Renderings Revealed, Permits Filed for 3855 West Street, North Oakland

Workshop1 has filed development permits for a new residential project at 3855 West Street in North Oakland’s Longfellow neighborhood. The project will add seven townhouse-style buildings, totaling 13,800 square feet, on a corner parcel two blocks away from the MacArthur BART station. Workshop1 is not just in charge of developing. They are also the full owners, architects, and real estate broker of 3855 West Street.

3855 West Street back, rendering by workshop1

When reached for comment, workshop1 co-founder Mike Pitler told SFYIMBY that the building is part of the firm’s focus on East-Bay development. They specifically aim to build in Berkeley and Oakland near where they live and work, saying that by focusing on the neighborhoods they know best, they have “an eye for improving their area.” To this end, the project is less than a third of a mile away from the firm’s offices. Across the street, their development at 733 Apgar is expected to open by the end of the year.

733 Apgar Street, rendering by workshop1

The proposed facade is clad with charcoal cement at ground level, grey cement lap siding above, with yellow, orange, and red touches. With the structure pushed to near the lot’s edge, renderings show a traditional gabled roof, ubiquitous in the Bay Area, with the colorful accents framing private balconies in each unit. The design has not yet been approved and is liable to change. That said, it shows the designer’s emphasis on introducing the increased density.

3855 West Street facades, drawing by workshop1

Each of the seven buildings is to receive their own addresses, 800-804 Apgar Street and 3843-3849 West Street. One parking space will be provided for each unit, and a vehicle driveway is splitting down the center of the parcel.

3855 West Street groundfloor landscaping, drawing by workshop1

Future residents will benefit from the addresses two-block commute to the MacArthur BART station and surrounding retail along Martin Luther King Jr Way and Telegraph Avenue. The spot was last occupied by an unused warehouse, which experienced a fire in late December of 2019. The building has since been cleared. City records show that it last sold in September 2017 for $355,000, though the property sold recently to workshop1 for a larger sum.

3855 West Street, via Google Street View

If the approval and permit process goes smoothly, groundbreaking can be expected by the spring of 2021, with completion seven to eight months later in fall.

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