Protected: Chinatown BART Development

EBALDC, along with our partners Strada Investment Group and the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), will redevelop two parcels at the Lake Merritt BART Station to bring a new transit-oriented, mixed-income, public-facing community to Oakland Chinatown, while also strengthening the site’s connections to the surrounding neighborhoods and adjacent educational and cultural institutions.

 

The project’s community benefits and amenities include:

• Over 40% of approximately 560 residential units will be affordable and below market-rate
• Approximately 550,000 SF of commercial space, 20% will be below market-rate
• Extensive public open space and ground floor retail in Phase I
• Child care center planned for Phase II

 

Project History & Community Engagement Process

In 2009, Asian Health Services and the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce partnered to host a series of community design charrettes for community stakeholders, and BART and the City of Oakland commenced their Lake Merritt BART Station Area Plan process. These multi-year processes generated a tremendous amount of public engagement and new ideas about what this area of Chinatown should grow into over the next generation.

In 2018, BART released a Request for Proposals for the development of two parcels at the Lake Merritt BART Station. EBALDC and Strada’s response was heavily inspired by the ideas and desires that neighborhood residents, businesses, cultural groups, and nonprofits had expressed during the previous decade of community planning.

In 2019 and 2020, EBALDC and partners led a series of public engagements to shape aspects of the project design.

• Families and stakeholders voted on public space amenities at Lincoln Summer Nights 2019, a regular festival at Lincoln Square Park.
• In January 2020, more than 50 attendees who shop, live, own businesses, go to school, or commute through Chinatown attended an in-person event to influence project design. Stakeholders were excited to see the project realized, especially for its ability to bring affordable spaces, culture-building businesses and multigenerational programming, and emphasized a need for pedestrian safety in public spaces.
• In June 2020, EBALDC held a virtual focus group with small local business stakeholders to inform layout and operation of ground floor commercial spaces and adjacent public space, known as the paseo. Participants advised the team to create small, turnkey retail and street food spaces and invest in outdoor amenities and placemaking to for customers. They also advised on operations and technical design.
• In October 2020, a virtual workshop collected feedback on elements of the BART station access plan and the design of the paseo. Key takeaways were safety, transit access, and placemaking.
• In mid-2021, the project expects to host a series of additional community design workshops on building design, retail, and public placemaking elements.

To learn more about the history of the project, click here.

 

Project Timeline

• Phase 1 (Buildings A & B)
  • Mid 2022 Project Entitlements
  • Mid 2023 Start Construction
  • Early 2025 Finish Construction
• Phase 2 (Buildings C & D)
  • Mid 2025 Project Entitlements
  • Mid 2026 Start Construction
  • Late 2028 Finish Construction

 

Our Team

PUBLIC AGENCY PARTNER

Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)

JOINT VENTURE PARTNERS

   

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) & Strada Investment Group

DESIGN TEAM

     

Pyatok Architects, SCB Architects, EinwillerKuehl Landscape Architecture

 

Contact Us

If you are interested in staying engaged, attending future community design meetings, advocating for the project, or learning more about the project, please email us at chinatownbart@ebaldc.org.