Uptown Oakland: sunny public plaza or hidden park?

Which sounds better for the northwest corner of Telegraph Avenue and 19th Street in Oakland, in the midst of the Uptown Arts and Entertainment District anchored by the Fox Theater, under restoration, and the Paramount Theater:

• a 14-story building, straight up with no setback, towering over the art-deco Fox just across 19th Street; a park would be hidden in the shadows behind the new building;
• a sunny public plaza on Telegraph, with the new building sited in back of it, away from Telegraph Avenue and the historic Fox facade?

Why does Forest City, the developer of the Uptown Oakland project, seem to be insisting on the first option?

The other three blocks of the Uptown project are already under construction, 665 residential units at mostly six stories between Telegraph and San Pablo Avenues and 19th and 20th Streets. The only ground-floor commercial is on Telegraph Avenue.

Last July the Planning Commission's Design Committee gave the building's design a thumbs-down. The committee responded positively to the public's request that the location of the park and the building be flipped so that there could be a plaza on Telegraph. As one speaker put it, "The Forest City project was designed to insulate it from the city. A plaza at 19th and Telegraph would open it up to the city."

Instead of fostering the arts district, which could bring active pedestrian nightlife to downtown Oakland, Forest City has turned its back on it. The proposed public space would be a mostly sunless space on a street with few pedestrians day or night. Forest City claims it will be safe because it will have 24-hour security - an admission that it is not a safe location. Not only would patrons of the restaurants and theaters find the space hard to locate, but as a city park, it would have to close after dark.

Unlike Berkeley with its Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee, Uptown Oakland has had no meaningful public planning process. The project's site plan was simply presented to the public as a fait accompli. The developer had to suffer through some public hearings, but didn't change anything. In June 2004 the Sierra Club conducted a workshop on the location of the public space. Forest City refused to participate, but, with the blessing of the city planning director, who even gave a presentation, we went ahead.

Arts districts flourish where there is a public space that encourages people to linger. Such a space, enlivened by evening commercial activities such as book and record stores, gelato shops, restaurants, news stands, flower stalls, wandering minstrels, jazz clubs, etc., will make the neighborhood a much safer and more pleasant place to live or to visit.

Since the Design Committee meeting, Forest City has gone back to the drawing board to change the façade of the building, but it has been adamant about keeping the public space where it is not readily usable by the general public, and where it will be unsafe for use by residents of its own buildings. This project, by the way, has a public subsidy of $64 million!

WhatYouCanDo

Since 2004 the Sierra Club Northern Alameda County Group has worked to have the Uptown public space sited on Telegraph Avenue. To join in the Group's efforts for sensible pedestrian-oriented development that promotes walking and compact growth, contact Chapter conservation manager or call (510) 848-0800, ext. 323

Joyce Roy, member, Northern Alameda Group Executive Committee