Option C: Midtown Waterfront District

3.4 Option C: Midtown Waterfront District 

About 20 percent of the City’s land area, including most of Oakland’s shoreline, has historically been used for industrial purposes. An important theme that emerged from environmental justice working group conversations in Phase 1 was the need to envision a cleaner and greener future for these areas. Many of Oakland’s industrial properties have undergone minimal reinvestment over time and are currently dominated by uses with relatively low job densities (meaning that they hold a disproportionately small share of the City’s overall jobs relative to the amount of land they use). Densifying these areas with cleaner uses while protecting heavier industrial uses in places where they are more appropriate could support local job growth, reduce pollution, and provide opportunities to increase public access to the shoreline.

Option C: Midtown Waterfront District responds to these considerations by proposing a wholesale transformation of the old industrial land along the Central Estuary into a new neighborhood about the same size as Downtown. This new area, tentatively called “Midtown,” would stretch between Foothill Blvd and the Central Estuary shoreline from 14th to High Street. A possible variation on this would be to extend the new Midtown center all the way to connect with Downtown along the shoreline. It would bring investment further east, build on the energy of nearby Fruitvale Village, and take full advantage of Oakland’s waterfront by transforming it into an accessible place where people can live, work, and spend time outdoors. Parks, paths, and public spaces along the shoreline would offer new places for the community to gather. Next to the Midtown, a large (100 acre) new waterfront R&D center, spanning the South Estuary from 42nd Avenue to the Coliseum, would be a major new employment hub.

New homes, businesses and large parks/open spaces would be developed through reuse of aging commercial and industrial properties. New development would be built with the future in mind – new buildings near the water would be designed to handle rising sea levels and a continuous linear park along the shoreline would use green infrastructure strategies to protect low-lying neighborhoods from coastal flooding while reconnecting communities with the waterfront.

A new BART shuttle (a pilot for a new BART station) would run between San Antonio at East 12th Street and 14th Street to Brooklyn Basin, the new shoreline neighborhoods, a new South Estuary R&D hub, and the Lake Merritt and Fruitvale BART stations. Over time, the shuttle could eventually be replaced by an infill BART station and would act as a pilot that demonstrates sufficient ridership demand to merit the investment for BART.

To prevent potential gentrification and displacement that could otherwise result from changes at the Estuary, Option C would also see substantial new affordable housing development in the nearby Fruitvale and San Antonio neighborhoods. This idea is rooted in lessons learned from recent development in Fruitvale, where major housing developments have been built at Fruitvale Village and transit improvements around the Fruitvale BART Station have been made, the neighborhood has largely preserved its socioeconomic and cultural characteristics. Contributing factors include an increased overall housing supply, significant affordable housing developments, and involvement of local community development organizations, all of which have helped to largely keep residents and businesses in place. Policies to protect artists and businesses in Jingletown would also be developed as part of the planning process.

A revitalized waterfront would become one of Oakland’s biggest attractions, shaping a new image for the City and creating a lively, scenic destination for residents and visitors alike. While Midtown would bring major change to the Central Estuary, the benefits would reach far beyond. Property and sales taxes from new homes and businesses would help fund community priorities across the City, from cleaner streets to better-maintained parks and public spaces. 

Figure 3-19: Option C Concept Diagram

Fig 3-19 Key:

1. A new San Antonio Transit Hub (potentially a future permanent BART station) connects high density neighborhoods along the shoreline
2. Former industrial areas along the waterfront are developed into a high-density mixed-use neighborhood
3. Widened shoreline path and new publicly accessible green spaces link Jack London, Brooklyn Basin, Estuary neighborhoods, the new R&D campus, the Coliseum, and the MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline, while providing sea level rise protection
4. Sausal Creek is connected as a greenway, with park space, trail connections, and public art
5. Higher density housing along International Boulevard and surrounding neighborhoods prevents displacement of current residents
6. The Central Estuary street grid is updated to extend 42nd Avenue and phase out the diagonal portion of Alameda Avenue
7. A large new R&D campus is developed in the South Estuary, near the Coliseum

Note: This figure illustrates areas of significant change. However, all parts of the City will be affected by the General Plan.

Big Ideas

Land Use

Change Areas

Option C envisions several areas where major land use changes will occur: 

• Vacant and underutilized industrial lands and commercial properties between Foothill Blvd and the Central Estuary shoreline from 14th to High Street would be redeveloped as a new mixed-use residential neighborhood (see Figure 3-20).
• Vacant and underutilized industrial lands in the South Estuary would be redeveloped as a large R&D district. This R&D district is the most centralized of R&D options presented and would likely rely on an anchor tenant to jumpstart investment in the area and attract other businesses.
• Transit-oriented development would occur in the area east of Fruitvale station, near where High Street and International Boulevard intersect, as auto-oriented uses are redeveloped, and around a new transit hub in the San Antonio neighborhood (see Figure 3-21). 

In this Option, jobs growth in addition to the baseline is concentrated within a new waterfront R&D campus, in the mixed-use portion of the Midtown, and along Hegenberger Road, where high sales tax generating businesses such as auto dealerships and big box stores would be strengthened through policies that make this corridor a more attractive and inviting gateway into the City, and that support complementary small businesses such as restaurants and experiential retail.

Figure 3-20: Illustration of Potential Midtown Development (Embarcadero)

Existing: Embarcadero at E 7th St in early summer 2025, looking north

Figure 3-20 key:

1. Two-way Class IV cycle track along the shoreline links gaps in the San Francisco Bay Trail, with concrete bollards and planters located near all crossings
2. Apartments and townhomes up eight stories tall, oriented towards the waterfront
3. Shoreline park includes food kiosks with outdoor seating, exercise and play equipment, public restrooms, and educational signage about the area’s ecology, history, and culture
4. Landscaping and stormwater infrastructure support water quality
5. New development includes public parking for cars and bicycles to ensure accessibility to the shoreline for visitors throughout the City and other parts of the region

Design

As a community that shares its boundaries with the Bay, Oakland is vulnerable to the effects of rising sea levels. Sea level rise considerations will be an important component of redevelopment in this area. Notably, even under extreme long-term sea level rise scenarios (i.e., 5.5 and 6 feet) the Central and South Estuary are projected to have limited exposure to coastal flooding. However, planning for new development in this area offers an opportunity to proactively incorporate features that will protect not just the Midtown, but also low-lying communities on the other side of I-880 from rising tides. Appropriate preventative measures for new development in the Central Estuary area would include building at elevated foundations, setting critical infrastructure back from the immediate shoreline, and incorporating landscaping features such as berms, living shorelines, and floodable open spaces throughout the area to increase flood resiliency. In addition to providing protection from sea level rise, these design features would also increase Oaklanders’ access to the waterfront.

Transportation

The major transportation focus of Option C is to better connect Oakland’s shoreline neighborhoods to the rest of the City. Strategies include:

• Two new bicyclist and pedestrian crossing opportunities over I-880; one between Fruitvale Ave and 66th Ave (i.e., at 50th Ave), and a second between 66th Ave and the Lindheim Overcrossing (just north of 98th Ave)
• A new transit hub at San Antonio (E. 12th and 14th streets) that lays the groundwork for a future new San Antonio BART station. In the short term, this feature is envisioned as a BART shuttle that runs from San Antonio at 12th and 14th to Brooklyn Basin, new shoreline neighborhoods, the new South Estuary R&D district, and the Lake Merritt and Fruitvale BART stations. The shuttle would act as a pilot that demonstrates sufficient ridership demand to merit the investment for BART. Over time, the shuttle could eventually be replaced by a permanent infill BART station.

Continuous public access to the shoreline would also be a guiding factor of new development in this area. To facilitate these connections, the City would undertake infrastructural improvements to better connect existing streets in the Central Estuary. Shown in the diagram below, Alameda Avenue would be phased out and replaced with an extension of 42nd Avenue. 

Figure 3-21: Illustration of Potential San Antonio Transit Hub

Parks and Recreation

The key parks strategy in this Option is to expand linear park space along Embarcadero and the Central Estuary shoreline, strengthening this path as Oakland’s primary destination for waterfront recreation and active mobility. Additional parks would be constructed to support population growth around the new San Antonio transit hub, in Fruitvale, and along International Boulevard. As vacant and underutilized properties are redeveloped, expanding and widening open spaces and the San Francisco Bay Trail will be prioritized. Any redevelopment must protect the broader estuary ecosystem. OPRYD will work in collaboration with East Bay Regional Parks and other stakeholders as well as community members to ensure environmental and community needs are satisfied.

This Option also supports a new greenway running from the hills to the Estuary along Sausal Creek. Parts of Sausal Creek are “daylit” (i.e., run above ground), while other portions flow underneath Oakland’s streets. Policies would seek to activate and enhance access to the daylit portions of the creek, while creating connectivity and awareness along the undergrounded portions. Possible strategies for maintaining ecological awareness of the creek’s undergrounded reaches include site-specific art and informational signage that identifies where the creek is running underground. This greenway would bring foot traffic into the new Midtown, and provide an opportunity for trail-focused economic development in Central East Oakland.

Figure 3-22: Detail of Estuary Midtown

Buildout

Option C buildout would result in 97,090 new housing units and 120,420 new jobs. These estimates include shared growth that is anticipated to occur across all three Options. Figures 3-23 and 3-24 display heat maps showing where overall housing and jobs growth will take place in Option C.

Chart 3-7: Jobs Growth by Sector (Option C)

Chart 3-8: New Jobs and Housing by Zip Code (Option C)

Chart 3-9: New Jobs and Housing by PDA (Option C)

Figure 3-23: Option C Housing Growth(PDF, 10MB)

Figure 3-24: Option C Jobs Growth(PDF, 9MB)

Reflection Questions: Which features of Option C do you like or dislike? Overall, how much do you support Option C?

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