After several rounds of proposals, the project at 1523 Harrison Street in Oakland has settled on a final plan for its size and design. In 2022, project developer oWOW originally proposed the Downtown Oakland site as a partner project to the nearby tower at 1510 Webster Street, but the developer has since vacillated on the exact size and scale of the building. However, final plans submitted in October of this year have now been approved by the City of Oakland, clearing the way for the development to move forward.
The final project design will be an 11-story block-shaped structure. The first two floors will consist of a concrete podium, with the upper nine floors of mass timber construction. The total building height is expected to reach approximately 106 feet, with the total interior space being approximately 195,360 square feet. 164,800 square feet will be dedicated to housing and building services, with 30,540 square feet reserved for parking.
1523 Harrison Street facade elevations, illustration by oWow
The building is to be considered 100% affordable housing, with 281 of the new units to be designated as affordable, and 3 manager units. Of the affordable units, 61 are set aside for very low-income and 220 for low-income. The unit sizes skew heavily towards single-bedroom styles, with 63 efficiency units, 203 one-bedrooms, and only 18 two-bedrooms
oWOW’s in-house architecture firm is responsible for the design. Final designs by the firm show a duo-tone facade of contrasting white and blue panels. Meanwhile, the base of the building will be wrapped by dark grey fiber cement panels to add visual texture. The building design is consistent with many elements of oWOW’s earlier project on the same block, allowing for visual continuity.
1523 Harrison Street, rendering by oWow
The property block is bound by Harrison Street, Webster Street, 15th Street, and 17th Street in the Downtown Oakland and Lakeside neighborhoods. The neighborhood is a mix of both larger and smaller buildings, with both residential and office spaces. The building is within a 5-minute walk of Oakland’s centerpiece park, Lake Merritt, and it is surrounded by various shops and restaurants. Future residents will also benefit from close proximity to the 19th Street BART Station and Uptown Transit Center. Additionally, some residential parking will be provided, with spaces for 105 cars and 86 bicycles.
1523 Harrison Street Site Location, image via ArcGIS online
1523 Harrison Street, image via Google Street View
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Wow. That facade design is bleak. The ground floor is terrible. Do better.
The architect really couldn’t make that first floor work a tiny bit harder, huh? Looks like a parking garage to me. Regardless, mass-timber is exciting.
Damn. SF is exploding again with creative new scrapers. Oakland?
This garbage. The time is now for Oakland to start offering crazy tax deductions to get businesses to come & live here.
Seriously, great to have more affordable housing, but that ground floor facade is grim. Looks like the side of a tilt-up warehouse.
It has all the charm of a soviet parking garage