Big Oakland housing proposal revived, sans 'McMansions’

SF Gate

From the article:

The plan to transform the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital property in the Oakland hills into a mixed-use community with 935 homes is being revived six years after it was shelved because of the recession.

SunCal, which originally partnered on the project with defunct investment bank Lehman Bros., plans to resubmit plans for the 187-acre project, said Pat Kelleher, Oak Knoll project manager for the Irvine developer.

“We are picking up where we left off,” Kelleher said.

While the new vision is similar in size and scope to the one that was put on hold in 2008, Kelleher said SunCal has dropped the most controversial part of the original proposal: the 16 multimillion-dollar “McMansions” that were to be built along Oak Knoll’s prized ridge.

Kelleher said his group met with neighbors over the past few months and was convinced that the 14.8 acres along the ridge should remain open space. In total, the plan calls for 80 acres of open space and parks and more than 4 miles of trails. A 16-acre area around a creek will also be rehabilitated. The property is at 8750 Mountain Blvd.

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