Construction Meeting Review
On Thursday, December 11th at 6:30pm, what may have been the last construction meeting - or at least the last for now - was held at the Egghouse.

Don Smith from the City of Oakland facilitated the meeting as he has in the past with representatives from the projects under construction and interested parties from the neighborhood. It was nice to reconvene and get an update on all the new (not rehab) projects in the Jack London District.

The Ellington - 222 Broadway - has their temporary occupancy permits, and should have their final occupany permit at the beginning of the year. Typically we've seen people move in at this point, but at this point it is not clear what the developer intends. They are handing out marketing information and taking appointments to tour the building, but I've not seen pricing or move in dates. In any case, because the construction is basically finished, no representatives were at the meeting.

311 2nd Street - also known as The Colony - was represented by San Jose Construction. Bud (sorry, didn't catch the last name) says that they are 70% completed. Windows are in progress, and we should see the final floor (8th) arched windows go in next week. Cabinets have arrived, and the painters have started. The sanitary sewer project is complete, although the City continues to dig up areas throughout the District as part of a different project. The trench plates on 2nd Street should go away next week. This building will be painted before completion, and if their choices with Aqua Via are anything to go by, it should be a great looking addition to the neighborhood. Although the final name for the project has not been chosen, it is clear that they will not ultimately be going with "The Colony". They expect temporary occupany permits to be issued in late June or July. This building is being built as condos, but just like it's sister building, Aqua Via, they will be rentals to begin with. I'm sure that when the market heats up again, we'll see some of these units hit the market. Renters will have first choice, which is something to think about with the prime penthouse units with fabulous views.

66 Franklin (previously home to El Torito and the Spaghetti Factory back in the day) was discussed as having permits processed for a bakery. Meg Ray, of Miette in San Francisco, is opening another site here, although I've heard it will not be called Miette. Oakland Convention Visitors Bureau has a press release that you can read.

55 Harrison - also known as "Jack London Market" (and previously known as "Harvest Hall" during the planning stage) was not discussed, but obviously the building is well under way. This is the building directly behind (almost appears to be surrounding) Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon.

255 2nd Street - also known as "Site G" - is well under way, with completion scheduled for mid-February. There will be an art installation on the two sheer walls - one facing the Amtrak station and the other facing what is currently known as The Colony project. Last weekend the installation of the pedestrian bridge crossing over towards the Jack London Market went very well. This building will have some feature elements painted, but overall will retain the plain concrete look. The arches facing 2nd Street were part of the improvements suggested by the neighborhood during design meetings coordinated between the architect and local interested parties. The security lighting was discussed as being invasive to residents facing the project, and project manager Frank (again, sorry no last name) from Pankow was quick to respond and headed over after the meeting to make some changes. Thank you's from various community members have already been voiced and his actions are greatly appreciated.

The other discussion, which comes up at every single meeting, was in regards to construction worker parking on the streets of the neighborhood. While the streets are indeed public streets, the terms and conditions of the conditions of approval for all projects being built (not rehabs), are that construction workers must NOT park on City streets. They must park in designated off-street parking provided by the developer. Both Bud & Frank said that they continue to have a morning meeting with their workers for that day regarding the parking situation and obviously they are paying for off site parking, and they don't want the neighborhood calling, so I do think that they are doing more than has been done in the past. No fines have ever been levied, although a few years ago several (2-4?) were forced to pay into a fund to enforcement when the problem got out of hand.

There was no word on 377 2nd Street (where Mingles & the Oak Tree used to be) and what was going on at that site. Demolition was done in late November and they are still removing debris from that site. Don Smith was going to check on whether it was properly permited, because certainly no notices were sent out as they should have been. Considering the blight that the empty spaces had become, it's probably better that it was knocked down.

As for future meetings, there are none scheduled at this point. If enough people call and complain, another may be added in the future, but things have definately quieted down from the events of 2002-2004.

Each project continues to maintain contact information signage at their projects so if you do have an issue, you can contact the project directly. They also have City contact information, which is a good second chance place to look for help if at first you don't get the help you need directly from the project.

Lastly, I mentioned that this meeting covered new projects and not rehab projects, such as the rehab going on at 3rd & Webster. The earthquake retrofit of what used to be home of Bay Cities Produce, is the future home of Blue Bottle Coffee. This is an exciting new arrival expected in 2009, that the neighborhood can look forward to. We'll have more information on it coming soon.
Posted 12/14/2008