Please dont delay this project any longer.. The goal was to promote housing, local cultural retail districts, and economic development in the distressed community of Oakland, California. A $650 million,1,032-unit apartment complex paying homage to the west side's vibrant jazz and blues scene of the 1940s and '50s is on track to break ground near the West Oakland BART st "This parcel clearly had trouble, beginning with a freeway that the community may or may not have wanted, planning commissioner Jonathan Fearn said at Thursday's meeting, per the East Bay Times. Feds probe West Oakland development for racial bias on pollution . But the BART tracks in particular made operating a music venue near impossible. Every neighbor I know wants to see this building built. The existing site features a long and thin warehouse with loading docks that totals 19,500 square feet, information posted in the LoopNet commercial property database shows. This applies to projects initiated prior to September 5, 2018, and to Planned Unit Developments (PUDs). He is a graduate of San Jose State University with a BA degree in broadcasting and journalism. The project would include a number of residential amenities and open spaces, the proposal from The Martin Group states. Head-Royce School Expansion Project. The narrow 20,900 square foot decorated Art Alley pedestrian walkway performs a similar task, uniting Chester Street and Mandela Parkway to BART. I absolutely do not trust a developer to be upfront about environmental concerns or have our environmental justice in mind, Wheeler said. I really dont think we need more market-rate and above market-rate housing, especially in communities of concern like West Oakland, said Wheeler, who used to live in the neighborhood. This project will improve access for traffic to and from the I-880 freeway ramps, the City of Oakland, and the City of Alameda. Kim was one of the principal owners of an apartment building at 2551 San Pablo Ave. in Oakland that was gutted in a fatal fire that killed four people and displaced as many as 100 very low-income tenants in March 2017. Speaking to the Chronicle, Steve Lowe, vice president of the West Oakland Commerce Association, says, "I think everybody wants to see vitality on Seventh Street. According to the project website, its design is filled with activity that highlights what makes West Oakland unique.. It was Oaklands planning staff that ultimately stopped councilmembers from formally voting to require additional environmental review, the Business Times reported. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. Among many successes over the years, Hensel Phelps and SUDA jointly undertook the development of Thomas Berkley Square at 2000 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA. Then it was appealed by East Bay Residents for Responsible Development, a labor coalition, which alleged the project needed another environmental study to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act. Cypress is located in between the Acorn neighborhood and Lower Bottoms neighborhood in West Oakland. Ominous signs hint at wobbly Bay Area hotel market Sonnenfeld said YIMBYs lawyers suspect the dispute is more about labor than the environment and that the East Bay Residents For Responsible Development halted plans because it was angry with the developer for not agreeing to bid to only union subcontractors. Theres no funding source for this and other projects around West Oakland BART, so this project wont be built for a while. In West Oakland, growing food on a small-scale, ecologically sustainable and socially-minded way is an effort to combat the food desert [citation needed].West Oakland's high levels of food insecurity stems from racial, ethnic, and socio-economic disparities- a history of poverty . Councilmember Dan Kalb of District 1 closed the meeting by encouraging discussion among the East Bay Residents coalition and The Michaels Organization. Semantha Norris and Ayla Burnett on December 13, 2021. The Acorn or Acorn Projects are a series of housing projects in the Acorn Redevelopment Project Area of West Oakland. You may also refer to the City's List of Major Development Projects and our Interactive Map of Major Development Projects. Starter Bakery opens in Oakland | County eviction moratorium expiring in April | Get tickets to Culture Makers, {{#label}}{{label}}: {{/label}}{{message}}. 98th & San Leandro (Madison Park) Brooklyn Basin (formerly "Oak to Ninth Mixed Use Development") Claremont Hotel. The proposed project consists of demolition of an existing single-story commercial building and surface parking, the proposal by the Martin Group states. Patrick Kennedy, Panoramic Interestspck@panoramic.com, (415) 701-7001, Design Review Committee supported project, Request for Development Agreement Submitted, 500 Kirkham Street Mixed-Use Development Project. The site is approximately 5.58 acres bounded by 7th St to the north, 5th St to the south, Chester St to the west, and Mandela Parkway to the east. West Oakland residents appear split on Golden West and larger development efforts. Developers have assembled land and proposed many projects recent years, including: 500 Kirkham, a 1,032-unit project set from Panoramic Interests set to replace a vacant parking lot a block. Golden West would add 222 apartments next to BART station Jul 25, 2022, 8:30 AM By TRD Staff SHARE THIS ARTICLE A plan to build 222 apartments in West Oakland has been approved by the. 460 24th St. (Pigozzi Project) 500 Kirkham Street Mixed-Use Development Project. Facing continued pushback from Oakland's Planning Department with respect to the "monotonous and bulky massing," the lack of a "rich public-private interface" and a lackluster tower design for the proposed 1,032-unit "Hub" development to rise upon . Children watch as a house is bulldozed in West Oakland, June 12, 1968. They forgot to include the hundreds of homeless tents in these renderings. Allow 48 business hours for a response. Oakland Mixed-Use. Look at the honey trap theyre building right on top of our existing poverty. The 15,950 square foot Center Square will offer a landscaped pedestrian artery connecting 5th Street with the BART entrance. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource). Urban agriculture in West Oakland involves the implementation of Urban agriculture in West Oakland, California.. By: Andrew Nelson 5:30 am on January 20, 2022. Mandela Station aerial view with Downtown Oakland in the background, rendering by JRDV Urban International, on "Detailed Rendering for Mandela Station at West Oakland", Construction At 2359 Harrison Street in Northgate-Waverly, Oakland, BayTech Charter School Revitalizing Palace Theater in Fruitvale, Oakland, Application Filed for Jewish Community Hub at 5901 College Avenue, Rockridge, Oakland, Concrete Rising for Affordable Housing at 1666 7th Street, West Oakland, New Renderings, Meeting Thursday for 2190 Shattuck Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, YIMBY Exclusive: First Builders Remedy Plan For Bay Area Revealed in Los Altos Hills, YIMBY Tours 300 Kansas Street For Official Topping-Out in San Francisco, Development Permits Filed for Town Tower, Oaklands Tallest Residential Proposal. Theres no dispute that theres benzene, lead, and other cancer-causing materials in the soil, he said. Over 400 stakeholders contributed input. Scott Cooper, vice president of development with Michaels, said that invalidating the sites environmental impact report would invalidate the entire West Oakland Specific Plan because the report was completed under the umbrella of the plans environmental analysis. The proposed development at 1357 5th St. in Oakland is also slated to include an adjacent parking structure with 720 spaces. The three-phased development will provide a total of 1,032 units and nearly 35,000 square feet of commercial space and includes the following: In December 2019, the Developer submitted a request to the City of Oakland to enter into a Development Agreement to extend the life of their entitlement. Were hemorrhaging our Black population, were hemorrhaging our low-income population. ga('send', 'event', 'Robert Becker', 'Impression', 'https://sfyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/desktop-ad.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); ga('send', 'event', 'SF YIMBY', 'Impression', 'https://sfyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/sfyimbyadnews.jpg', { nonInteraction: true });ADVERTISEMENT. development projects pursuant to the Specific Plan, in order to provide this information to the public and decision-makers. Development Area T4: 100-ft tall mid-rise commercial office building with 300,000 sq ft of office and approximately 23,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail. San Franciscos Board of Supervisors believes that words matter and theyre aiming to change the lexicon around how we stamp criminals and the illegal behavior theyve engaged in. An SFPD officer and an auto-burglary suspect were both struck by an unmarked police car, someone just crossed the Pacific on a standup paddle board, and Tokyo amen spot Tsuta is opening at the Metreon. Jay C. Barmann is a fiction writer and web editor who's lived in San Francisco for 20+ years. The T4 building will become an office and life sciences building, spanning over 300,000 square feet across ten floors. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. The report stated that the project would have new and more severe impacts than previously analyzed in the earlier environmental report which cannot be substantially mitigated. The 71-year-old former chairwoman of the Black Panther Party has partnered with an Alameda County supervisor to transform a vacant West Oakland lot near the. You can find all project related documents and information on this page. The Michaels Organization, a New Jersey-based developer that creates housing across all markets, from affordable units to luxury apartments, has been trying to develop the site for more than a decade. I dont believe that their appeal aligns with the feelings of myself or our neighbors in South Prescott, who in my experience are uniformly positive about the project, said, Sean Taylor, who lives two blocks from the site. The coalition and the council are particularly concerned about benzene, lead, diesel, and other hazardous substances that could harm workers and nearby residents. The Oakland Planning Commission approved a huge housing project at the West Oakland BART station last week, part of a push for more affordable housing near public transportation. However, the construction site burned down in 2012 in what was later ruled an arson. Living Downstream. An amenity building proposed for the project would total roughly 5,500 square feet. Mandela Station view from 5th Street, rendering by JRDV Urban International, Mandela Station market cafe along 7th Street, rendering by JRDV Urban International, West Oakland BART development T1 Building seen along 7th Street, rendering courtesy JRDV, West Oakland BART development T3 Building, rendering courtesy JRDV, West Oakland BART public plaza, rendering courtesy JRDV, Mandela Station 7th Street and Mandela Parkway view, rendering by JRDV Urban International. King, Nat King Cole, Al Green, and Etta James. Born and raised in Oakland, Harper lost her housing after losing her job at a non-profit during the 2008 financial crisis. Im really concerned about the historic harm of the pollution in the air and the water and the ground in West Oakland, she said. In February 2019, China Harbour Engineering Co. (CHEC) and their development partner Strategic Urban Development Alliance (SUDA) secured entitlements from the City of Oakland for a mixed-use transit-oriented development project on BART property, consisting of 382,460 square feet of office space, 762 residential units (240 of which will be Improving bicycle and pedestrian safety North of Lake Merritt. The facility will create 522 market-rate homes with over 14,000 square feet of ground-level retail and parking for 125 vehicles. A plan to build 222 apartments in West Oakland has been approved by the Oakland City Council, but the developer says 15 months of delays by officials may kill the project. We amplify community voices, share the power of real information, and investigate systems, not just symptoms. They want more density and they want more neighbors. The plan establishes a target of bringing nearly four-million square feet of new business and industrial space to the neighborhood and opens the door for a major commercial, office, and retail. The reporters and editors on The Oaklandside are dedicated to sharing the mic, reporting on systems, not symptoms, and providing you with the information you need to be an informed resident of our city. Sign up for The Oaklandsides free daily newsletter. But the approval came after a rejected appeal from a labor group that should never have been considered under state environmental laws, company officials and housing advocates say. Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. But the vote to reject the appeal came with conditions that Michaels provide air filtration and work with the county to ensure soil, ground and water contamination be remediated tasks normally required of all developers in the county. I also hope they employ local carpenters. Preliminary development permits have been filed to propel the Mandela Station project at West Oakland BART development located at 1451 7th Street in West Oakland. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. City Ventures has started construction on a 171-unit for-sale townhouse project in West Oakland. Cooper said that his attorney tried to reach out to the East Bay Residents coalitions counsel on a number of occasions to settle the environmental matters. Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided, Stanford University sues Santa Clara County to give tax relief to faculty homeowners, The 10 most expensive reported home sales in Palo Alto the week of Feb. 20, Dear Abby: I love my wife but I think I better get divorced, Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life, Harriette Cole: She has gone too far with the remote work option, Bobcat seen using Highway 17 wildlife crossing hours after it opens, Authorities: Man bombed PG&E transformers in South San Jose, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, William backed Harry and Meghan's eviction, prefers brother never 'set foot in England again', Ask Amy: I didn't ask for what I wanted, and I'm sad they couldn't guess, Map in Murdaugh murder case: 5 deaths and a mysterious shooting, Miss Manners: I felt bad that they all skipped her baby shower -- and then I found out why, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. The Michaels Organization, based in New Jersey, was given a green light by the City Council to build the 222-unit complex at 1396 Fifth Street on a vacant lot next to the BART station, the San Francisco Business Times reported. Parking will also be included for bicycles. Eminent domain is the constitutionally sanctioned power of government to purchase private property for public usewith or without the owners' consent. But market-rate housing isnt what the city needs, and building that would create a ripple effect,said Dominique Mouton, writer and creator of The Lower Bottoms, a fictional podcast about the tensions in a gentrifying West Oakland neighborhood. West Oakland BART site map, map courtesy JRDV. The East Bay Residents group has denied those accusations, saying it was concerned for the safety of West Oakland residents, including its workers who live there. The public lot provides daily and monthly fee parking. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! But what I want to do is ensure the safety of the residents of this particular neighborhood, as well as the people who will be traversing that particular neighborhood.. The mixed-use development will include nearly 40,000 square feet for the new Oakland Park City Hall, about 15,000 square feet of first-floor retail space, a parking garage with 334 covered. Something went wrong. Two buildings totaling 118,847 SF on 16.84 acres of land available for sale via public auction. The potential buyer is an affiliate with ties to Bay Development Group and The Martin Group. Please send news tips to: oaklandnorthstaff@gmail.com. The same tactic was allegedly used by a labor group that appealed a project linked to a Los Angeles corruption scandal. The Michaels Organization proposed an eight-story residential building with 222 units at 1396 Fifth St., a vacant parcel one block. Some consider such development a welcome and much-needed addition to the neighborhood, while others see it as part of a gentrification agenda that has locked out many Oaklanders. Mandela Station aerial view highlighting T1 Tower, rendering by JRDV Urban International. Sign up to receive updates on this process and visit this page for announcements. Landlords and other people will take it as their cue to raise prices on everybody, Mouton said. She sent her children, now 14 and 18, to live with her mother, hoping to . A donation to The Oaklandside goes beyond the newsroom. But If the appeal is upheld, there is a risk of the project being abandoned due to financial pressures. The parking is gonna be crazy, there are people living in rvs and you want another park lmao talk about nimbyism. Developed in partnership by the City, ORA, affected property owners, and adjacent business and residential communities, the West Oakland Specific Plan will help convey a mutually agreed-upon vision and development strategy that will provide private investors and public agencies such as BART and Caltrans, the assurance that the City will support, and in certain cases partner with them to undertake development of properties in West Oakland. West Oakland Development Group owns the property at present, documents on file with the Alameda County Assessors Office show. In the case of West Oakland, it was the construction of the 880 and Cypress freeways the latter of which collapsed in the 1989 earthquake and has been replaced with Mandela Parkway BART, and the huge U.S. The West Oakland Specific Plan establishes development and design guidelines for under-utilized and/or vacant properties. Thats a strategy for resegregation, said Tony Roshan Samara, a program director at Urban Habitat, which advocates for affordable housing in the Bay Area. The use and abuse of eminent domain in West Oakland has created lasting skepticism and even hostility toward redevelopment and infrastructure projects. The Plan will serve as a concise, consistent way to communicate the preferred development strategies for the Opportunity Sites and in this respect will serve as a marketing tool to attract developers to these key sites. Delaying or blocking the construction of 222 new housing units in this exact location is a failure, Taylor said. The council entertaining this appeal has really put the project in a very precarious place, Scott Cooper, vice president of development for Michaels, told the newspaper. Online Access: 500 Kirkham - Project Application, Approvals and Related Documents. The Specific Plan will explore a range of issues such as land use, economic and market conditions, infrastructure deficiencies, transportation, public safety and security and other relevant factors, to identify development challenges for the selected properties (Opportunity Sites) within the Specific Plan area; it will then devise a comprehensive implementation strategy to assist the City of Oakland (City) and Oakland Redevelopment Agency (ORA) (now Redevelopment Successor Agency) in refining its economic development planning for the area. While plans for a 417-unit development to rise up to 8 stories in height on the vacant 3-acre Caltrans lot bounded by Kirkham, 7th, Union and 5th Streets, a block from the West Oakland BART station and across from The Crucible, were approved back in 2016, the . OAKLAND Elaine Brown is back. Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services. The Oakland City Council on Tuesday voted to allow a 222-unit housing project near West Oakland's BART Station to move forward after a 10-month delay that prompted a state investigation.. The East Bay group contracted the consulting firm Soil Water Air Protection Enterprise, which found the tract unfit for residential development. Oakland North is an online news service produced by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism for, and about, the people of Oakland, California. He also said years of environmental remediation have already been done on-site, including removing 8,600 cubic yards of contaminated soil and three underground storage tanks. The projects have ignited a debate over development and displacement in West Oakland. Come. The coalition and the council expressed concern about benzene, lead, diesel and toxic substances that could harm workers and nearby residents. The West Oakland Specific Plan, which was initiated in 2010, was funded by a $2MM federal grant. The proposed T1 building is to raise 30 floors up to be 320 feet tall, among the tallest buildings in the City of Oakland. 500 Kirkham St PLN15211 West Oakland Development Group, LLC / (510) 385-9714 Bounded by 7th St, Union St and 5th St. APN 004 004900300, 004 004900100 Everything they asked for was going to be given to them anyway, Cooper said. West Oakland Specific Plan Design Guidelines, West Oakland Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report, Document Archive for the West Oakland Specific Plan, Past Meetings Archive of the West Oakland Specific Plan. Is this what we're fighting to preserve? Thank you. The noise created by the trains made it difficult for musical acts to play.". The project includes affordable units as mandated under city law, and 85 of those units will be designated for the "very low" income bracket. This report was produced in collaboration withOakland North. University of CaliforniaNorth Gate HallBerkeley, CA. The majority of those units will be in a 32-story high-rise that will become a highly visible new piece of the Oakland skyline, and construction may begin as soon as next spring. It also includes off-street parking and secured bike storage for its residents. Members could decide to either support the Planning Commissions decision to approve the project or uphold the appeal and require further environmental review. More than 400 homes are eyed near West Oakland, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Map: Track this weekends rain in the Bay Area, Hundreds of apartments might replace West Oakland warehouse site, San Jose apartment project site faces loan default, Winds shred tarp, leave historic San Jose building exposed to elements, Southern California home sales fall to all-time low, Ominous signs hint at wobbly Bay Area hotel market, California home-price drops bigger than U.S. declines. The Food Oriented Development (F.O.D.) After the Planning Commission unanimously approved it in March 2021, it was brought before City Council in September when East Bay Residents for Responsible Development, a coalition of labor organizations, filed an appeal stating that an earlier environmental impact report on the site was inadequate and that a second one should be done. Stay up to date! The second development, Project O2, at 3339 to 3347 North Federal Highway in Oakland Park, calls for 165 multifamily units and nearly 32,000 square feet of retail space. also brings West Oakland to the center of the Bay Area as a new development model, where people are reconnected by the most fundamental elements of life: food. Construction is starting to go vertical for the five-story affordable housing project at 1666 7th Street in West Oakland, Alameda County. Now West Oakland is looking to apply this same formula and experience the rebirth that other areas of the city have experienced from a comprehensive development strategy. Please click on any of the bulleted projects above for more detailed information, or contact one of our Development Planners. The West Oakland Specific Plan and EIR became effective July 15, 2014 and the Zoning amendments became effective on August 29, 2014. Fearn may have been referring to the 35 people who appeared at the meeting to give public comment on the project, none of whom had any objections, only support. Nightclubs like Esther's Orbit Room, the Lincoln Theater and Slim Jenkins Supper Club on Seventh Street played host to the likes of Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner, Billie Holiday, B.B. One development in particular Golden West, a proposed eight-story apartment complex, would add 222 market-rate units and 16 low-income units on what is currently an empty 1-acrelotacross from the BART station at 1396 Fifth St. But development has yet to materialize at the site, which is now approved for more than 1,000 units. That mixed-use project included the development and construction of a 101,000 square foot build-to-suit office building that houses the headquarters for the County of Alameda Department of . By: Palak Japlot 5:30 am on August 3, 2021. San Jose apartment project site faces loan default Get all the latest & greatest posts delivered straight to your inbox, Massive New West Oakland Development With 32-Story Tower Moves Forward, Extra Federal Food Stamp Assistance Ending, Leaving Nearly 100K San Franciscans At Risk of Food Insecurity, Saturday Links: Celebrate Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors, in the Bay Area This Weekend, Day Around the Bay: San Jose Man Arrested In Connection With PG&E Transformer Explosions. Oakland North assumes no liability for comments posted to the site and no endorsement is implied; commenters are solely responsible for their own content. It was once a thriving row of theaters, jazz clubs, and other Black-owned businesses that attracted artists and gave the neighborhood a singular identity. Winds shred tarp, leave historic San Jose building exposed to elements No single project is going to solve the regions and the states affordability and displacement crisis, said Corey Smith, deputy director of the Housing Action Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for building housing at all levels of affordability. Id rather they echo expand on the community garden and do like Richmond did and make a be park, a pathway,and a trailway lined with real vegetables an and fruits for the community to freely plant and eat.