Updated plans have been published for a potential 11-story affordable housing complex at 1523 Harrison Street in Downtown Oakland, Alameda County. The filing follows up on a request for by-right approval in mid-July this year. The developer, oWow, has pursued several iterations for the site since renderings were shared in 2022 for an 18-story mass timber tower next to their now-complete tower, Andys, at 1510 Webster Street.
The 106-foot-tall structure is expected to yield around 195,360 square feet, including 164,800 square feet of housing and 30,540 square feet for the podium garage. Parking will be included in the two-story concrete podium, with nine floors of tall mass timber construction. Parking will be included for 105 cars and 86 bicycles. Unit types will vary with 63 studios, 203 one-bedrooms, and 18 two-bedrooms.
1523 Harrison Street seen from 15th Street, rendering by oWow
oWow’s in-house architecture firm is responsible for the design, with civil engineering by CaliChi. The duo-tone facade will contrast white and blue panels of laminate rainscreen cladding. Dark grey fiber cement panels will wrap around the base to add visual texture for the pedestrian experience.
oWow purchased the 0.48-acre surface lot in March 2022 for $9.3 million, and has been pursuing a potential mass timber residential tower of varying height and capacity ever since. The tallest iteration for the site surfaced in June last year, when oWow filed plans for a 28-story building, which would make it among the tallest mass timber buildings in the world. Decreased plans were filed in January 2025, and by-right approval was requested in July. The by-right approval request is currently listed as incomplete and under review within the city’s planning department.
1523 Harrison Street facade elevations, illustration by oWow
1523 Harrison Street, image via Google Street View
The property is bound by Harrison Street, Webster Street, 15th Street, and 17th Street. Future residents will be just a six-minute walk from the 19th Street BART Station, and a minute away from Snow Park overlooking Lake Merritt.
The estimated cost and timeline for construction have yet to be established.
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