Nonprofit developers bringing affordable apartments to Oakland

Two nonprofit organizations are stepping up to address homelessness in Oakland.

East Bay Asian Local Development Group is partnering with Allied Housing Inc. to build a 59-unit, 100 percent affordable housing apartment building, located at the intersections of West Grand Avenue, 22nd Street, and Brush Street in West Oakland, according to a press release.

Residents who make between 15 and 70 percent of the area’s median income would qualify for the housing. Thirty units would also be reserved for formerly homeless individuals and families.

Amenities at West Grand & Brush will include a laundry room, a community room with a kitchen, an outdoor landscaped courtyard on the second floor and an outdoor deck space on the fifth floor. Construction is expected to be completed during the summer of 2024.

The need for affordable housing for individuals experiencing homelessness in Oakland is as apparent as ever with the closing of the largest homeless encampment in Oakland which was located just three blocks from the project.

Caltrans, who owned the land of the encampment, said it would be clearing the area in phases beginning at the end of July. City officials have argued that they don’t have enough shelter beds to accommodate the number of people living at the encampment, which spans 25 city blocks.

The state has also put pressure on Oakland and other California cities for not addressing homelessness. Governor Gavin Newsom told cities that he would halt $1 billion in state funds until they could prove they have an aggressive plan to address homelessness.

“Californians demand accountability and results, not settling for the status quo,” Newsom said in a statement. “As a state, we are failing to meet the urgency of this moment. … Everyone has to do better — cities, counties and the state included.”

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