Fruitvale Village

Fruitvale Village I is a four-acre mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development located next to the Fruitvale Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station about 4.5 miles south of downtown Oakland, California. It is the central core of Fruitvale Village, a 19-acre area that includes a new housing development for seniors, extensive facade and street improvements, and both surface and structured parking spaces. Developed by the Unity Council, a local nonprofit community development corporation, the project mixes 37 market-rate loft-style apartments with ten affordable units, office space, more than 20 retail stores, a seniors' center, a Head Start child development center, a city of Oakland public library, and a health clinic that provides linguistically and culturally appropriate care to patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Under the original zoning code this high-density, mixed-use development would not have been legal. Creation of a new overlay zone, which includes density bonuses and reduced parking requirements, was required to allow developers to overcome the underlying land use limitations. The project also lies within the boundaries of a tax increment financing (TIF) district, and was financed in part through a loan from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation that was secured with TIF funds. Additional funds came from tax-exempt bond proceeds from the city of Oakland.


Image and case study courtesy of Urban Land Institute Development Case Studies.