As Red Oak Realty continues to grow in market share — helping more buyers and sellers than ever in our 45 year history — our need for physical office space is actually declining. With both the advances in technology and the aftermath of the pandemic, we are now serving our clients in different ways by using more digital communication and connecting with them where they want to meet.
That’s why, later this year, we are closing our location at the top of Solano Avenue and moving our agents and staff to two of our closest offices: 1575 Hopkins St., Berkeley (across from Monterey Market) and 7502 Fairmount Ave., El Cerrito (across from Fat Apples).
The Solano office has been an important part of our history: after the company was founded in a hot tub in 1976, the original owners operated out of a garage at 844 Ramona in Albany. A year later, the first true office space was launched at 1891 Solano Ave. From that storefront we saw Berkeley and the real estate market change over the course of over four decades — in the beginning, new listings were first announced in print (not in the MLS books), purchase contracts were only a half-page long, and prices had only five digits.
Now, as we continue to evolve as a brokerage, we are excited to downsize one location yet renovate and reimagine two of our existing offices.
Our Hopkins office just completed a significant redesign. Led by The Home Co, a fellow local- and woman-owned business, we created a welcoming yet modern twist on a shared work environment with warm, textured elements more reminiscent of a home than an office. Much attention has been placed on connecting the lush outdoor garden and its water features, string lighting and patio seating, to a chic interior where our busy agents and staff interact.
Our El Cerrito space will be undergoing a major redesign this winter, incorporating environmentally friendly materials, lush interior landscaping and living walls, and inviting work and meeting spaces that focus on community engagement and collaboration.
We believe that if we are heading back into the office to work, it should be in a beautifully designed space. We are excited to be able to open that location back up to the public early in the new year while continuing to serve our Berkeley, El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond and Kensington markets.
This evolution also serves to reduce our environmental footprint by consolidating our use of electricity and water. As a green-certified and carbon-neutral company, we continue to take action that minimizes our carbon footprint.
We look forward to continuing to serve our Berkeley community and seeing you around the neighborhood.
