Jack London Square Movers on the Oakland Estuary

Jack London Square is the south end of downtown Oakland, where Broadway runs out at the estuary. The waterfront promenade, the ferry terminal and the Amtrak station sit close together, and Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon still stands near the water. Behind the square, the old produce market and warehouse blocks between the Embarcadero and I-880 have filled with lofts, studios, restaurants and new apartment buildings.

There are few single-family houses here. Homes are converted warehouse lofts with freight elevators, live-work units with roll-up doors, and newer mid-rise and high-rise apartment buildings with garages, loading areas and a front desk. Lofts bring their own puzzles: tall shelving, big sectional sofas, artwork and desks that were assembled inside the space. We take apart what needs taking apart and wrap the rest before it leaves the unit.

Live-work units add business gear to the inventory: work tables, shelving, files and equipment that belong to a studio as much as a home. Tell us about it at the estimate so the crew size and time match the real load, and label anything that goes to a different room or a different address.

Most buildings near the square ask residents to reserve an elevator or loading slot and many want a certificate of insurance. We issue COIs at no charge; send the management name, mailing address and email. Elevator waiting time counts as job time, so a booked elevator keeps your bill down. Rail tracks run along the Embarcadero and trains pass through, so the truck never stops on them. Where the curb is tight, David reviews the address beforehand and tells you whether a shuttle is needed.

ZIP 94607 sent too few requests this year to report on its own, so here is the citywide picture: from mid-July to late October 2026, Oakland addresses appeared on 10 quote requests, all local moves, and 8 of them booked or completed. Two-bedroom homes were the most common size listed.

Studios and one-bedroom lofts are often 3-mover jobs at $175 per hour; a very small studio can go with 2 movers at $145. Four movers at $235 apply to three bedrooms over 1,800 square feet or four bedrooms and up. The minimum is 3 hours, then 15-minute increments, the same price every day of the week. Floor runners, blankets and tape are included.

Jack London Square moving cost by home size

The hourly rate alone says little about the total, so we took the final invoices on our own recent local moves and laid them out by home size. Nothing here is binding. The actual charge is the rate times the hours, counted in quarter hours.

Source: final invoices on our own local moves for direct customers, July to October 2026, middle half of each size group, not counting account or partner-billed jobs or jobs where we packed the whole home. Materials are billed as used; minimum 3 hours, then 15-minute increments.

For a live-work unit, read the row one size up if the studio side is full of tables, shelving and equipment, and tell us about it at the estimate.

The square is about 38 miles northwest of downtown San Jose, straight up I-880. Arrival for East Bay mornings is 9-11 AM, and the crew calls half an hour before they get there. You do not pay for that trip. If you are moving across the bay or anywhere more than 10 minutes away, the drive between your two addresses is doubled by state rule.

• Book the freight elevator or loading dock and confirm the time in writing.
• Forward the building's COI requirements to us at least a few days early.
• Measure the elevator cab for long sofas and tall shelving.
• Leave a building access fob or code with someone on site.
• Empty dresser drawers; the foreman decides if light items can stay.
• Check the Square's event calendar so a weekend festival does not block your curb.

• Lake Merritt: apartment towers and older buildings around the lake.
• Adams Point: 1920s apartment blocks on the lake's north shore.
• Piedmont Avenue: shingle homes and fourplexes uphill.
• Emeryville: condos and lofts along the bay to the northwest.

See apartment movers.