The parking lot above Lake Merritt BART is quickly turning into something very different: an eight-story senior affordable housing building that is now climbing visibly over downtown Oakland. The project at 51 9th Street, in the middle of the station area between 8th and Fallon, is the first phase of a long-planned transit-oriented redevelopment and will bring 97 permanently affordable apartments and a ground-floor commercial kitchen. As construction moves beyond early sitework, neighbors and riders are seeing more heavy equipment, lane changes and construction staging around the BART plaza while crews set formwork and pour the upper floors. This building is the first tangible piece of a larger master plan meant to transform two BART-owned blocks.
According to SF YIMBY, the 85-foot, 82,360-square-foot building will include 22 studios, 70 one-bedrooms and five two-bedrooms, with common areas such as a community room, computer room, rooftop lounge and rooftop garden. The design by PYATOK calls for a facade that mixes brick veneer, fiber-cement panels, composite wood and plaster, and residents will have access to 49 long-term bicycle parking spaces. At street level, a 3,240-square-foot commercial kitchen is planned for food service operations. Of the 97 apartments, 44 are reserved as permanent supportive housing for seniors who are at risk of homelessness.
Per the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the state has provided roughly $30 million across two grants to support construction of the building and the supportive services that will accompany it. That funding is part of a larger financing stack assembled by the development team to keep rents affordable for people earning roughly 30 to 60 percent of Area Median Income. Officials highlight the on-site services and the commercial kitchen as key pieces of the plan to connect residents with care, daily support and potential job opportunities.
Where it fits in the Lake Merritt plan
BART’s Lake Merritt transit-oriented development project envisions roughly 557 apartments and nearly 500,000 square feet of commercial space across two station-adjacent blocks, with this senior building serving as the first approved phase over the former surface lot at 51 9th Street. As outlined by BART, the agency permanently closed the parking lot to make room for construction and is coordinating to maintain station access by bus, bike and foot while work continues. Later phases call for market-rate housing, office space and a public paseo that is intended to reconnect the blocks to Chinatown and the Laney College corridor.
Who’s building it and the design
The project is being developed by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation in partnership with Strada Investment Group, with EBALDC leading community outreach and overall project oversight. EBALDC lists Cahill Contractors as the general contractor, and recent site photos show Cahill crews pouring slabs and erecting formwork as the structure rises. PYATOK’s design responds to the triangular shape of the lot, incorporating a sheltered corner element and a landscaped paseo intended to link the senior building to a proposed taller tower in a future phase.
Timeline and what to expect next
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority has provided a $3 million Priority Sites loan to help cover early financing needs, and occupancy is targeted for summer 2026, according to a release from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Construction teams expect particularly busy months ahead, with 12 to 18 months of interior buildout, facade installation and systems rough-ins still to go. Project leaders have not released an updated schedule for the rest of the two-block master plan, so the market-rate housing tower and office components remain on a separate, to-be-determined timeline.
For now, the most immediate shift is visible on the ground: the former surface parking lot at 51 9th Street is being replaced by apartments and public space, with the senior building set to deliver the first homes and services directly at the station. Follow EBALDC and BART for construction notices, outreach events and updates as work continues.
