The Housing Need
[Part of the Reimagining the Vacant Triangular Lot at Claremont & College series]
by David Garcia
The barren, vacant triangle can and should be turned into new homes. While the site is not without quirks and challenges, it is more than large enough to support new development. With some creative design and ambition, the triangle could be transformed into four to six story homes for professionals, families and others who would contribute to our community’s vitality. The ground floor would become coveted retail frontage with the potential for outdoor space vthat would activate the long dormant corner.
The need for remediation and the site’s peculiar shape should not be cause for concern. Countless gas stations have been cleaned up and reused for new homes throughout California, and the triangle shape could inspire an architect to design a more aesthetically interesting building with curved edges and an interior courtyard. At 17,400 square feet, the site has plenty of space for multifamily buildings, many of which are routinely built on just 10,000 square feet or less. The location is the exact kind of place where we should advocate for housing: along major bus routes and walking distance to BART, which minimizes the need for unnecessary and expensive parking (though some parking would likely be provided onsite, underground).
Another reason the triangle should become homes: leaders have paved the way for residential development at this exact site. The city lists the two parcels on the triangle as “housing opportunity sites” in its housing element. This designation is essentially the city’s way of saying, “we really want these parcels to become homes.”
New state laws would help make the project financially feasible in exchange for including affordable homes on site. A project here is now also eligible for exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act, which would help get the project built faster and at lower risk. But perhaps most important, I believe the residents of Rockridge are ready to welcome more neighbors through increased housing. The lot is particularly well suited for new neighbors in a taller building, given that it would not abut any residential property.
Rockridge is one of the most affluent communities in Oakland. Yet Rockridge has only constructed 0.8% of its housing stock between 2020 and 2024, compared to the rest of the city, which saw a substantial increase in home development during the same time period—particularly around downtown. The disparity between homebuilding here and Oakland writ large is a cause for concern, especially as Oakland has a goal of building over 26,000 new homes by 2031.
Our neighborhood should be doing more to take on our fair share of homebuilding, not just because the city needs as much as housing as it can get to meet its goals, but because it’s the right thing to do to ensure that people who can’t afford to buy a home in our community have as many options as possible to live here.
