The five projects in the “Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors” proposal are:
95th and International Housing, Health and Connectivity
The project, led by Related Companies of California and Acts Community Development, will create 55 units of 100% affordable housing (20% to 50% of Average Median Income (AMI) with 25% of the units designated for homeless populations) on 95th Avenue and International Boulevard. The ground floor will include a community health clinic.
San Leandro Creek Urban Greenway
A 1.2-mile trail will be opened to East Oakland residents, transforming a concrete barrier into a pathway for Deep East Oakland neighborhoods to connect to the regional Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline Park. Under the East Bay Regional Parks District, the trail will be used for active transportation, recreation, access to open space and environmental education programming.
Community Greening
The Community Greening Project will bring together multiple community groups, organizations and local jurisdictions to plant 2,000 trees in the Project Area through a combination of street trees and trees on privately owned properties. Some of the trees will be locally sourced from the Planting Justice nursery, with the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation partnering with community organizations to provide training and paid internships for tree planting.
Planting Justice Aquaponics Farm and Food Hub
Funds to acquire a historic three-acre nursery and support neighborhood residents in building out the largest/most productive urban aquaponics farm in the U.S. The site will produce hundreds of thousands of pounds of organic produce and edible nursery starts each year, create 27 living-wage jobs, house a food hub in Oakland’s most segregated neighborhood, and serve youth education, health/wellness, community development, and business incubation programming.
Higher Ground & Scraper Bike Team Bike Share and Youth Development
The Scraper Bike Team will partner with Higher Ground to develop curriculum for bike safety and repair and teach the afterschool enrichment classes to youth. The Oakland Public Library will partner with Oakland Public Works to design and construct an expanded bike repair and programming space known as “The Shed” located at Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Library. The City of Oakland’s Department of Transportation will collaborate with Scraper Bike Team and Higher Ground to implement and grow the East Oakland Mobility Action Plan.
The projects will be guided by the principles of community engagement, displacement avoidance, workforce development and climate resiliency throughout the five-year implementation period and will be stewarded by a to-be-formed stakeholder committee, comprised of the project co-applicants, community organizations and area residents. The Black Cultural Zone will lead business and community engagement, while the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative will lead the displacement avoidance work by connecting East Oakland residents with programs to halt displacement, build community wealth, and produce Additional Dwelling Units.