Uncategorized

Army Base Investigations Loom; Tagami Conflict of Interest Charged

Published

13 years ago

April 11, 2013

Oakland Post

Pat Kernighan

Lynette McElhaney

phil Tagami

Bill Aboudi

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Oversight of the massive Oakland Gateway Army Base development project – which has been confined to Oakland City Council’s Community and Economic Development committee for several months – may soon be moving into larger forums following two formal requests for investigations into the project.
Construction on the multimillion-dollar contract by Oakland-based developers California Capital & Investment Group (CCIG) and their international partner Prologis is scheduled to begin later this year.
Late last month, members of OaklandWORKS, a consortium of Oakland organizations, asked City Council President Pat Kernighan to work with City Auditor Courtney Ruby to review several aspects of the Army Base development financing.
A week ago Oakland Maritime Support Services President Bill Aboudi, a current Army Base tenant, put in a formal written request to Assistant City Administrator Fred Blackwell asking for a City Attorney opinion regarding Aboudi’s charges of conflict of interest and unethical business practices by CCIG in the Army Base project and said he would no longer recognize CCIG as the city’s agent in negotiations to move off of the Army Base property.
Meanwhile, CED Committee Chair Larry Reid and fellow committee member Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney have already called for a more formal public hearing before CED on “the economics of the Army Base deal.”
In their March 21 letter to Kernighan, OaklandWORKS representatives Rashidah Grinage of PUEBLO and Margaret Gordon of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project said, “The member organizations of OaklandWORKS are very concerned by the mounting number of questions coming to light” regarding certain aspects of the Army Base project.
Grinage and Gordon called for a financial analysis of the current state of the development project, including “what public and private funds are secured at this time” and “what gaps in funding exist” and whether or not the developers “anticipate seeking public debt financing in bonds or other forms” for the project.
The two Oakland leaders also asked for a review of the duties of the project’s Master Developer, CCIG and Prologis, as well as of the project agreement between the developer and the city.
In response, Kernighan told The Oakland Post, “The specific questions raised by OaklandWORKS will be addressed in a public forum in late May at a meeting of the City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee. I trust that following that discussion, the benefits of the Oakland Army Base project will be better understood by everyone and we can all move forward together to create jobs and revenue for the citizens of Oakland.”
Aboudi’s company is negotiating a move from the Oakland portion of the Army Base to the Port of Oakland portion while the Oakland portion is being developed, and at the same time is expecting agreement with the City on development of 15 acres of the Army Base property.
He said in his letter to Assistant City Administrator Blackwell that his company had “experienced over the past few months what can only be interpreted as a concerted effort by CCIG and certain City staff persons to disrupt our business operations, defame our company and harm our reputation.”
Aboudi repeated a charge he made last month before the CED committee that CCIG was guilty of a conflict of interest in its management of OMSS’ move to the Port portion of the Army Base, and requested “a stay of the proceedings” forcing his company’s move from the Oakland portion “until this conflict of interest is resolved.”
Aboudi said in his letter that he would no longer recognize CCIG as the agent of the city in negotiations over his company’s relocation, but would only deal directly with city staff.
Oakland city staff has given CCIG authority to serve as the city’s agent in negotiating the removal of the various existing tenants from the Army Base property to make way for the development.
In a letter to The Oakland Post, CCIG President Phil Tagami denied Aboudi’s allegations, asking why Oakland would “allow a single tenant [OMSS]-who is out of compliance with its lease, whose lease expressly provides for termination based on 30 days’ notice and who has known of its pending termination for nearly a year – to further delay [the Army Base] project?”

Oakland Post

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Uncategorized

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

8 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.