Lincoln Landing, a large residential and retail complex in downtown Hayward, has been sold in a $205.3 million all-cash deal. Essex Property Group, based in San Mateo, bought the property through an affiliate, adding a newly built community to its East Bay portfolio. Essex Property Trust’s SEC filing lists 474 apartment units at Lincoln Landing, though some news outlets have cited 476 units. The property also includes about 80,500 square feet of ground-floor retail. Alameda County Recorder’s Office officially recorded the transaction on October 28, 2026.
The development at 22335 Foothill Boulevard consists of two six-story buildings. City Sports Club anchors the commercial section. The site was once the headquarters of the Mervyn’s department store chain before its 2008 collapse. Hayward city officials approved the site’s conversion to a mixed-use project in 2017, and Lincoln Landing opened its first phase in 2022. Bridge Investment Group and Dollinger Properties developed the project, showing how a large, outdated corporate site can be turned into downtown-focused housing and retail.
Recent acquisitions and market context
This deal comes after Essex Property Group’s purchase of the 378-unit Portico apartment community in Oakland’s Brooklyn Basin. The Registry reported that Essex took control of Portico by liquidating a $64.2 million subordinated loan and paying off a $92.3 million senior mortgage, in a $156.5 million debt workout with the previous developer, Cityview. Portico was built in 2024 and represents a credit-driven ownership change, which differs from the all-cash, stabilized buy of Lincoln Landing.
The reported sale price for Lincoln Landing works out to about $433,333 per apartment using the 474-unit figure from Essex’s SEC filing, or roughly $431,300 per unit if using the 476-unit count from some reports. This per-unit price stands well above typical East Bay deals, with The Mercury News and Kidder Mathews putting the East Bay average at $267,600 per unit and the Bay Area third-quarter average at $387,410 per unit. The priciest multifamily sale in the Bay Area last quarter was KKR’s sale of the 636-unit Lynhaven property in San Jose to Greystar for $346.5 million, or $544,810 per unit, while the highest per-unit price was Brookfield’s sale of The Village Residences in Mountain View to Property Reserve for $896,375 per apartment.
Essex’s SEC filing states that the Lincoln Landing acquisition happened after the reporting quarter and will be included in the company’s fourth quarter 2026 results, affecting Essex’s property count, assets, and rental revenue in future financial reports. The filing does not include projected net operating income, occupancy, or rent growth for Lincoln Landing. Alameda County Recorder’s Office documents confirm the transaction date, buyer structure, and reported price, establishing the property transfer as of October 28, 2026.
For more details, see The Real Deal’s coverage of the acquisition.
