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Basketball gym in the East Bay

buildings we looked at
OAKLAND TO MILPITAS · I-880

What every building was measured against

Clear floor ~100 × 70 ft
A column-free rectangle big enough for a full 84 × 50 court plus safe run-out around it.
Clear height ≥ 22 ft
Measured to the lowest thing hanging off the roof — joists, sprinkler main, lights — not the peak.
No posts in the court
A true clear span. A column in the playing area is a dealbreaker, not something to design around.
5+ year lease, or a purchase
Long enough that the cost of building out the court is worth it.
The right size
Target 8k–30k SF (a one-court gym) or stretch 30k–60k SF (run the gym, lease or own the rest).
Zoning workable
An indoor gym in these industrial zones usually needs a use permit — a step, not a wall.
buildings
Flagged ()
Ruled out ()

How we did this

We pulled every industrial and flex building in our system along the I-880 corridor from Oakland down to Milpitas, which runs through Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Castro Valley, Union City, Newark, Fremont and Milpitas. That came to 199 buildings, split into two groups, and each group covers both for-lease and for-sale. Target size is roughly 8,000 to 30,000 square feet, a one-court gym on its own. Stretch size is 30,000 to 60,000 square feet, big enough to run the gym and lease out the rest, or buy the whole building and do the same. Then we actually read each building, the full listing, the broker's brochure and floor plan, and the interior photos, and checked it against what a real gym needs: a clear floor of about 100 by 70 feet with no posts in the way (a full 84 by 50 court plus room to run out of bounds), at least 22 feet of height to the lowest thing hanging off the roof, and a lease of 5 years or more, or a purchase, so the cost of building it out is worth it. Green means it checks every box. Amber means it clears everything we can see on paper and comes down to one question for the listing agent. Grey means something rules it out for good, and the reason is right there on the card. Zoning is a step, not a wall: an indoor gym in these industrial areas usually needs a use permit, which is normal. Tap any building to see the reasoning and the source links, so you can check the work yourself.