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San Francisco

Oakland college campus ripe for conversion into 450 residential units

Plans at former California College of the Arts site call for the demolition of 10 buildings

CA College of the Arts Stephen Beal with 5212 Broadway in Oakland
CA College of the Arts Stephen Beal with 5212 Broadway in Oakland (Google Maps, Twitter/@StephenBeal2)

California College of the Arts’ former campus in Oakland could become a redevelopment project with nearly 450 units of housing, according to a Planning Commission meeting. 

The proposed project is a partnership between CCA, which owns the property, and San Francisco-based real estate developers Emerald Fund and Equity Community Builders. 

The campus is located at 5212 Broadway. Plans call for the development of two buildings that will contain 448 units and 6,600 square feet of commercial space. The project would require the demolition of 10 buildings. About 41,000 square feet of open space will remain, according to the plans. 

The original plans for the redevelopment was unveiled in 2018, calling for 589 housing units, a 19-story residential tower and 35 artist homes in a refurbished dormitory on Clifford Street. Due to community feedback, the developers updated their plans which resulted in a midrise concept that eliminated the tower, added more open space and reduced the unit count to 448. 

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“The project has evolved, and been shaped by, over five years of community input and feedback from a variety of stakeholders with an interest in the former CCA campus, Rockridge and Oakland,” the project’s website states.

CCA first opened in Berkeley in 1907 and moved to Oakland in 1922. In the mid 90s the school opened a second campus in San Francisco, and announced that the Oakland location would close and merge with the San Francisco campus last year.

CCA isn’t the only historical college in Oakland to close its doors. Holy Names announced at the end of last year it will shut down, and the campus listed for sale this month for $70 million. Developers are eyeing either preserving the educational function of the location or redeveloping the 60-acre site into residential units. 

“It could be a candidate for single-family housing or condominiums,” Tim Warren from Nai Norcal said. “Apartments would be unlikely given its proximity to downtown Oakland and public transportation.”