One of Lake Merritt's most recognizable buildings has a new owner. The Oakland Scottish Rite Center at 1547 Lakeside Drive sold for $9.2 million, SFist reports, citing the San Francisco Business Times.
The buyer
The buyer is reported to be an entity linked to the Art of Living Foundation. The nonprofit was founded in 1981 by Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and promotes meditation and breathing techniques. Its plans for the building were not disclosed. A foundation board member named in the sale documents could not be reached, according to the report.
Why it was for sale
Hoodline reported in September that the deal had gone into escrow after about a year on the market. Interest had come from symphony organizations, religious groups and performing-arts groups. Citing California Freemason Magazine, Hoodline said the Oakland Scottish Rite put the temple up for sale because of decades of unsustainable maintenance costs. Membership had dropped to just over 700, with most members living outside Oakland.
The building
The four-story temple has about 85,000 square feet and was built for the Freemasons in 1927. Salt air from the lake damaged the original facade, which led to a redesign in the late 1930s that gave it its Greek-influenced Art Deco look. Hoodline, citing The Mercury News, says the ground floor has a ballroom seating 800. Upper floors hold a banquet hall, billiards room and library, and the top-floor auditorium has a full stage and a pipe organ. The building got a $1.2 million renovation in 2014.
The sale also includes a surface parking lot next door, which reports say could be a site for future commercial or mixed-use development.