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REAL ESTATE
Too much affordable housing? Concord rejects low-income project downtown, draws state scrutiny
At a public hearing last month, a real estate developer approached the Concord City Council with a proposal that, to many, might have seemed too good to turn down: 183 new downtown apartments, nearly all affordable, at no cost to the city. All the developer asked of the council? Permission...
Affordable housing complex opens in Oakland, thanks to community efforts
City officials and community leaders held a grand-opening ceremony Thursday at Acts Cherry Hill, a 55-unit, affordable, mixed-use development on International Boulevard in east Oakland. Many living in the apartment complex moved in last August, applying through a housing lottery. They were chosen out of about 5,000 applicants, according to the apartment's residents and staff. Many credit the opening of the Cherry Hill Apartments to Bishop Bob Jackson, the senior pastor at Acts Full Gospel Church of God in Christ. However, Bishop Jackson credited the late Charles Hill. "I'm getting a lot of kudos, wham whams, and fuzzies, and I...
It's Time: Imagine Dragons' Ben McKee Lists His Harmonious Retreat in Oakland, CA, for $1.3M
Ben McKee, songwriter, producer, and bassist for the band Imagine Dragons, has put his impressive Bay Area home in Oakland, CA, on the market for $1,295,000. The three-bedroom, three-bath dwelling sports 2,696 square feet on a quarter-acre lot. Per McKee, leaving this contemporary gem behind won't be easy as many...
Annexation approved for controversial housing development near Pittsburg ridgeline
PITTSBURG — A controversial 606-acre property in the rolling Los Medanos hills southwest of Pittsburg was annexed into the city limits Wednesday, clearing the way for a prolific East Bay developer to realize decades-long plans to build homes near the scenic ridgeline. The Faria/Southwest Hills Project aims to construct...
Downtown Oakland tower is seized by lender as Bay Area office woes widen
OAKLAND — A downtown Oakland office tower has been seized through a foreclosure that points to a huge plunge in real estate values and a feeble Bay Area commercial property market. 1700 Broadway, a 10-story highrise in downtown Oakland’s bustling Uptown district, is now owned by its lender following...
‘Pro-housing’ advocates take reins of small but powerful Rockridge group
One by one, their faces populated the Zoom screen. Renters, homeowners, a new parent holding a crying baby. Thirteen people—more than the number of candidates in Oakland’s last mayoral election—vying for six seats on the Rockridge Community Planning Council board. Over the next hour of the April...
Berkeley homeowners scramble after insurers end coverage citing fire risk
Like many around the state, Berkeley homeowners are facing non-renewal of their homeowner’s insurance because of the area’s outsized wildfire risk. It’s taken many by surprise and, with the insurance market in California shrinking, has left several with no clear option other than the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan, which insures homeowners whom traditional insurers will not. Private insurers back the plan, but homeowners say it costs too much and covers too little.
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