Plans for a proposed 16-story Downtown Oakland tower to rise up to 175-feet in height at 250 14th Street, with 126 apartments over 3,000 square feet of retail space and a podium garage for 91 81 cars are closer to reality, and the development is tentatively slated to break ground by the end of the year.
If the development is approved as proposed, the two street trees on 14th Street side of the project, which qualify as protected trees per the City of Oakland Protected Trees Ordinance, will remain and a third will be planted along with four new trees along Alice as rendered above.
And with one of the project’s two parking lot parcels at the corner of 14th and Alice Streets sited within Oakland’s approved Lake Merritt Station Area Plan, and the project qualifying as an urban infill project, final approvals of the development should be streamlined and Bay Development is planning to break ground around October and have the building ready for occupancy by the end of 2018.
Plans for a 35-story building with nearly 200 condos had been proposed for the 250 14th Street site prior to the Great Recession but were subsequently abandoned.
UPDATE (2/3): The Refined Designs and Hearing for the 250 14th Street Tower.
Hideous, but better than the parking lot.
I suppose you have a better plans??
Well, we have seen this building before…
oakland sure loves those podium garages. i don’t get it.
Oakland hasn’t had new development in years, and isn’t confident enough in the strength of the market to try to force developers to either a) build parking underground or b) not build it at all. Oakland is not San Francisco. In this particular location, the podium doesn’t seem awful as there is a fair amount of retail wrapping it, but I agree it is far from a most desirable state of affairs.
Can you define “hasn’t had new development in years”?
I think it means that none of the projects completed has earned the SFBT’s coveted “massive” designation.
Matt, as you well know there has been almost no major market rate residential development since the last recession. Only now are new projects getting underway. I think the only completed residential project of any size during the past 7 or 8 years is the Hive (which was, in fact, re-engineered as a much smaller project from what was initially proposed).
Granted there is a lot happening right now in the planning/permitting/early construction phase, but it takes time for the City’s permitting processes to adapt to a (hopefully) new reality. Prior to, say, a year ago, I think the City would have fallen all over itself to approve ANY market rate housing development, regardless of urban design issues such as intrusive parking podiums.
Thank you Notcom. curmudgeon, Lampworks Lofts is a recent, large market rate project. 1601 Clay’s 24 units have hit the market and been snatched up. Right now 4901 Broadway, 612 18th St, 14th&Wood and 528 20th St are all well underway. 4801 Shattuck, 5110 Telegraph and 3093 Broadway recently broke ground. Pretty sure 2935 Telegraph is underway, too. 2300 Valdez seems eminent as construction fences just went up. If you’ve been watching permit data and P&Z apps you’ll know that Oakland is in a 1-4 res unit boom.
UPDATE: The Refined Designs and Hearing for the 250 14th Street Tower
Matt in Uptown,
Thanks for enlightening these “peeps” that don’t read (e.g. Business Times) or research the facts before opening their mouths. People only assume/assess by what they see, but if they would dig deeper a whole “new” world would open unto them.