Plans for a pair of residential towers to rise up to 275 feet in height at 325 Seventh Street, on the edge of Oakland’s Chinatown, were first approved by the city seven years ago, the ground for which has yet to be broken.
Two years ago, the project team was preparing to abandon the high rise in favor of a six-story building to rise across the site, the plans for which had been drawn and formally proposed but were subsequently abandoned prior to their public hearing.
And as now proposed and newly rendered for the project team by YHLA Architects below, while a tower would still rise up to 275 feet in height upon the site, the height of what was to be the second tower, fronting 7th Street, will be reduced from 207 to 125 feet, the amount of ground floor retail space will be reduced from 9,100 to 6,500 square feet, and the number of off-street parking spaces in the project’s garage will be reduced from 399 to 265.
But as designed, the number of residential units, which are now slated to be rentals versus condos, would remain at 380 with a 5 percent reduction in overall square footage.
And while currently slated to expire this September, having already been extended five times, the project team is now seeking another extension of their entitlements to start developing the site through September of 2019. We’ll continue to keep you posted and plugged-in.
I suspect the taller building will be increased to the sun, and the shorter decreased to no stories, but only the shorter one will get built; or not built, as it may be. (When people keep promising something but not delivering, we call them a tease…or worse. ) If this didn’t get off the ground – literally and figuratively – during the biggest boom/-let in years, I can’t see it happening now.
We’ll note that the one-year extensions granted in 2013, 2014 and 2015 were automatically allowed via City Council resolutions adopted to ease the hangover effect of the Great Recession. The next two, however, were specifically requested by the project team as is the extension to late 2019.
So noted. But it doesn’t changed the fact that in seven years nothing has been done – except for a steady procession of renderings (it’s the YHLA Retirement Plan). Seven years…longer than it took to build the Bay Bridge…longer than it took to win WWII (if the Allies had shown the same lack of progress we’d all be speaking German now, instead of just a Germanic language).
This would be an excellent addition to Oakland’s skyline!
…in 1992.
Agreed
Directly between the Webster and Posey tube entrance/exit, and also in the middle of a proposed re-design of the the freeway ramps that serve downtown Oakland, Jack London and Alameda, this project couldn’t be in a worse location. I half wonder whether the developer keeps this project alive in order to extort payments for impinging on highest and best use…..
Why are those things bad?
UPDATE: Oakland Tower Newly Rendered, City Seeks Outstanding Design
UPDATE: Seventh Extension for Oakland Tower Now on Tap