The Oakland Towel Company (also known as Filbert Street lofts or Bayside Lofts) is a historical landmark building at the border of West Oakland and Emeryville, CA built in 1924 and now a multi unit loft live/work residence. The complex was converted into residential spaces in the 90’s and since then it has undergone expansive retrofitting, upgrades and ongoing beautification.

The community living at OTC are a tight group of entrepreneurs, professionals, business owners, musicians and artists who like to consider this their creative oasis. There are several businesses running within the units and also a high end hair salon (Davis Saiz) with a store front on the eastern side of the building. This is the perfect setting for a small business.

Unit 25 also nicknamed “Las Cuatro Palmeras”, by its iconic view while looking west from the top floor is a one of a kind 1471 sqf south facing craftsman loft, with two main levels (12 to 14 feet ceilings), an additional office/bedroom third level mezzanine with solid half inch recovered cherry flooring and siding, a storage/garage/craft area and three large walk in closet spaces. The top floor with its old warehouse style windows, which cover most of the south facing exterior wall is bathed in natural light all day. Brand new solid wood Oak and recovered solid Cherry floors have been professionally installed throughout the home in unique artistic geometric patterns contrasting with some of the concrete areas and weathered wood which have been left in their original charm. You will enjoy walking barefoot around the house. Most floors have been treated with hypoallergenic oils and waxes to exalt the natural features of the wood while protecting it.

The bottom level features a stunning new 17x12 craftsman interlaced oak “stage”. This area can be used as a master bedroom, art room, or as a, photography, yoga, dance, events studio rental etc…

- View of the Bay and the San Francisco skyline and sun setting every night. The units facing 28th street are lucky enough to enjoy the view of our neighboring sister city while facing west and parts of downtown Oakland when looking to the east.

-This unit features two separate independent entrances. One can be accessed through the main zen like courtyard garden, past the included gated parking and the other is on 28th street for easy ground level load/unload. The giant roll up industrial metal garage door is fully functional and has been recently refinished. The bottom floor could be rented as an additional income with its own entrance while being separated by the rest of the home.

-Aside from the assigned gated parking spot that comes with the unit there is also a gated guest parking and abundant street parking always available in front of the 28th entrance/garage. Your guests will never have to circle around to visit you!

-The few units facing 28th street at OTC are also part of the “original” 1920’s structure of the building with 10 to 14 inch thick concrete walls, heavy duty vintage industrial windows and original metal fixtures throughout the home.

-The ground floor features a 90 year old functioning fire safety door. The steampunk counterweight sliding corrugated galvanized door separates the downstairs area with the upstairs area when closed.

-Being at the center of the building there is a very thick structural cement wall on the whole eastern side of the unit on both levels. Aside from adding a beautiful wood grain/cement pattern, (left in its raw state on the top floor) this wall provides additional noise reduction with the neighboring unit and a general sense of stability throughout the home.

The thick walls allow for very low noise propagation with the adjacent units providing consistant room temperature all year long. The heater has rarely been used on the bottom floor. The room can also be sealed off from any light to create complete darkness for a good nights rest or as a sensory deprivation experience. The roof top above the unit is not meant for foot traffic so no noise is ever coming from that area.

- This unit has been recently upgraded with a highly efficient hybrid tankless (Eternal) water heater. The modern system allows for immediate and consistent hot water flow at any given time without ever running out, while conserving energy when not in use.

-The industrial windows of this unit have been recently reglazed with ¼ inch glass pane windows to replace the plastic ones that are present on most of the other units on this side of the building. This allows for good temperature preservation in all seasons and clear views. The frames have been left in their original vintage metal state. New custom pull down translucent shades discretely tuck in when not in use showcasing the full scope of the windows.

-The charming bathroom features a 1940’s solid wood record player custom designed to now function as the vanity. Brand new solid wood Oak floors have been professionally installed in a oblique angular fashion. Every other stave is stained with dark Kona color to create a modern striped floor.

-The large functional open kitchen with wood countertop cooking island, gas stove, and jumbo modern refrigerator is at the heart of the home making it a joy to entertain guests all in the same room. This area is very luminous throughout the day. Start your youtube cooking channel here!

-Power Outlets. This unit was built for creativity. There are several dozens of power outlets evenly displaced around the perimeter of the home for easy access.

-Storage and Closet Space. This unit has lots of storage space. The 160 sqf and 14 foot tall garage/craft/storage space can be used to store equipment, larger items, motorcycles or an area for your extra curricular hobby projects, art room where you can get a little messy without impacting the rest of the house. It also features, three pull up bike racks. The bottom floor has two walk in closets (7x5 and 8x5) and an additional closet located near the staircase. This has been used as a walk in Wine Cellar and pantry for its constant temperature being at the very core of the house. There is another closet space on the top floor, already set up with gas and water laundry connections. For 30$ a month owners can rent an additional 5x8 storage space just down the hall from the unit.

-The sunny West Oakland (Dogtown) neighborhood has been experiencing a renaissance still underway. In the last few years several 4 star + yelp eateries have popped up in this area including the local favorite, deli, beer garden “Stay Gold”, a gourmet pizza house “Spinning Dough” and breakfast eatery “Ivy Moon all just a few moments walking distance from the home. In June of 2019 a new community owned supermarket with, deli, to go food, organic produce and café has just opened two blocks away from The Oakland Towel Company!

 -The residence is also very conveniently located and minutes away from many major services:

4 min away from the fast track entrance to the San Francisco Bay Bridge. You are ON the bridge most of the times in less than 5 minutes bypassing all other SF bound traffic leading to the bridge.

5 minutes away from Safeway, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Sprouts, Downtown Oakland, Telegraph hill shops, Oakland First Fridays!

7 minutes away from Lake Merit, Whole Foods, Berkeley Bowl, Trader Joes, Ikea, BART.

When coming from San Francisco, the unit is located at the very first East Bay exit avoiding all freeway commuter traffic that crosses the rest of the city. (No wonder the locals call this area West San Francisco).

The unit is currently owned by musician, recording artist, artisan, wine importer Pietro Straccia. The space has been an enormous inspiration for various artistic and musical projects, including two commercially released albums, music videos, recording sessions, singing choirs, yoga and meditation classes not to mention hundreds of meals shared with friends and family. There are some good vibes here!

 The community at OTC has been organizing to try to make a positive impact on the whole neighborhood. Every few months volunteers from all units gather to do a neighborhood clean up aided by resources of the city of Oakland. This is one of the ways to contribute to this beautifully sunny gritty neighborhood that all residence love and call home and is also a way to bridge the connection with residence outside of the walls of OTC.  

The OTC is also a very pet friendly community of responsible owners.