Retirement home plans seem on the right track

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Nov 16, 2004 | by Laura Casey, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- Four months after neighbors of the historic Altenheim Retirement home complained its new developer was not listening to their concerns, the housing development for low-income seniors is back on track for approvals from the city's Planning Commission.

San Francisco-based nonprofit developer Citizens Housing Corp. plans to remake the Altenheim into a 174-unit development that embraces the home's original design as an unofficial Oakland landmark.

The company received $3.68 million from the city a year ago to move forward on Phase I of the development -- about 60 units inside the original Altenheim structure.

Citizens Housing is now applying for a second batch of money from the city, about $2.3 million, to expand Phase I to include other historic buildings and add 40 more units.

If the Altenheim blueprint wins approval from the Planning Commission in January as expected, construction will begin in summer 2005, said Citizens Housing President James Buckley.

"This is all part of an additional effort to expand the first phase so that all the historic buildings can be renovated at once," he said.

Lack of communication

The 100-year-old Altenheim Retirement Home closed in 2002 because it failed to attract new residents. The nonprofit Altenheim Association responsible for the property chose Citizens Housing to redevelop the property to serve seniors.

Citizens Housing has been working with the Dimond district community to gather input on how to best use the property and make it a viable housing complex in the prospering neighborhood.

Yet some Altenheim neighbors objected in July to what they called Citizens' lack of communication with the neighborhood. At issue was a building the corporation would like to erect 15 feet from Excelsior Avenue.

Buckley said communication has improved and Citizens is doing everything it can to meet neighbors' and the city's approval.

"I think we worked very closely with the neighbors on each side of the property to resolve specific conditions that came up with our design," he said.

In the meantime, the Dimond Improvement Association is gathering ideas on how to spend nearly $200,000 of city and state money to improve traffic and pedestrian safety in the Fruitvale corridor.

Brainstorming

The Dimond is home to several elementary schools, said Dimond Improvement Association Chairwoman Hoang Banh, and will be home to hundreds of seniors once the Altenheim and Lincoln Court -- formerly the maligned Hillcrest Motel -- are rebuilt.

Banh said her office has teamed with the city of Oakland and the Unity Council to hold a brainstorming meeting Thursday on how to best use the improvement money.

"The Fruitvale corridor during commute hours is very packed," she said. "We will talk about sidewalks, lighting bulb-outs and making the bus-riding experience more enjoyable. It's not just traffic safety and flow but also the beautification aspect."

The meeting is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Patten University's Student Center, 2433 Coolidge Ave. For more information visit http://www.dimondnews.org