Oakland’s Oak Knoll Neighborhood Is Getting a Face Lift

The abandoned Oakland Naval hospital (for an interesting photo of the site from 1946 click here) is a very controversial topic these days. It is in the heart of one of Oak Knoll one of Oakland’s most favored neighborhoods and it is the site of one of Oakland’s largest proposed real estate developments. The developer SunCal Cos. of Irvine has set out to build 960 homes on the site.

The controversy is not just the development, but the developer wishes to put $16,000,000 homes atop the prized Oak Knoll ridge. Many neighbors had wished that the ridge line would not  be compromised by the 170 acre project. The project is being designed by well known architect Peter Calthorpe.

The developer has already made some major concessions to the city, including paying $6 million to move and upgrade the Seneca Center, which serves troubled youth, into a new school on the parcel. They will also have up to 72 units of affordable housing, 160 units of senior housing and 50 acres of open space designed in to the project.

The project is moving quickly. The proposal goes to the city planning commission tonight. The homes price’s will range from $700,000 to millions of dollars for mini-mansions over looking the Bay Area. Demolition of the old Naval hospital is expected in late summer or early fall.

The project is expected to bring 1 billion dollars in revenue to the city of Oakland. The city is planning on the project bringing much needed revitalization to East Oakland and to breathe life into the neighborhoods shops and restaurants.

The news was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle. This will be an exciting new project to watch develop.