OAKLAND — An unused parking storage in downtown Oakland that’s been empty for six years may get new life as a web site for a 100% inexpensive housing complicated.
To make that occur, the Metropolis Council must declare the city-owned parcel bounded by 14th Road, Clay Road and Oakland Metropolis Corridor as surplus property, then notify housing builders of its availability.
The three-story, 335-space Clay Road Storage hasn’t been used since December 2016, when it was deemed seismically unsafe and closed down.
Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan and District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife have proposed that the positioning be remodeled right into a housing complicated with all rental items priced beneath market charge.
“It's on public transit, it's close to jobs and providers, and it may assist with our housing disaster,” Kaplan mentioned.
Council members Dan Kalb and Loren Taylor joined Kaplan and Fife in a committee assembly earlier this week to help the proposal. In April, the total council is to contemplate declaring the land accessible for growth.
However growing the parcel could possibly be a problem. A 2015 evaluation estimated the price of demolishing the storage at roughly $3.3 million to $4.1 million. To entice inexpensive housing builders, the town might should pay for the demolition prices, which might come out its inexpensive housing fund, based on a workers report.
The workers additionally famous that because the storage abuts Metropolis Corridor, which is a chosen Oakland landmark on the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations, a developer might face additional prices and rules to keep away from impacting the historic constructing.
Nonetheless, the council members view the positioning as a promising alternative to extend desperately wanted inexpensive housing within the metropolis.
In a memo to their council colleagues, Kaplan and Fife famous Oakland must create 6,511 items of very low-income housing and three,750 items of low-income housing to satisfy its December 2021 regional housing wants allocation targets.
Oakland leaders are exploring how to try this with city-owned properties. In June, workers will ask the council to assessment and prioritize 13 different city-owned websites that would probably be developed for inexpensive housing.