Chinatown BART Senior TOD

Fifty years after devastating urban renewal and the construction of a BART tunnel, 2.7 acres above the Lake Merritt BART station are being reactivated with mixed uses and reclaimed as part of Oakland’s Chinatown. The seven-story Chinatown TOD Senior Housing leads this two-block redevelopment with affordable senior housing above ground-floor, paseo-adjoining amenities and restaurant incubation space.

From a narrow, angled site between 8th Street and the submerged BART line, the project will establish a new gateway for the community. A civic-scaled entrance facing Laney College will be one of three connectors between senior amenities and the programmed, landscaped paseo. Towards Chinatown, a gable roof caps the top floor lounge and outdoor terrace; below, the restaurant’s storefront transitions to the senior community room with help from richly patterned sunscreens. Transparency is further established at a stack of glazed elevator lobbies overlooking the paseo. Building exteriors present opportunities for public art. The building will be all-electric, with operable windows right-sized for natural light and ventilation, plenty of outdoors access, and a proximity to transit that eliminates the need for on-site parking.

Chinatown TOD Senior Housing is part of a larger transit-oriented development planned after 10 years of conversations with hundreds of area residents and stakeholders. Subsequent phases include a market-rate residential tower on the other half of the block, a renovated public plaza, and office and affordable family housing with a daycare center at what is currently a low-rise office building.