Oakland City Council may soon start negotiations with SunCal over the sale of three city-owned parcels at the former Oak Knoll Naval Hospital. City council approved a proposal to begin negotiations with the developer, which plans to build 900 townhomes and houses at Oak Knoll, the East Bay Times reports.
Exclusive negotiations for eight acres will run during a window of 12 months to 18 months. Any agreement would have to be approved by the city council.
SunCal's plan includes the creation of bike and walking paths, creek restoration, 67 acres of open space and 72k SF of retail space. The 183-acre site east of I-580 has been slated for redevelopment for nearly 20 years.
The project is facing some local criticism regarding the lack of affordable housing and plans to include large estates within the development, which has 900 townhomes and houses planned. Since the site is a redevelopment, state law requires 15% to be affordable for low- and moderate-income families with 40% of the 15% available for very low-income earners.
In 2006, the Oak Knoll Redevelopment Plan was merged with the Central City East Project Area, which includes the Eastlake, Fruitvale and Central East Oakland areas. This has allowed the city to count 354 units of affordable housing against the 141 units required at Oak Knoll, according to a report by Workforce and Economic Development director Mark Sawicki.
