Oakland’s San Pablo corridor, a once-thriving but now deteriorating commercial strip, sits in between the city’s hip Uptown neighborhood and the Emeryville border — two areas where development took on urban blight and won.

The East Bay Asian Local Development Corp., an affordable housing developer and community outreach group, has turned its eyes to the corridor.

“We’re investing in the San Pablo corridor with the goal of transforming it from a lost mile to a miracle mile,” said Jeremy Liu, executive director of EBALDC.

The developer recently paid $1.95 million for three adjacent parcels near the intersection of West Grand and Brush Street totaling 57,000 square feet.

The properties had been taken back by East West Bank after the previous owner, San Francisco-based AGI Capital, defaulted on the site, which it had entitled for 148 units of market-rate housing.

The purchase is exactly the type of deal that makes sense for affordable developers, Liu said, because it was bank-owned, entitled and located in a blighted area.

“This is a good time for the affordable housing industry,” he said. “In this case, it’s the right property and the right opportunity to address a need for neighborhood development.”

EBALDC is also working on revamping the California Hotel, an iconic building at 3501 San Pablo Ave. that has fallen in disrepair and was previously managed by the now-defunct Oakland Community Housing Inc.

The developer plans to remodel the building, which currently has 157 units, to a little more than 130 units by combining some units into one.

Liu is also working with city officials and the San Pablo Corridor Coalition on beautification, streetscaping and landscaping programs. The area has severe challenges — crime, prostitution, drug trade — to combat, but longtime residents want to see more investment.

“There is great potential for development in the area as long as it’s well-managed,” said Dedoceo Habi, chair of the of neighborhood coalition and resident of the San Pablo corridor. “We’re looking forward to working with EBALDC. We hope to make sure we have the right mix of development going forward.”

EBALDC currently operates 22 affordable communities comprising 1,500 units in Emeryville, Oakland, San Pablo and Richmond.

It has other projects moving forward such as Lion’s Creek Crossing, a multi-phase project that replaced an out-dated public housing community near the Oakland Coliseum. So far, 283 units have been built and a fourth phase of 72 units will break ground later this month.

“That project continues to have momentum that the city can build on to attract redevelopment of the entire Coliseum area,” Liu said.

The firm also hopes to target other parts of East Oakland and the Fruitvale district, where city officials and developers are working on a transit-oriented development plan along International Boulevard.

“It’s a challenge to create a healthy and vibrant neighborhood,” Liu said. “Our goal is to find the right opportunities.”

via EBALDC fights Oakland strip’s blight | San Francisco Business Times.