A Boston-based developer aims to get a long-stalled Bay Area project off the ground after nearly two decades in limbo.
Freehold Communities is poised to start construction on Oak Knoll, a proposed development on 190 acres of land in Oakland Hills, The Oaklandside reported. Freehold took over management of the project, set to rise on the site of the former Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, from New York-based Argent Development earlier this year.
“We hope to get the project back on track so we see notable progress here as 2025 turns into 2026,” Freehold’s Brad Shuckhart told the outlet.
The project calls for 918 homes — a mixture of townhouses and single-family homes — as well as 86,000 square feet of retail, plus trails and parks. The first phase of the project includes 290 homes on the southern portion of the property. Currently, paved roads and a newly restored creek run through the swath of land between Keller Avenue and Mountain Boulevard.
Freehold has secured most of the necessary city approvals for the first phase, and it’s expected to start final preparation work on the lots in the next few months, Shuckhart told The Oaklandside. Freehold plans to sell off the lots to various homebuilders.
Oak Knoll Naval Hospital closed in 1996, and two years later, Oakland City Council approved a general plan for a mixed-use development at the site. But the idea hit several roadblocks over the ensuing decades.
Developer SunCal and financial services firm Lehman Brothers bought the property in 2006 with plans to bring the project to fruition. But Lehman Brothers fell apart in bankruptcy two years later during the subprime mortgage crisis.
SunCal bought the site back in 2014 and the city greenlighted an updated development plan for Oak Knoll in 2017. The current owner of the site is Oak Knoll Venture Acquisition, a city of Oakland spokesperson told the outlet. It’s unclear who’s associated with the limited liability company.
Oakland is on the hook to build 26,251 new units of housing by 2031 as part of its Housing Element. Nearly 3,800 have been completed so far, according to Oakland’s regional housing needs dashboard.
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