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Opinion – City’s Kaiser 99-Year Lease Proposal “Lacks in Benefits to Marginalized Communities”

Published

7 years ago

July 4, 2019

In 2014, the City of Oakland issued an RFP for the redevelopment of the Henry J Kaiser Center and Calvin Simmons Auditorium. Two proposals were considered. One was a detailed a robust reuse of the historic site with “baked in community benefit”, and self-accessed itself to supplement funding for cultural affairs.

The other proposal offered a less defined plan for the use of the site, and at one point considered market rate offices and perhaps a brewery as a use for the refurbished building.

The city accepted the latter proposal and entered into a relationship with Orton Development in 2015 and has bent over backward ever since to accommodate shifting iterations of the project now described as arts and nonprofit offices with a 1,500-seat theater.

In April 2019, the Community Coalition for Equitable Development filed an appeal opposing the April 3rd, 2019 Planning Commission decision granting Orton Development a Conditional Use Permit and clearing the way for the negotiation of a 99-year lease between the Developer and the City, privatizing this public site for the length of the agreement.

The appeal, which is scheduled to be heard by City Council this month, cites a failure on the part of the developer to engage stakeholders, calls out a lack of benefit to marginalized communities, questions the benefit to the City of Oakland, and was fueled in part by the city’s failure to enact its equity policies regarding the use of publicly owned property.

The negotiations between CCED and the developer have become a struggle, not over the levels of the anemic concessions contained in the term sheet of a project that was not designed with equity as a lens; but for a way to construct mechanisms that animate and implement some of the equity strategies the city has yet to employ.

Oakland changed between 2014 and 2019. The change is easy to observe in the correlation of the proliferation of cranes in the sky, the not so subtle change in the city’s demographics, and the rising price of living working and creating in The Town. Oakland is booming, but the effect of the boom doesn’t benefit all Oaklanders equally. Oakland has an equity problem. It has studied the root causes of these prevalent inequities, and crafted strategies informed by data and best practices to mitigate displacement and create more equitable outcomes.

The problem is, that as of this moment, the city does not seem to have found a way, or lacks the will, to implement the equity strategies outlined in multiple city policies, documents, and guidelines.

An approach suggested in the Mayor’s Task Force on Arts, and Housing suggests that the City utilize existing properties or buy properties on which to create equitable outcomes for artists at risk of displacement. The Calvin Simmons and the Henry J Kaiser represent unique opportunities to implement equity strategies. They offer an opportunity for the City to do a better job for the community than they did with the Fox, which presents an insurmountable access barrier in the price of production for the few days a year it is available to the community.

This project has become subject to Oakland’s Art Ordinance percent and is subject to the city Impact fee on new development, both grandfathered in. However, the developer was never instructed to use an equity lens. At what point does a failure to enact policy become a form of benign neglect?

The Henry J. Kaiser Center appeal is scheduled to be heard by City Council on July 9.

Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, Ph.D. is executive producing director of the The Lower Bottom Playaz, Inc.

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Oakland Post: Week of September 23 – 29, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 23 – 29, 2026

Published

11 hours ago

September 27, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of September 16 – 22, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 16 – 22, 2026

Published

6 days ago

September 21, 2026

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NFL: Week Two Recap | Jalen Hurts did not fold; Caleb Williams exits game with injury

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts found Darius Cooper with nine seconds left for the game winning touchdown as his team beat the Tennessee Titans 24-20 in Nashville. Hurts finished the day 26/37 for 264 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Prior to the final drive, the Eagles ran 25 plays for 45 […]
The post NFL: Week Two Recap | Jalen Hurts did not fold; Caleb Williams exits game with injury appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

September 20, 2026

Oakland Post

Prior to the final drive, the Eagles ran 25 plays for 45 yards. During the final drive Hurts went 6-8 with 61 passing yards and the touchdown. Titans defensive tackle — and team captain — Jeffery Simmons said this week that the way to defend Jalen Hurts is to make him “play quarterback.”

Hurts said to Simmons after today’s game: “You started that sh**. I had to finish it.”

Running back Saquon Barkley suffered a stinger in the first half but he ultimately finished the game. He had four carries and nine yards and one catch for eleven yards. He will get an MRI for his injury, but admitted to Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network he was fine.

Caleb Williams leaves game against Vikings with apparent lower-body injury

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was helped off the field with a right leg injury with 7:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. Williams was down, writhing in pain after scrambling to his left. After departing the injury tent, Williams raised his right fist, acknowledging the crowd while expressing his frustration. Testing will commence on Monday to find out more details about his injury.

“We’ll know tomorrow,” Johnson admitted regarding Williams’ injury. “He’s in good spirits. He’s a team player.”

Williams finished the day with 138 passing yards and one interception.

“I’m actually happy it’s nothing with the knee — that was my first inclination,” Johnson said. “But, a hamstring could be pretty damaging as well. So, we’ll see. We’ll see how bad it is tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”

Bryce Young once again dominated the Falcons

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is 5-1 against the Atlanta Falcons and is undefeated at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Today, Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns as he led the Panthers to a 34-3 dismembering of the Atlanta Falcons. Georgia Tech alumnus Darren Waller caught two touchdowns and linebacker Devin Lloyd returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown.

Cooper Rush started his second straight game for the Falcons and it did not go well. The partisan crowd voiced their displeasure after Rush completed 10/17 passes for 86 yards and two interceptions. Jack Strand entered the game for Rush prompting cheers from the Falcons fans. The rookie threw a pick-six on his first career pass attempt. Strand was the first QB to accomplish that feat since Sam Darnold in 2018 and is the first Falcons player to do that since Brett Favre in 1991. Strand finished the day with 59 passing yards and 16 rushing yards.

According to reports, quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. is expected to make his season debut this Thursday at the Green Bay Packers. His return should help the Falcons. They are the first team since the 2008 Rams to not run any plays in the red zone after the first two games to open a season.

The bright spots for the Falcons today were the Spelman College Jaguarettes performing with the Falcons cheerleaders and Florida A&M’s marching band, The Marching 100, also performed during halftime!

Jayden Daniels gets carted off after apparent arm injury

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels appeared to injure his left elbow on the final play of the first half in his game against the Dallas Cowboys. During the play, Daniels got stepped on, braced himself for the fall, and his elbow bent the wrong way. Daniels draped a towel over his head as he exited the field on the cart.

He was later ruled out.

Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow to the same arm during week nine of last season against the Washington Commanders, which led to him being shut down for the remainder of the season.

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