Emerald Fund Wins Approval to Turn Oakland Campus Into Homes

The City of Oakland has approved a plan to redevelop the former California College of the Arts into nearly 450 homes — months after its developer, Emerald Fund, paused the project.

The City Council approved a plan to raze 10 buildings to build 448 apartments at the 4-acre campus site at 5212 Broadway, in Rockridge, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The green light came after the San Francisco-based developer rolled up its blueprints this fall, saying economic conditions forced the firm to put the campus project on hold until further notice.

Marc Babsin, president of Emerald Fund, said this week it’s unclear when it could break ground.

“It’s when the whole region’s economics change,” Babsin told the Chronicle. “Probably when we have job growth and population growth and back to the office. Then we will reach a time when hopefully new projects will make economic sense.”

The 102-year-old campus would be redeveloped in tandem with CCA, which owns the now-vacant property.

Plans called for two apartment buildings with 448 units, 14,400 square feet of shops and restaurants and a 1.5-acre park. Emerald Fund agreed to include 23 affordable units for very-low income households.

Ten of the school’s dozen buildings would be demolished. The 7,000-square-foot Macky Hall and historic Carriage House would be preserved for commercial use.

Initial plans had called for 589 housing units, a 19-story residential tower and 35 artist homes in a refurbished dorm. It was then scaled back to 510 homes, including 51 affordable apartments.

California College of the Arts opened in Berkeley in 1907 and moved to Oakland in 1922. A century later, it abandoned the property for a new campus on Potrero Hill in San Francisco.

The project drew mixed reviews from Rockridge. One local group called for more affordable housing, while another said it was a “great opportunity site” that would energize nearby College Avenue.

“This is a better project than earlier versions and that is due in large part to the tremendous community input,” Councilman Dan Kalb, who represents the district where the project is located, told the newspaper.

— Dana Bartholomew