OAKLAND — The company that owns a historic downtown Oakland building has filed for bankruptcy in the wake of a loan default that could lead to a foreclosure of the delinquent mortgage.
Lamumba Inc., which does business as Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, filed to reorganize its finances under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Geoffrey’s Inner Circle sign at 410 14th Street and 1411 Franklin Street, a four-story, 40,000-square-foot retail, commercial and office building in downtown Oakland, seen in Feb. 2025. (Google Maps)
Geoffrey Pete, chief executive officer of Lamumba Inc., had previously staged a lengthy battle to thwart the development of a 40-story housing tower next door to the building his company owns at 410 14th St. and 1411 Franklin St. City officials eventually approved the tower.
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In April, property lender Tellone Mortgage Fund filed a notice of default with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office that the $4.25 million loan Tellone had provided to Lamumba in 2021 was delinquent.
The Lamumba bankruptcy case is poised to delay a foreclosure on the building’s loan while a federal court oversees the company’s efforts to reorganize its finances.
This news organization reached out to Pete in April when the loan default was filed with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office. Similar attempts have been made in the wake of the bankruptcy filing.
Pete and Lamumba estimated the building is valued at $12 million, court papers show. The four-story building was constructed in 1901 and is known as the Athenian-Nile Club Building.
It includes ground-floor retail spaces, a second floor that’s used for live events and a jazz music venue and a third floor with a large ballroom and commercial kitchen, the bankruptcy filing shows.
“Mr. Pete’s business, Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, occupies the upper floors and hosts events every week, including Jazz at Geoffrey’s on Sundays,” states a post on the Oakland Wiki website regarding the Athenian-Nile Club building.
The court papers didn’t describe any uses for the fourth floor.
“The property was last appraised in 2018 for $8.4 million,” Lamumba and Pete stated in the court papers. “The debtor is in the process of obtaining an updated appraisal report.”
The filing didn’t provide a timeline for completion of the new appraisal.
Pete argued in multiple public hearings held by the Oakland Planning Commission and Oakland City Council that the proposed housing tower would harm his longtime business.
Just before a final hearing was held in January 2024, Pete abruptly withdrew his appeal, clearing the way for Tidewater Capital to construct the residential tower. Despite the approval, the precise timeline for the development and completion of the highrise is unclear.
Pete’s decision to drop his appeal of the housing tower was linked to assurances from the Oakland City Council made in January 2024 to provide financial resources to Geoffrey’s Inner Circle and the Black Art Movement and Business District.
In August 2024, Pete asserted that the item to finalize approval of the financial resources was removed from the City Council agenda on multiple occasions, according to a report by the Oakland Post.
Besides Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, merchants located in the historic building include Fourteenth Street Market, Timbuktu 1, Yoko African Art, Minto’s Jamaican Patties and Juice Bar, Oakland Ink, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Central Nails and Truve Fit, according to Google Maps.
The Athenian-Nile Club building originally hosted an all-white, men’s-only club where Oakland’s elite would gather to socialize or conduct business, according to multiple sources, including Oakland Wiki.
“The Athenian Club did not allow African-Americans to participate,” states a post on the Oakland Wiki website. “The purchase of the building by African-American leader Geoffrey Pete was seen as both a symbolic and a practical victory for civil rights.”