Tesla leases 149K sf at distribution warehouse in Hayward

Tesla will take up half of a nearly 300,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in Hayward.

The Texas-based electric carmaker leased 148,500 square feet of the building at 22290 Hathaway Avenue, the San Francisco Business Times reported, citing unidentified sources.

The 297,000-square-foot distribution warehouse is owned by San Francisco-based Prologis. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Prologis acquired the building a block east of Interstate 880 in 2018 as part of its $8.5 billion acquisition of DCT Industrial Trust, which bought the property in 2015 for $16.6 million.

Marketing materials describe the property as an industrial distribution site, which became available early last year. It isn’t clear how Tesla, headed by Elon Musk, wants to use the warehouse building.

Brokers Sam Higgins and Tom Damaschino of KBC Advisors represented Prologis, and shared the listing with broker Jeff Starkovich of Cushman & Wakefield.

The second half of the Hathaway facility remains available for lease.

The Tesla deal comes during what industry observers say has been a flat period for the East Bay industrial market, which saw unprecedented growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Business Times.

It’s not not clear how much warehouse space Tesla leases in the Bay Area. It operates seven factories, including its original one in Fremont, just south of Hayward, according to regulatory filings.

In 2017, the EV firm leased more than 1 million square feet of warehouses in Livermore for an unspecified period in one of the largest industrial leases in the East Bay. Tesla appears to still occupy the two buildings, and is now hiring for warehouse positions based in Livermore.

— Dana Bartholomew