Oakland parking garage could become affordable housing

OAKLAND — An unused parking garage in downtown Oakland that is been empty for six many years could get new everyday living as a web page for a 100% inexpensive housing complex.

To make that transpire, the Town Council would have to declare the city-owned parcel bounded by 14th Road, Clay Street and Oakland Town Hall as surplus house, then notify housing developers of its availability.

The three-story, 335-room Clay Avenue Garage has not been applied because December 2016, when it was deemed seismically unsafe and shut down.

Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan and District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife have proposed that the web site be remodeled into a housing complicated with all rental models priced underneath current market level.

“It is on general public transit, it is near work and solutions, and it could support with our housing disaster,” Kaplan reported.

Council associates Dan Kalb and Loren Taylor joined Kaplan and Fife in a committee conference before this 7 days to assistance the proposal. In April, the entire council is to consider declaring the land readily available for development.

But establishing the parcel could be a problem. A 2015 assessment estimated the cost of demolishing the garage at about $3.3 million to $4.1 million. To entice inexpensive housing builders, the metropolis may have to spend for the demolition prices, which would come out its reasonably priced housing fund, in accordance to a personnel report.

The staff also noted that given that the garage abuts Town Corridor, which is a designated Oakland landmark on the Nationwide Sign-up of Historic Spots, a developer may well deal with further expenditures and polices to prevent impacting the historic developing.