Join Us on Saturday, June 13
for an
Important Community Meeting
TWO BUILDING PROPOSALS WILL SERIOUSLY IMPACT ROCKRIDGE AND ITS RESIDENTS
Two huge market-rate high-rise towers are proposed to replace the Trader Joe’s store in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland (College Ave between Miles and Oak Grove). No affordable units are planned, and the developer says they intend to kick out the very popular Trader Joe’s grocery store currently on the site.
At 25 and 31 stories, the Two Terrible Towers will be the tallest around for miles, as you can see in the image above. All Rockridge is currently low- to mid-rise single-family homes and 2-4 story apartment buildings. The towers will dwarf the neighborhood, providing fabulous views for those who can afford them. The proposed market-rate project will be for seniors. Some commercial/retail use is planned for the ground floor but is not clear what the developers have in mind. Their plans indicate a restaurant and a cafe. We don’t know if they will be open to the public and there is a question as to whether they legally have can have any commercial uses. They are definitely NOT proposing to retain Trader Joe’s, our popular grocery store. (That’s not surprising when you know that the land on which TJ’s sits is owned by Albertson’s (owner of Safeway, Albertsons, and Vons). Clearly there’s plenty of room for a grocery store but the submitted plans don’t include it.
The Rockridge Trader Joe’s store will be eliminated from our neighborhood entirely, forcing us to shop ONLY at Safeway or Whole Foods. The City has designated Rockridge as a “high resource” neighborhood, yet it is developments like these that remove those very resources.
And, because there is no requirement for affordable units, only the wealthy will be able to live there, doing absolutely NOTHING to make a dent in Oakland’s housing affordability crisis!
Rockridge needs more diverse housing, but this is not the way to achieve it. We welcome mid-rise development along College Avenue, and we believe most of the people who live in Rockridge would support that, providing there are adequate setbacks to protect the nearest neighbors.
Towers this size do not belong on the small residential streets of Rockridge! We want people to be able to afford to live in Rockridge, but market-rate housing is already overly-prevalent here. And there are lots of vacancies in those buildings. Affordable and workforce housing (for teachers, hospitality workers, day care professionals, etc.) should be the City’s priority.
The developer’s application reserves the right to change the units to condominiums, which may indicate that declaring the building senior residences is a ploy to obtain the bonus height and density that the new laws permit, with a later conversion to condos or commercial apartments.
The Trader Joe’s in Rockridge was the first California store to become unionized. What happens to these 120+ union employees when the store closes? Let’s fight to save their jobs and this community resource.
Tell the developer that the neighborhood wants mid-rise affordable units and that we want Trader Joe’s to remain here. You can join the fight to scrap the Two Terrible Towers and Save our Trader Joe’s by signing this petition today. Spread the word by re-posting this message to Nextdoor, Twitter, Facebook and all your social media accounts. Pass this message along to your neighbors and friends! COME TO THE COMMUNITY MEETING ON JUNE 13 to learn more about what you can do. Read and support the Rockridge Volce to keep up to date on this important issue.
Go to this link to sign the petition
https://c.org/jKrRG8mBsg