Update: The Oakland City Council unanimously approved the MacArthur Transit Village on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
Nearly a decade ago, Greenbelt Alliance endorsed the MacArthur Transit Village in Oakland. We strongly supported the concept for a walkable, equitable, mixed-use community that would boost the local economy and create quality jobs. And now, Greenbelt Alliance is proud to endorse a smart project in the Transit Village by Boston Properties that will redefine what’s pos
sible near transit in the East Bay.
The proposal for “Parcel B” envisions a dense, 25-story mixed-use tower with more than 400 homes (11% of them affordable to low-income households) right next to BART. The revised plan is a vast improvement over the original proposal, which offered a mere 150 units, all of which would have been market-rate. We are particularly impressed that this proposal increases the overall share of affordable homes for the entire Transit Village.
Parcel B innovatively utilizes vertical space to provide homes for people across the income spectrum, connecting more people to BART and opportunities throughout the Bay Area. Transit-oriented developments like this help to reduce pressure for sprawl development and the need for lengthy commutes. It is our hope that Parcel B will set a precedent for future dense, transit-oriented developments in the region.
Greenbelt Alliance staff testified at numerous hearings in support of the project. Then on March 7, 2017, the Oakland City Council unanimously approved the infill project, which will include 402 units of housing—45 of which will be below market rate.
Header Photo: Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Othe photo courtesy of Boston Properties
