The Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC) will take up the issue of the “Redevelopment Of California College Of The Arts” tonight at its “town hall” meeting.
The RCPC meeting agenda for the 7:30 PM gathering reports that “College management and its development associates will discuss current planning status and answer audience questions and concerns.”
What Is The Rockridge Community Planning Council?
For those of you who don’t know, the Rockridge Community Planning Council was, according to its website…
“incorporated in 1985 as a non-profit public-benefit organization founded to:
Preserve and enhance the unique character of the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, California
Promote the health, safety, and quality of life of its residents
Furnish a forum for community involvement
Provide leadership and representation of neighborhood interestsRCPC is a 14-member board of directors representing the Rockridge community to the City of Oakland. Its directors are elected by its members, the citizens of Rockridge who live within its boundaries. The Board meets monthly and its standing committees have their own schedule of meetings.”
Why Redevelopment Of California College Of The Arts?
Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP, the architect for the California College Of The Arts Redevelopment Project, described the “why” as follows:
To increase efficiency and manage future expansion, CCA is considering the consolidation of all their facilities and dormitories to its second campus in San Francisco while exploring redevelopment possibilities of their four-acre hillside Oakland campus.
SCCA engaged the VMWP team to conduct test-fit capacity studies and conceptual mixed-use design scenarios that optimize the hillside site. The preferred design comprises several new residential podium buildings with below-grade parking, street-facing retail along Broadway Avenue, and retrofitted institutional buildings. Additionally, two architecturally significant historic buildings are preserved to provide both shared residents’ facilities and news arts programs. Together with its mature redwood trees, new common open spaces, and expansive views over Downtown Oakland, this unique project exhibits exceptional place making potential.
The development program includes 250-350 housing units, 4,000 s.f. of retail, and 25,000 s.f. of institutional space.
The meeting is set to start at 7:30 PM tonight, at the upstairs meeting room of the Rockridge Branch Library at 5366 College Avenue, in North Oakland.