"All the public lenders, BART and the lender - Citibank, support, as we do, OHA becoming an owner in the property," said Michael Johnson, the current owner and developer of Coliseum Connections. This transfer would "help stabilize the property" after "tenants not paying rent on the heels of COVID and the eviction moratorium from 2020 - 2024," Johnson wrote in an email."
"OHA is a federally funded agency that operates about 1,600 public housing units in Oakland and administers Section 8. Johnson's company, UrbanCore Development, opened Coliseum Connections in 2019. The property has 110 units, spread among several townhouses and the large apartment building that flooded on New Year's Eve 2022. Half of the homes are affordable for low-income residents, and the other half are market-rate. A number of families with children live at the site."
"As 2022 turned to 2023, a vicious storm hit Oakland, and water deluged the main building's parking garage, damaging the electrical system throughout the property. Tenants had to evacuate on New Year's Day. Nobody knew it was the last time they'd be able to sleep at home for months. In the aftermath of the flood, tensions erupted, first between the tenants and Johnson and the property management company, FPI, and then between Johnson and the city."
The Oakland Housing Authority is exploring assuming ownership of Coliseum Connections in East Oakland, potentially as sole or partial owner. The 110-unit property, opened in 2019 by UrbanCore Development, sits on BART land near the Coliseum station and combines 50 percent affordable units with 50 percent market-rate units. A severe storm on New Year's Eve 2022 flooded the main building's parking garage, damaged the electrical system, and forced long-term evacuations. Tensions arose among tenants, the owner and the property manager over accommodations and repairs, and the city provided emergency support. Public lenders, BART and Citibank back OHA becoming an owner to stabilize the property after pandemic-related rent losses.
#oakland-housing-authority #coliseum-connections #flood-displacement #ownership-transfer #affordable-housing
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