We are thrilled that the state Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program has recommended $168 Million in funding awards this year for projects in four East Bay communities: Oakland, El Cerrito, Berkeley, and Walnut Creek!
In addition to the construction of over 400 new affordable homes, these grant awards include funding for new protected bikeways and trails in each city, sidewalk and transit upgrades, as well as multiple years of Bike East Bay classes for residents at the Berkeley and El Cerrito sites.
This program is provided through the state Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), to enable below market housing developments as well as sustainable transportation infrastructure to serve residents of these developments, and others.
New funding is made available via a competitive application process once every several years. Previous awards have helped to pay for projects such as:
- Berkeley’s Milvia St separated bikeway, opened in 2022
- Oakland’s Fruitvale Ave separated bikeway currently under construction
- San Pablo Ave separated bikeways in El Cerrito also in construction now
- Union City’s Decoto Rd separated bikeway breaking ground soon
Visit the program website here to learn more & encourage your city to apply for future funding cycles. Bike East Bay has partnered with many of these non-profit developers to add our bicycle education and encouragement classes to the applications, providing free resources for residents to help them take more trips by bike.
Oakland: Liberation Park Residences ($45M)
This development (concept illustration in the post header above) from Eden Housing at 6955 Foothill Boulevard (info here) will include 119 units of affordable housing reserved for households earning between 20% and 60% of the area median oncome, including 25% of units reserved for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Eight units will accommodate home-based businesses, and a companion development will create a market hall for commercial, co-working, and event uses.
The associated transportation projects receiving funding from this grant will further Oakland’s Laurel Access to Mills, Maxwell Park and Seminary (LAMMPS) projects.
This includes the Phase 2 separated bike/walk trail along MacArthur Blvd on the west side of Mills College, and the Phase 3Â trail along Seminary Ave trail on the east side.
El Cerrito Plaza BART - Parcel A South ($39M)
This project includes 70 units of affordable housing on what is currently a surface car parking lot adjacent to the El Cerrito Plaza BART station, from the non-profit developer Related Companies of California.
The site connects directly to the popular Ohlone Greenway trail between Berkeley and Richmond, as well as a future connection via our San Pablo Ave campaign from Downtown Oakland all the way to the Carquinez Bridge.
This is the first stage of a plan to develop the rest of the BART surface parking lots (site map below), including a mix of both affordable as well as market rate housing, and a future secure bike parking room available to the public (in addition to the existing BikeLink lockers).
The bike/walk/transit infrastructure component of this application includes:
- A half mile of east-west Class IV protected bicycle lanes on Central Ave from San Pablo Ave to Richmond St
- A half mile of traffic-calmed bike boulevard on Lincoln Ave from San Pablo Ave to Ashbury Ave
- A traffic-calmed bike boulevard on Lassen St from Carlson Blvd to Belmont Ave, west of the station area
- Nearly a half mile of sidewalk and pedestrian upgrades on Richmond St
- Five new bus boarding islands and shelters
Walnut Creek: 699 Ygnacio Valley Road ($35M)
The non-profit developer Resources for Community Development (info here) will transform Walnut Creek’s 699 Ygnacio Valley Road, a former gas station, into a mixed-use, transit-oriented development with 93 new affordable homes.
Resident amenities will include a multi-purpose community room, bicycle storage room, and a landscaped courtyard.
The County of Contra Costa Behavioral Health Services will offer supportive services for residents of the apartments reserved for previously homeless individuals with a significant mental health disorder.
The bike infrastructure component of this application is shown above. This includes:
- Class II painted bike lanes on Arroyo Way
- Class IV separated bicycle lanes, a sidewalk gap closure, and a car lane reduction (“road diet”) on North Broadway
- Class IV separated bike lanes on Parkside Dr
- A Class III traffic-calmed Bicycle Boulevard on Walden Rd, connecting to the Iron Horse Trail
- Pedestrian upgrades on North Broadway and Arroyo and Civic
North Berkeley BART ($49M)
This 120-unit, 100% affordable development from BRIDGE Housing will serve individuals and families making 30%-70% of Area Median Income, and include a small first-floor retail space.
The project is the part one of a comprehensive redevelopment at the North Berkeley BART station, including the replacement of more than eight acres of car parking lots with 739 apartments, over two phases.
The transportation components of this grant award include:
- An extension of the Ohlone Greenway bike/walk path through the site, from the corner of Acton and Virginia Streets to the corner of Delaware and Sacramento Streets
- New sidewalks on Virginia and Sacramento Streets, and along the Station Access Road through the site
- Class IV separated bikeways around the station perimeter including on Virginia Street from Acton to Sacramento
- A publicly accessible plaza above the BART tunnel which runs diagonally across the site
- Five new bus shelters and boarding islands around the station
- Upgrades to the Class II painted bicycle lane on Sixth Street from Camelia to University, west of the station area
We are also very excited that our own bicycle education program is receiving multiple years of funding via this grant award to provide classes for development residents and others, to help encourage folks to use bikes for transportation and have more fun on every ride!
Learn more about our award-winning, free bike ed program at BikeEastBay.org/education.
Applications Not Recommended for Funding
Additional AHSC applications were submitted for developments in Dublin, San Leandro, and other East Bay jurisdictions but which so far have not been recommended for funding.
We appreciate the developers and city staff who put their time into the applications, and look forward to partnering in other ways to still make these projects happen!