Location: Oakland, California
Client: Forest City Residential West
Oakland is a city in transition and the Oakland Uptown District will be a major catalyst to further the city’s progressive redevelopment plans. Oakland Uptown District’s first phase would be a mixed-use project, Oakland Uptown, which will include 665 residential units, 9,000 square feet of neighborhood retail and a public park on an underutilized, four-city-block brownfield site in partnership with the City. Uptown residents will be within walking distance from shopping and entertainment opportunities, as well as a BART regional transit station. Oakland Uptown will be more than a new urban community – It will be a leader not only for Oakland, but for the entire Bay Area in sustainable construction as well as transit oriented development. It will be an environmentally-friendly “green buildings” community designed to receive Silver LEED certification. Oakland Uptown’s sustainable components include designated VIP parking for hybrid or alternative fueled vehicles and for a “Flex Car,” a water efficient landscaping system that uses approximately 50 percent of the water normally required for irrigation, low-flow shower heads and lavatory faucets that reduce water usage by 20 percent, and all adhesives, sealants, paints, and carpets in interior and common areas will be classified as low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) for better indoor air quality due to reduced gases.
The project features a diversity of apartments which will be encompassed in four separate, architecturally distinctive buildings. Lobby areas will offer ample seating to facilitate casual conversations. Amenities such as a community room, fitness center, game room, theater, and pool and spa with expansive outdoor amenity deck, and even a poker room and art gallery, will provide recreational opportunities that appeal to this demographic segment and provide residents many opportunities to mingle and socialize with both neighbors and the greater community.