: Recycling has become today's catchword, and the renaissance in Oakland's downtown area provides' numerous cases of recy-. cling on a grand scale as entire buildings are ren- ovated, altered and reused. . I- Among the newest ex-: amples is the two-story ' Grove Building, at the corner of 18th Street' and Martin Luther King,-. Jr,' -. Way (formerly Grove Street).' Constructed id 1930, the building boasts huge rooms with lavishly dec-orated ceilings and tntfe-; rior architectural detail work belying the squat, blockish Federal Revival exterior. . . . - Sold in . 1984 to Da-Vies-McCoy, an investment real estate syndicating firm, the structure was rechristened The Grove Bulding and began its transforma-. tion from churchschool to office building . .What first .attracted us to the site," says Tim . McCoy, managing partner for the project, was theconvenience of the location. The building is a block from eastbound and Westbound Grove-Shaf ter Freeway on-ramps and offramps (Routes 24 and 980). . . .That puts our tenant -within minutes -of . tl e. Bay Bridge and ev-e y . major East Bay fl eeway. r. . JJke many who get C light up in recycling . b gildings, Davies-Mc- Daviet-McCoy property manager Lanri Davis points to converted light in 16-foot ceilings. ' Coy initially approached the project on a purely business basis, but then became hooked on the charm of the . building itself. The entry hall has arched,. 16-foot ceilings supported by square columns with hand-painted and. gilded capitals. A wide band of similarly decorated . high relief rides around the ..hallway atop the columns. . .Three huge rooms each with its own personality, grace the first floor. The Grand Room '. at. 1,600 square feet. easily the largest room, in the Grove Building . has. a beamed ceiling' with hand-stenciled flowers and patterns. . The rooms columns and ornate arches glow in the light from a wall of windows bn the build-'ings- 18th' Street Side. . The two other, large - rooms on the first floor, . although . less spectacular,- show similar flour-rishes. ... . We wanted to devel-op. office space that was ' convenient, functional and economic, but which still took advantage of all of the Grove Building's unique char acteris-tics explains McCoy, but we wanted something different from the usual new office building's plastic fantastic. , So the detailing , has been retained and restored wherever possible and combined with new paint, wall-to-wall carpeting, thin Venetian blinds and modern lighting. We even brought in a color consultant to help us ...coordinate - everything, says McCoy The. second floor - is more conventional, with very modern suites available, he aays.i Within blocks of the heart of Oaklands City . Center, the Grove Building, like many of its recycled kin, offers lower rents than the typical highrise. . : Davies-McCoy is offering new tenants paid utilities, custom modification of ; individual offices and controlled access through' a security intercom system, for less than . a dollar, per square foot . . - With obvious pride, McCoy says Of course, : were interested in renting or leasing the remaining space in the Grove Building, but Id be happy to show people through the building: Its one; of Oaklands . art-deco jewels..- , ..: Tim McCoy can be reached at his Grove Street Building office by calling 465-5020.
