Oakland Affordable Housing Opens Its Doors

Foon Lok East, the fourth and final affordable housing development at Brooklyn Basin in Oakland, Calif., has been completed. The development adds 124 affordable units to the neighborhood, including 38 apartments reserved for people who have experienced homelessness.

MidPen Housing, in partnership with the City of Oakland and the Oakland Housing Authority, developed the property, which offers one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. Homes range from 620 to 1,120 square feet and are affordable to residents earning up to 20 to 60 percent of Area Median Income.

Common amenities include a multi-purpose community room, computer lab, learning center, bicycle parking and a landscaped courtyard with playground and barbecue area. MidPen Services coordinates on-site health and wellness programs, academically based after-school and summer programs and supportive services.

Financing for the project was—as is typical for affordable housing developments—a complex mix of sources, including the City of Oakland; Oakland Housing Authority; California Department of Housing and Community Development’s No Place Like Home Program and California Housing Accelerator; Wells Fargo; and Century Housing.

HKIT Architects designed Foon Lok East and Nibbi Brothers General Contractors built it. Foon Lok means “joyous community” in Cantonese.

Signature Development Group’s Brooklyn Basin, a 64-acre peninsula jutting into the Oakland Estuary that was formerly a shipping dock, has been the site recently of three other affordable housing developments. Foon Lok West, Vista Estero and Paseo Estero, combined with the new Foon Lok East, feature 465 affordable homes. Once complete, Brooklyn Basin will have a total of 3,100 units and the neighborhood will include amenities such as public parks, trails and waterfront access.

During its development, Brooklyn Basin was reportedly the largest residential community under way in Oakland. Foon Lok East and neighboring Foon Lok West operate as one property, as they are linked together structurally at the podium garage.

Local artists and students created the original artwork for the property’s public spaces, including an exterior mural on the building’s northeast corner. Foon Lok East, as well as Foon Lok West, are across from Brooklyn Basin’s repurposed 9th Ave. Terminal and Township Commons public park.

Affordable housing needs in the Bay Area

The shortage of affordable housing in the Bay Area continues to persist, with the region in need of 180,000 more affordable units by 2031 to meet demand, according to the State of California’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan.

Earlier this year, Enterprise Community Partners and the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority estimated in a report that 433 affordable housing developments were already in predevelopment across the Bay Area, which would ultimately provide nearly 40,900 affordable units. That represents about 23 percent of the affordable housing goal set by the RHNA Plan.

The report finds these developments need $9.7 billion in public subsidy to move forward. A bond issue that would have raised $20 billion for affordable housing in the Bay Area didn’t make it onto the ballot during this election, however.

MidPen is also active in other Bay Area affordable housing projects outside of Brooklyn Basin. Just last month the company officially opened Fair Haven Commons, a 72-unit affordable community in Fairfield, Calif. The all-electric community is reserved for residents earning between 20 and 60 percent of AMI.