Parking Lot

The current owner of the Claremont Hotel in Oakland is the Fairmont Hotel Chain and Richard Blum, who is the husband of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein; are working with developer Michael Ghielmetti of Signature Properties to build 45 condominiums in the hotel’s parking lot, according to the San Jose Mercury News.(1)

The grand hotel was built 100 years ago in the English Tudor style architecture, and some have referred to it as the wedding cake on the hill, on the border between Berkely and Oakland between Highway 24 and the UC Berkeley campus.

The hotel has a glamorous history, once known as a hangout for UC Berkeley students for live music and dancing, and host for many memorable local events over the decades. The property was purchased by The Fairmont Hotel chain and Blum 2 years ago, and their plans to renovate the lobby, dining are and rooms have commenced. The hotel has landmark status with the City of Oakland, but this only includes the hotel, not the surrounding property.

The developer, Michael Ghielmetti with Signature Properties, has started meeting with local residents to assure them that their quality of life will not be diminished by the construction of the condos, and in fact, will improve housing availability in Oakland, so that seniors can downsize and free up homes for new families in the area. Ghielmetti is also meeting with City of Oakland planning staff about the project, and Rachel Flynn, who is head of that department, says that the City is intrigued by the proposal.

Time will tell if the project gets approval. Another similar proposal made in 2000 did not come to fruition.

About Anian Tunney

Anian Tunney is an agent broker with The Grubb Company. According to statistics collected by East Bay Regional Data, Inc., she was the 2014 number one real estate agent in Piedmont, CA for the number of units sold and sales volume. In 2014 she was The Grubb Company company-wide top producer. Additionally, Tunney has been number 1 in yearly real estate sales for The Grubb Company’s Piedmont office for the last 8 years. Anian was also ranked 129th in the Nation by REAL Trends the Thousand in July 2015. She is known for her knowledge, experience, and network in the Piedmont community; qualities which are invaluable for finding that special home or buyers for her clients.

A fifth generation Piedmont resident, Tunney has been with the Grubb Company for over 30 years. She raised her family of four in Piedmont and is active in community projects such as the Piedmont Beautification Foundation, the East Bay Museum Auxiliary, and the Piedmont school district. Her grandmother, Amy Sutton, was a real estate agent, and now Anian works with her daughter Adrienne Krumins, making Piedmont Realty truly a family vocation. Tunney negotiates with grace and clarity of purpose. She can be contacted at 510-339-0400 ext 217, and at tunney(at)grubbco(dot)com. Her website is aniantunney.com.

Contact Information

Anian Tunney
The Grubb Company Real Estate Brokers
Oakland, CA 94611
510-339-0400 ext 217
tunney(at)grubbco(dot)com
aniantunney.com
aniantunney.com/blog

(1) http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate-news/ci_29785931/oakland-landmark...

Image credit: Claremont Hotel website