2538 Telegraph Avenue Site

The plans for a seven-story building to rise on southeast corner of Telegraph Avenue and 26th Street in Oakland’s KoreaTown, with 97 condos over nearly 9,000 square feet of retail space and a garage for 116 cars, were originally approved in January of 2006.

Waylaid by the Great Recession and a general inability to attract financing, the old 2538 Telegraph Avenue building on the site, which Tower Records once occupied, has yet to be razed. And while entitlements for the development would have normally expired long ago, a number of administrative extensions were extended by the City in order to keep the approvals and permits for the project alive.

With the last administrative extension slated to expire at the end of this year, and Oakland’s City Council not expected to extend another, the owners of the property are now asking Oakland’s Planning Commission for another two-year extension to break ground.

According to the San Francisco-based property owners, they are “close to finalizing a deal that will allow [them] to finally develop this project,” but they need more time. We’ll note the owners also have the property on the market as a fully-approved project for $6 million, a price which would drop if the entitlements were lost.

Oakland’s Bureau of Planning is recommending the extension be granted and the hearing is to be held this Wednesday, October 21.

12 thoughts on “Another Two Years For Oakland Development Sought”
  1. This is a travesty. The 2008-2012 extensions were warranted but now they’re just sitting on the entitlements and banking the land to the detriment of the city.

    If they can’t get financing, force their hand in selling to a developer that can and will act NOW.

  2. Kinda annoyed this is the first Oakland story reported on SocketSite in a while… a bleak entitlements story. No report on an entire block of Old Oakland being sold? No report on at least three downtown developments finally breaking ground (612 18th St, 528 20th St, 459 8th St) Like, it is in fact news that Bank of Marin financed at 25 unit building in downtown Oakland.

    1. I think socketsite does a great job and am happy with whatever they come up with in the editorial time they have, but for what its worth, I’d like to know more about these. Seems like a shift is happening with some investment flowing into the Eastbay, and I’ll certainly be reading eagerly to understand that better.

    2. absolutely. I love socketsite but I’d also love more east bay coverage. at this point it might even make sense to build out an entire sister site, just for the east bay!

      1. Good suggestion. For now though the shift to Oakland from SF has just started. In its infancy. A few decades from now that shift, IMO – both residential and commercial, will be amazing and folks will be saying – why did I not see it?! It was so obvious!

        So a sister site will come as Oakland increasingly challenges SF in these matters but for now it’d be great to see more Oakland/East bay coverage. Go east – young man or woman.

        1. Are you paying attention to the cultural backlash that’s occurring, Dave? Especially in the areas between Oakland Berkeley and Emeryville, like Golden Gate, Santa Fe, Longfellow? you are precisely the guy they are worried about. It isn’t undiscovered territory bro. People live there already.

          1. It’s absolutely horrifying that families want to move into these areas. Next thing you know, stuff like this happens: Parents pushing the school district to reopen Santa Fe Elementary School on 54th Street got their collective foot in the door Wednesday night with a nod from the school board.

  3. Before anyone jumps on the parking ratios…Oakland has just joined the 21st century and has proposed wide-ranging changes to parking requirement, which include ZERO parking requirements in downtown (although no maximums…so the market will decide), and will also require unbundling parking for both new condo and rental projects. And outside of downtown, parking drops to 1 per unit (was actually 1.5 in several loations). Hopefully it will be approved without too much fuss.

  4. That’s the SOUTHeast corner. (The NE corner is the old Sears Auto Center building, which I believe, is occupied).

    [Editor’s Note: Since corrected above.]

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