Liberated 23rd Ave - Oakland CLT

Liberated 23rd Avenue

The 23rd Avenue Community Building is a vibrant mixed-use cultural hub in the center of Oakland’s Lower San Antonio neighborhood consisting of eight apartments, four storefronts housing community-serving nonprofit organizations, and a community garden. In early 2017, the residents and commercial tenants of the building received notification from the building owner that she was selling the property. Knowing that a sale might lead to the displacement of the long-term occupants, the owner gave the residents and tenants approximately four months to present an offer to buy the building. After unsuccessful meetings with a handful of affordable housing organizations, the residents connected with OakCLT and a partnership to save the property was born. OakCLT and the residents coalesced around a vision of preserving the property as a community asset with permanently affordable rents and a pathway towards cooperative self-management and shared ownership. OakCLT pulled together a financing plan with support from the Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF / now known as Community Vision), the City of Oakland, OakCLT equity, a grant from the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST), and over 600 contributions from the resident-led #Liberate23rdAve crowdfunding campaign. OakCLT and the residents “liberated 23rd Ave” in November 2017!