The lot upon which the contemporary West Oakland dwelling at 862 Wood Street has been built was purchased for $160,000 early last year, along with the approved and permitted plans for the 2,245 square foot home designed by Baran Studio Architecture.
Listed for $824,500, or roughly $367 per square foot, last month, the three-bedroom, three-bath home is now in contract.
The twin sister home at 864 Wood, the lot and plans for which cost $160,000 as well, has yet to be listed.
White box in and out! Consistency is nice. Good job.
Hope the paint outside has some sheen, or it will be a dusty mess soon.
What’s the story with the gutters? Is this a pitched roof hiding behind an old west facade?
The palm tree may feel like it is being displaced from the neighborhood.
No trees were displaced by this project! Pretty cool how they built a courtyard around a tree that is located in the middle of the lot. Nice catch on the gabled roof.
800K+ to live in West Oakland less than two blocks from a major freeway. More power to you, homebuyer. Enjoy that walk to BART.
Consistency is one thing. Having a replica right next door is ridiculous and diminishes any uniqueness.
You mean enjoy a panicked sprint to and from BART while paying attention to your surroundings?
How is this neighborhood these days? When I lived in Oakland, it looked more like Beirut. I have seen the development along the BART corridor – have things changed in the surrounding area? So much potential in Oakland.
I have lived in west oakland for the past year, at pacific cannery lofts a few blocks from this house. the neighborhood is, to use an overused word, transitional. there are lots of newcomers, lots of renovated houses, and a new development of 180 or so new town-homes up the street that could have a huge impact on the pedestrian/retail experience. there are new cafes and coffee shops springing up, and people strolling out on the street.
that being said, I hear gunshots every month or two, and there is definitely a risk of mugging/robbery on my walk to and from BART. my fiance walks with mace. I have not run into any issues at all (and I walk .75 miles to and from BART everyday) but I am always aware of my surroundings. long term residents cannot believe the change – this place was a total no-go zone 20 years ago and now you see people with strollers out.
perhaps most telling, literally a couple hundred feet from these two new, beautiful houses, is an abandoned lot with homeless encampment, regular barrel fires, and a burned out husk of a camper/trailer. give us another decade or two….
Another decade or two? For 800K, I’ll look elsewhere. If that means leaving the Bay Area then I’m fine with that.
$800k today is $520k 20 years ago. Would you have spent $520k to buy a brand new house in, say, Inner Mission, in 1996?
I wouldn’t have done so – $520k would have been a very high price for the Inner Mission in 1996. And the Inner Mission in 1996 was a more desirable place than West Oakland is now. I think West Oakland has great potential – but it is a very, very long-term prospect. $800k-$1 million is a price for an “already there” neighborhood (or close), not one that is 20-40 years away or more from being a normal, desirable area.
That said, prices are crazy in this part of the world we live in. Just because a price is crazy does not mean someone won’t pay it.
I thought construction costs are nearing $500/sqft? How is this new construction including land going for $367?
I went to an open house and the place was packed. I see this house breaking a million.
Homes in 94607 are selling for an average of $525/sq-ft. My guess is this one will sell for between $1.05M to $1.15M.
I was always wondering what it would take for West Oakland to become to SF what Williamsburg is to NYC. It is in striking distance to the city center thanks to BART, it has relatively low living costs and lots of industrial space for creative conversion. While I know that Williamsburg is not everyone’s thing, it would be great to have a creative, affordable and commutable space in striking distance to the city.
it is getting there. I love living in west oakland. so close to everything. a 6 minute BART ride or $5 uber to SF OR downtown oakland, easy freeway access, and quiet streets. and of course, actually “affordable.” you have to put up with a real level of grittiness and crime, but things seem to be getting better and better.
Is it really $5 to uber to the city center? Just the bridge toll costs that much off peak
uber has been running just silly promotions lately. a friend of mine ubered from my house in west oakland to the marina on a friday night for $9. if you have two people, its actually about the same price to uber from fidi SF to west oakland as it is to take the BART.
this is probably not sustainable but uber’s prices have gotten really, really low.
The idea that Williamsburg is affordable is amusing – you’re a decade too late. Oakland’s Williamsburg used to be Temescal, and I guess Oakland’s Williamsburg is now Uptown given that Williamsburg is rich / financey / techy.
Agreed. Maybe Bed-Stuy, not Williamsburg.
@MKP: glad you put affordable in quotes.
I love when people say that West Oakland is within “striking distance” of downtown SF. The truth is it is much closer in terms of travel time to central SF than are almost all neighborhoods of the city itself. I had to move to Oakland because I was so tired of my business partner having a 10 minute commute to the office while I rode Muni 45 minutes from Pac Heights, at the same speed that I could have walked the same distance but paying $2 for the pleasure.
I really like Baran studios work. There is a lot of it scattered around West Oakland. Typically really thoughtful layout of spaces and fenestration. They’ve kinda specialized in developing cheap but good and so seem to be the go to architect for this quickly gentrifying hood. Typically carefully avoid major costs like foundations. My problem looking at a few of their houses has been the classic “where do I put my stuff” like bikes and skis etc..but that’s a typical problem in new development.
Whenever this site posts about West Oakland people comment about the crime. I don’t know whether to correct people that you are more likely to be robbed in SF than West Oakland, or let the myth persist and enjoy my quiet residential neighborhood that is <10m from two city centers.
I live in west oakland. please post stats showing that you are more likely to be mugged/robbed/assaulted in SF than in west oakland. I find that very difficult to believe. property crime maybe, but mugging, definitely not.
Anecdotally, I used to live in the haight. My friend’s had their cars broken into, purses snatched, and constant street harassment. It has been much better in West Oakland.
If you scroll around this crime map, haight and mission look similar to west oakland near the bart.
interesting. I agree property crime is probably higher in SF, due to the huge number of street people breaking into parked cars. but in years of living in SF (and in the ternderloin), I never felt physically at risk. while I don’t feel at risk per se just walking home in oakland, I am much more aware of my surroundings, and know neighbors who have been mugged/robbed while walking or riding a bike.
The thing about crime stats is that what you really want to know is your probability of being a crime victim. The stats show you the numerator of how many crimes occur, but you need to infer the denominator of how many people spend how long in the affected area.
A few muggings in places where many people go out at night is a different story than a few muggings in an area where almost no one goes out at night.
The house sold for $1.025! #WeOakrising
[Editor’s Note: A Third West Oakland Home Breaks the Million Dollar Mark]
The records shows that it sold for $320,000 last year.
Does anyone know how much a modern face lift like this would cost from the original exterior?
[Editor’s Note: You might want to try re-reading our original report above first.]
Thanks! Where was this listed? I looked on Paragon 5, and cannot find the listing anywhere.
UPDATE: The sister home at 864 Wood has just hit the market, listed for “$849,000.”