Unlike the lone commissioner who voted against the project, I do believe Oakland can build its way out of it’s current housing crunch, and the Merritt and East Lake neighborhoods are a great next step:
- Easy access to the amenities surrounding Lake Merritt
- BART
- Plentiful multi-family residences waiting for renovation and health/safety upgrades
- Beautiful turn-of-the-century single-family housing stock
Schools and crime remain serious issues – but ones that should not deter us from rejuvenating this section of town. Only by providing as much new housing as possible can we hope to ease the affordability crisis.
“The Oakland Planning Commission approved a 24-story residential tower on the east edge of Lake Merritt on Wednesday, rebuffing a parade of neighborhood critics who fear market-rate development would spur further gentrification.”