RICHMOND — The historic Ford Point project in Richmond is completely filled with tenants now that the vast complex, a one-time auto assembly factory, has landed a big lease with a green energy company.
Moxion Power, a maker of mobile systems for the storage of clean energy, has leased 130,000 square feet in the Point Richmond complex, brokers with commercial real estate firms Cushman & Wakefield and JLL said Wednesday.
The new rental agreement leaves the landmark complex, which totals 517,000 square feet, 100% leased.
The lease represents a big early win for Ford Point’s new owners, Madison Capital and Meadow Partners, which teamed up to buy the Richmond complex in June when they paid $103.7 million for the property.
The Moxion Power lease was arranged by Cushman & Wakefield brokers Ted Anderson, Andrew Schmieder and Ryan Hattersley; and JLL brokers Mike Sample, Greg Matter and Patrick Metzger.
“We are thrilled to provide R&D and advanced manufacturing space to Moxion in support of their continued growth at Ford Point,” said Brian Riggle, a senior vice president with Madison Capital.
Moxion Power makes clean energy technologies that are mobile, allowing them to be used by construction, film production, live events, and disaster response companies and organizations.
“Temporary power generation is a critical part of many industries,” said Paul Huelskamp, Moxion Power’s chief executive officer and co-founder.
The company believes it can create mobile systems that provide temporary power that is clean energy.
“As industries look to decarbonize, there’s enormous demand for cleaner alternatives to the fossil-fuel-burning generators that these industries have historically relied on,” Huelskamp said.
Moxion Power on Sept. 28 disclosed that it had landed $100 million in second-stage financing, a funding round that is helping the company push ahead with the production of portable generators of clean energy.
The company is currently building out its first manufacturing center, which is being built in the Ford Point complex at 1414 Harbour Way S. in Richmond.
“This significant lease with Moxion is a testament to one-of-a-kind features Ford Point offers its tenants,” said Jeffrey Kaplan, managing partner with Meadow Partners.
The complex, which once was a huge Ford Motor automobile assembly factory, is perched on a waterfront and commands sweeping views of San Francisco Bay.
“Ford Point will change tenant expectations regarding what a best-in-class R&D and manufacturing solution should look like and how it should function,” said Ted Anderson, a managing director with Cushman & Wakefield. “The project combines unique features that cannot be found under a single roof.”
In 2004, the prior owner of Ford Point, Orton Development, bought the crumbling structure from the city of Richmond and launched a massive redevelopment of the property. Orton’s work included a complete seismic retrofit of the site, which was badly damaged in the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989.
Orton Development spent $40 million on the wide-ranging upgrade.
Now, the project features a brick facade, high factory-style windows, skylights that enable spaces that are lit during the day, as well as a sawtooth roof with a large solar system.
Other tenants including SunPower, Mountain Hardwear and California Closets.
“It’s truly a Swiss Army Knife of a project,” Anderson said.
