Call Center Firm Purchases Oakland's Tribune Tower

Tribune Tower, Oakland (photo from Oakland Public Library)

In a telling sign of the times, CallSocket, a call center outfit, has acquired Oakland, California's historic Tribune Tower building. According to a story in today's San Jose Mercury News, the selling price was eight million dollars. By New York So96 standards, ocho million would barely qualify for the downpayment on a pavement parking lot. However, downtown Oakland is a different market.

The Tribune Tower used to house the Oakland Tribune newspaper. The publication moved some years ago to a building near the local airport.

What's curious about the Tribune Tower purchase is one of its buyers. "To assist with the purchase," the Mercury News story noted, "the buyers used a federal program designed for immigrant investors called EB-5 visa. Under modified versions of the original 1990 law, immigrants can obtain green cards for themselves and family members when they make significant investments and create jobs in areas where the jobless rate is 1.5 times the nationwide unemployment rate."