A portable clean energy startup has leased 130,000 square feet at a former Ford assembly plant in Richmond, bringing the historic Ford Point complex to full occupancy.
Moxion Power, based in Richmond, leased space for its first manufacturing facility at 1414 Harbour Way South, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
The lease is a win for New York-based Madison Capital and Meadow Partners, which paid $103.7 million in June for the landmark offices on Ford Point, with sweeping views of San Francisco Bay.
The 517,000-square-foot complex – which includes such tenants as SunPower, Mountain Hardwear, Columbia Sportswear, California Closets and Ekso Bionics – is now fully leased.
Brokers Ted Anderson, Andrew Schmieder and Ryan Hattersley of Cushman & Wakefield represented Madison Capital and Meadow Partners. JLL brokers Mike Sample, Greg Matter and Patrick Metzger represented Moxion.
Moxion Power makes clean energy generators that are mobile, giving temporary power for construction, film production, live events, EV fleets and disaster response companies.
Last week, the Y Combinator-backed company ended a $100 million Series B funding round to help the company scale up production of its portable clean energy generators at its Ford Point manufacturing plant. It plans to open a second U.S. factory in 2024.
The Ford Point property, designed by industrial architect Albert Kahn, was once the East Bay site of a 26.5-acre Ford Motor factory that produced cars until 1955. During World War II, the plant produced tanks. Ford Point is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Orton Development bought the crumbling complex with a sawtooth roof in 2004 from the city of Richmond. It then spent $51.3 million to redevelop the one-time auto plant, which included a seismic retrofit of the building that was badly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.
The brick building has high factory-style windows, skylights for natural light, a large solar system, off-street parking, EV charging stations and dock- and grade-level loading platforms.
The Ford Point adaptive reuse development won the American Institute of Architects National Honor Award in 2011. Ford Point also is also home to The Craneway Pavilion restaurant and event space and the Rosie the Riveter museum.
— Dana Bartholomew
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