10K Housing Initiative

The 10K Downtown Housing Program was a major initiative launched by Mayor Jerry Brown when he took office in 1999. This initiative is realizing its goal of attracting 10,000 new residents to downtown Oakland by encouraging the development of 6,000 market-rate housing units. A near perfect climate, California’s best mass transit system, a central Bay Area location and a growing downtown workforce all contribute to make downtown Oakland a great place to live.

As of October 2009, the 10K Downtown Housing Initiative has resulted in the start and completion of 78 residential projects with 8,956 units. Forty-two projects (4,250 units) have been completed, four projects (310 units) are in construction, twenty-two projects (2,149 units) have received planning approvals, and ten projects (2,247 units) are in the planning process. The Initiative has literally altered Oakland’s skyline with the construction of The Essex on Lake Merritt, the first high-rise residential construction in downtown Oakland in 20 years. Oakland's tallest residential building in 30 years is now under construction on Grand Avenue. To date, the number of units necessary to house 10,000 new residents has been surpassed.

Click for a pdf file containing 10K Housing Project Descriptions for both completed, under construction, and approved projects.

The Initiative has led to streamlined development and permitting processes, identification of key opportunity sites and creation of incentives on a case-by-case basis when necessary. The passage of Assembly Bill 436 in October 2001 allows for streamlined environmental impact reporting for most residential projects in specified sections of downtown Oakland. The streamlined process was authorized through December 2004.

The downtown districts that continue to offer exceptional opportunities to housing developers include: San Pablo Gateway District, Valdez District, Lower Lake Merritt, Old Oakland, Lower Broadway, Loft District and Lake Merritt Channel.

Click for a high resolution PDF file 2 MB) of the 10K Units map. This map will also include an attached table with project details corresponding to each ID number.

Strengths that make downtown Oakland an attractive location for residential development include lower land prices, an abundance of vacant and underutilized sites, existing infrastructure, a central location with strong transit options, and rapid approval of planning and building permits.