Formal permits have been filed for the affordable housing project at 2455 Church Street in East Oakland, Alameda County. The developer aims to renovate existing structures and construct a new six-story infill to bring over a hundred homes to the small parcel. The Oakland Unified School District is the property owner.
Project details have remained consistent since our previous coverage last April. The six-structure campus will yield a combined 94,900 square feet, including 74,420 square feet for housing and 1,330 square feet of retail. The project will include 113 units designated as affordable to low-income families. Apartment sizes will vary greatly, with 47 studios, 10 one-bedrooms, 36 two-bedrooms, and 20 three-bedrooms. Parking will be included for 49 cars and 65 bicycles.
2455 Church Street pedestrian view, rendering courtesy Kodama Diseno Architects
The fully affordable project is using Senate Bill 35 to streamline approval and exempt the project from the arduous CEQA review. The Density Bonus program was used to increase residential capacity with increased height limits and one waiver to reduce open space requirements.
Kodama Diseno Architects is responsible for the design. The architect has reimagined the property with landscaping and interior pedestrian paths. The refurbished buildings will become townhome-style units with doors facing the open space. The six-story apartments will be wrapped with white and red panels, articulated with setbacks and different material patches to reduce the visual scale. The commercial spaces will look directly onto Church Street.
2455 Church Street site map, illustration by Kodama Diseno Architects
The project will be called the Edward Shands Workforce Housing, named after an African American educator who worked as the principal of the Oakland Adult Day School at 2455 Church Street throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
The project is close to the Eastmont Town Center, a shopping center and social services hub. The property has served as a nexus for several other developments in surrounding parcels, including Liberation Park at 6955 Foothill Boulevard, housing at 6733 Foothill Boulevard, 7300 MacArthur Boulevard, 7521 MacArthur Boulevard, 7954 MacArthur Boulevard, and 7994 MacArthur Boulevard.
2501 Church Street outlined approximately by YIMBY, image via Google Satellite
Oakland-based SUPERConstructors is listed as the applicant. The construction timeline has yet to be established.
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