Oakland, California’s New Transit-Oriented Development Redefines Space

The following post comes courtesy of Global Site Plans' The Grid. CNU and Global Site Plans recently teamed up to syndicate Grid content, as its contingent of writers presents a view on the opportunities and issues of urbanization all across the world. CNU will carry select posts from the Grid direct on the CNU Salons.

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 Oakland continues to bring new development and innovation to its neighborhoods. Next up is the MacArthur Transit Village (MTV), an impressiveurban planning initiative to be built in Temescal beside the MacArthur BART station. Much like Fruitvale Village, this transit-oriented-development (TOD) brings some much-needed land use planning to a space currently occupied by a massive parking lot (pictured).

Some of the characteristics of the site include:

• 624 total housing units;
• 516 market rate units and 108 below market rate units;
• A 478 sq. ft. parking space garage;
• 42,500 sq. ft. of commercial and retail space.

The developer, BRIDGE Housing, is known for its affordable housing projects in the Bay Area and the architect, Van Meter Williams Pollack, designs projects that emphasize community. As a result, this in-progress development will create a vibrant mixed-use space and support families that are in the 30% to 50% Area Median Income (AMI) range for a household of four.

This project will help create a more livable community by encouraging the use of transit and bringing residential development closer to office and retail space. MTV has also been selected to be part of the LEED Neighborhood Development Program, which recognizes projects that enhance sustainability and quality of life in communities.

Bay Area residents will see Oakland as a more desirable destination to settle down in if these kinds of transformations continue to take place. San Francisco, with its pricey but limited housing supply, is already pushing people into the East Bay. Projects like MTV have the potential to make Oakland a more attractive city and hopefully, better connect it with its neighboring cities, thus strengthening the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region.

MTV exemplifies a change in trends. Developers, planners and architects are redefining space by prioritizing connectivity and density over sprawl. The project is planned for completion in 2021 and I cannot wait to see the final product.

What innovative developments are in the pipeline for your city?

To read the original post, written by Robert Poole, visit Global Site Plans.