Behring Converts Former Supercomputer Site Into Oakland AI Data Center

• Behring Companies plans to convert the 83,000-square-foot office building at 415 20th Street in Oakland into a specialized data center serving artificial intelligence companies.
• The property was previously used as a supercomputer facility and was built to support up to 20 megawatts of computing and power capacity.
• Behring acquired the property from Hines for $6.8 million in December, after Hines abandoned plans for a 39-story, 800,000-square-foot office tower at the site.
• Behring has already attracted interest from robotics companies, AI research firms, lab operators and cloud providers, with 15 tours during the first two weeks of marketing.

What Behring Is Planning For 415 20th Street

Behring Companies is shifting the future of 415 20th Street in downtown Oakland away from traditional office space and toward artificial intelligence infrastructure. The developer plans to renovate the existing 83,000-square-foot building into a specialized data center designed to serve AI companies. The property has a notable history as a former supercomputer facility used by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, giving the building existing infrastructure that could support its next use. Behring is upgrading the property's power infrastructure and could lease the entire facility to a single tenant or divide it among multiple users.

What Makes The Site Attractive For AI

The property's existing infrastructure is a major part of the redevelopment strategy. The building was designed to handle as much as 20 megawatts of computing and power capacity, an important consideration as AI companies search for locations with access to substantial electrical capacity. Behring CEO and founder Colin Behring said the company sees the property as a potential high-performance computing location for AI applications.

“One of the most capable AI inference compute facilities” in the Bay Area.

The planned facility would support the computing infrastructure behind AI tools and services, while also giving Behring an opportunity to repurpose an existing office property rather than pursue a ground-up development.

What The Property's History Means

The conversion is a major change from the site's previous development plans. Hines had secured approval for an approximately 800,000-square-foot, 39-story office tower at the property. The company ultimately abandoned the project in 2023 after determining that the development was no longer economically feasible. Behring later acquired the existing 415 20th Street property from Hines for $6.8 million, or approximately $81 per square foot. Hines had paid approximately $63 million, or about $433 per square foot, for the property in 2019. The dramatic difference in acquisition pricing gives Behring a much lower basis from which to reposition the property.

What The Oakland Innovation Campus Includes

The data center conversion is part of a broader strategy by Behring to create an innovation-focused cluster in Uptown Oakland. The property sits behind Behring's 1900 Broadway apartment tower, which contains 452 residential units, and across from 1950 Franklin, a 446,000-square-foot office building Behring acquired from Kaiser Permanente in 2024. A nearby 635-space parking garage is also being used by Tesla's autonomous vehicle fleet. Behring is targeting companies involved in the physical side of artificial intelligence, including autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics and smart-building technology. The company is also in talks with a robotics firm about creating a lab and showroom at 1900 Broadway.

What Tenant Demand Looks Like

The company has already seen interest from potential users of the 415 20th Street facility. Behring said it recorded 15 property tours during the first two weeks of marketing, with interest coming from robotics companies, AI research and laboratory firms and cloud providers. Some prospective users are also looking for nearby office space, which could benefit Behring's larger Oakland campus strategy by creating demand across several properties rather than at the data center alone.

What Comes Next For The Conversion

Behring is currently renovating the building and upgrading its power infrastructure. The company has not announced a specific tenant, construction completion date or final configuration for the data center. The property could ultimately be leased to one large user or divided among multiple tenants, depending on demand. The repositioning also reflects a broader shift in commercial real estate, as owners look for alternatives to conventional office use and AI-related companies compete for specialized facilities with sufficient power and infrastructure.