Oakland Post

New Life for Oakland Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center

OAKLAND POST — The Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Auditorium) in downtown Oakland is being brought back to life by nationally renowned developer, Orton Development, Inc. (ODI). ODI specializes in structuring win-win public private partnerships and has redeveloped a diverse range of properties including factories, offices, warehouses, retail, medical, educational, and live-work spaces.

Published

5 years ago

July 10, 2019

Eddie Dillard

By Eddie Dillard

The Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Auditorium) in downtown Oakland is being brought back to life by nationally renowned developer, Orton Development, Inc. (ODI).

ODI specializes in structuring win-win public private partnerships and has redeveloped a diverse range of properties including factories, offices, warehouses, retail, medical, educational, and live-work spaces.

City of Oakland’s Mayor Libby Schaaf states: ‘The Kaiser Convention Center is the crown jewel of Lake Merritt. The renovation of this historic space will revitalize the immediate area and bring a new, vibrant energy, to the shores of oui’ lake and one of Oakland’s greatest landmarks.”

The Project

The Henry J Kaiser Convention Center, a historic, publicly owned, multi-purpose building, is located at 10 Tenth St. in downtown Oakland. The 215,000-square-foot building is three stories tall with a full basement and includes a 6,000- seat arena, a large theater, a large ballroom and 185 parking spaces. Built in 1914, it closed in 2005. For 14 years, the building has been vacant and remains in deep disrepair.

Rust}’ Jackson, a nationally- known concert promoter said “the Henry J. Kaiser has an outstanding history as a building that hosted African American cultural arts and entertainment. From concerts featuring James Brown, to the Temptations, to the ‘Trat Games” and stage plays in the theater, the Henry J. Kaiser building has hosted events of historical significance in the Black community.”

The Orton Development Team’s plans are to restore the arena foyer and him the arena portion into offices for local arts and non-profit organizations, add a restaurant with outdoor seating on the first floor, and create practice rooms, rehearsal spaces, shops and storage space for artists in the basement.

The Calvin Simmons Theater, (named after the first African American conductor of a major symphony), located on the west side of the building, will have new theater systems, an expanded orchestra pit, revised seating and renovated dressing rooms.

According to Project Manager David Dial the north facade of the building, which includes historic cornices, awnings and signage, will be preserved. The restoration will include new ADA accessible paths of travel at the building entrances, replacement of sidewalks surrounding the building, and loading and drop off zones along 10th street.

ODI Development Team’s vision for the project encompasses the following 6 core values: 1) History’ – honor the building’s illustrious history in fiction and design; 2) Energy – create a hub of activity that spans the building throughout the day; 3) Community’ – invite the public into the building and design space that builds community within it; 4) Arts – accommodate artists as tenants and value the arts throughout the building; 5) Education – provide spaces for people of all ages to learn from experts and one another, 6) Fairness – support uses that all Oakland visitors and residents can enjoy.

According to Arif Khatib, founder and president emeritus of the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, “the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center has a rich history in Oakland, as the former Oakland Auditorium. This project will position Oakland for additional visibility as a city on the rise. It will enhance Oakland’s arts community’, its past and present performers, and has multiple uses that will make major contributions to the city and its citizens. It will add to Oakland’s reputation as a leader in advancing new and innovative ideas, themes and ventures of great social and cultural impact, and enhance the viability of the Bay Area, as a model region’

Project Benefits

The restoration of the Henry’ J Kaiser Convention Center, which will be renamed, Oakland Civic, creates substantial benefits for the City of Oakland, its residents and visitors. Bringing this premier^– concert venue back to life adds another first-class meeting place for major attractions and augments the Fox Theater and the Paramount Theater.

The project will create long-term and short-term employment opportunities for Oakland businesses and residents during the construction and operation phases. Fifty percent of all work will be performed by local. Oak- land-based small businesses, and will include union construction jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for Oakland residents. Commercial events in the Calvin Simmons Theater will provide work for the IATSE Local 107 stagehands. The project will also partner with local education institutions to create sustainable, hands-on training programs within the arts and trades.

The project will contribute $75,000 annually to support local arts organizations’ use of the Calvin Simmons Theater, the Gold Room and the Ballroom.

“The Oakland Civic represents a major opportunity to activate and operationalize the Mayor’s Task Force strategies for cultural preservation, as well as implement the Cultural Equity’ framework in the Cultural Plan” noted Eric Arnold, co-founder of the Community Coalition for Equitable Development and co-director of the Black Arts Movement Business District Community’ Development Corporation, ‘To do that requires some creative and visionary thinking — how can you balance permanent affordability, community inclusion, and economic feasibility, given the financial and logistical constraints? You have to not only apply an equity’ framework, but envision how community benefits can be realized over the duration of a 99-year lease.”

Next Steps

For the Project to move forward, the Oakland City Council must approve the Disposition and Development Agreement and approve the new markets tax credits, which stabilize the project’s funding. The Oakland City Council will hear this matter on July 9, 2009, 3:00 pm. at Oakland City Hall. Oakland residents and others interested in supporting this project are encouraged to inform the Council of their support and to attend the meeting.

Editor’s note: Eddie Dillard, the author of this article, is a supporter of the Orton project. A column written by opponents of the project has been published online at www.postnewsgroup.com

This article originally appeared the Oakland Post.

Eddie Dillard

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.

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City Government

Vallejo Community Members Appeal Major Use Permit for ELITE Charter School Expansion

Vallejo community members, former Solano County judge Paul Beeman and his wife Donna Beeman, filed an appeal against the approval of the Major Use Permit for the expansion of ELITE Public Schools into downtown less than two weeks after the Planning Commission approved the permit with a 6-1 vote.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Vallejo community members have appealed the Major Use Permit for the ELITE Public Schools Charter high school expansion in the downtown area. Photo by Kinyon and Kim Architects, Inc.

By Magaly Muñoz

ELITE Charter School has been attempting to move into the downtown Vallejo area at 241-255 Georgia Street for two years, aiming to increase its capacity for high school students. However, a small group of residents and business owners, most notably the Beeman’s, have opposed the move.

The former county judge and his wife’s appeal alleges inaccuracies in the city’s staff report and presentation, and concerns about the project’s exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The Beeman’s stress that their opposition is not based on the charter or the people associated with it but solely on land use issues and potential impact on their business, which is located directly next to the proposed school location.

The couple have been vocal in their opposition to the expansion charter school with records of this going back to spring of last year, stating that the arrival of the 400 students in downtown will create a nuisance to those in the area.

During the Planning Commission meeting, Mr. Beeman asked Commissioner Cohen-Thompson to recuse herself from voting citing a possible conflict of interest because she had voted to approve the school’s expansion as trustee of the Solano County Board of Education. However, Cohen-Thompson and City Attorney Laura Zagaroli maintained that her positions did not create a conflict.

“I feel 100% that the attorney’s opinion is wrong,” Beeman told the Post.

He believes that Cohen-Thompson has a vested interest in upholding her earlier vote as a trustee and is advocating for people to ratify her opinion.

Cohen-Thompson declined to comment on the Post’s story and Zagaroli did not respond for comment.

The Beeman’s further argue that the school’s presence in the commercial district could deter future businesses, including those who sell alcohol due to proximity to schools.

According to Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), the department can deny any retail license located within 600 feet of a school. Only one alcohol selling business is located within that range, which is Bambino’s Italian restaurant at 300 feet from the proposed location.

The project’s proponents argue that the school would not affect current or future liquor-selling establishments as long as they follow the ABC agency’s guidelines.

The Beeman’s also referenced Vallejo’s General Plan 2040, stating that the proposed expansion does not align with the plan’s revitalization efforts or arts and entertainment use. They argue that such a development should focus on vacant and underutilized areas, in accordance with the plan.

The proposed location, 241 Georgia Street aligns with this plan and is a two minute walk from the Vallejo Transit Center.

The General Plan emphasizes activating the downtown with, “Workers, residents, and students activate the downtown area seven days a week, providing a critical mass to support a ‘cafe culture’ and technology access, sparking innovation and entrepreneurship.”

City staff recommended exempting the project from CEQA, citing negligible impacts. However, Beeman raised concerns about increased foot traffic potentially exacerbating existing issues like theft and the lack of police presence downtown. He shared that he’s had a few encounters with kids running around his office building and disturbing his work.

Tara Beasley-Stansberry, a Planning Commissioner and owner of Noonie’s Place, told the Post that the arrival of students in downtown can mean not only opportunities for surrounding businesses, but can allow for students to find their first jobs and continue to give back to the community in revitalization efforts.

Beasley-Stansberry had advocated for the students at the March Commission meeting, sharing disappointment in the way that community members spoke negatively of the teens.

“To characterize these children as criminals before they’ve even graduated from high school, that’s when I had to really take a look and I was kind of lost as to where we were as a city and as a community to where I couldn’t understand how we were viewing these children,” Beasley-Stansberry told the Post.

She added that the commissioners who voted yes on the project location have to do what is right for the community and that the city’s purpose is not all about generating businesses.

ELITE CEO Dr. Ramona Bishop, told the Post that they have worked with the city and responded to all questions and concerns from the appropriate departments. She claimed ELITE has one of the fastest growing schools in the county with mostly Vallejo residents.

“We have motivated college-bound high school students who deserve this downtown location designed just for them,” Bishop said. “We look forward to occupying our new [location] in the fall of 2024 and ask the Vallejo City Council to uphold their Planning Commission vote without delay.”

The Vallejo City Council will make the final decision about the project location and Major Use Permit on April 23.