Shovels are finally in the dirt in Uptown Oakland, where Mercy Housing California and its partners have officially broken ground on The Eliza, an eight-story senior housing building at 2125 Telegraph Avenue. The project will bring 97 apartments for residents 62 and older, with 20 studios reserved for seniors exiting homelessness, pairing deeply affordable units with on-site services meant to help tenants stay housed for the long haul.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, elected officials stood alongside Mercy Housing leaders to tout the building as a major win for older Oaklanders. According to SF YIMBY, Councilmember Carroll Fife said she was thrilled that this critical and long-awaited project is finally breaking ground. Mercy Housing executives and partner agencies framed The Eliza as a key piece of the city’s push for permanent supportive housing.
Project financing and unit mix
City documents show The Eliza will include 97 newly constructed homes: 96 studio apartments plus a two-bedroom manager's unit. Affordability is targeted to extremely and very low-income seniors, with 20 units specifically set aside for formerly homeless seniors, according to a City of Oakland report. That report also authorizes up to $1 million in CDBG funds, structured as predevelopment and construction loans, to support acquisition, site work, and public improvements.
The Eliza has also secured a $20 million award through the city’s New Construction NOFA, part of an $80.5 million funding round for five affordable housing developments across Oakland, according to California Construction News.
Design, services and timeline
Design firm Gensler is serving as project architect, with PGAdesign handling the landscape plan. Renderings show a contemporary facade and shared amenities, including a rooftop deck, courtyard, community room, kitchen, on-site laundry, and bicycle parking. LifeLong Medical Care is slated to oversee case management services for residents, and Mercy Housing California president Tiffany Bohee described the groundbreaking as a pivotal moment as the team prepares to welcome seniors to the building.
Construction costs are estimated at roughly $74 million, and developers say residents could begin moving in as early as September 2027, with full lease-up expected by 2028, according to SF YIMBY.
Where it sits in Uptown
The Eliza is rising on a roughly 0.2-acre parcel that previously served as a surface parking lot next to Mercy Housing’s Hamilton Apartments, at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and 22nd Street, and within walking distance of the 19th Street BART station. The site is along a stretch of Telegraph that the city has targeted for corridor improvements, including protected bike lanes and transit boarding islands meant to calm traffic and improve access, according to the City of Oakland.
With construction underway, The Eliza joins a growing slate of deeply affordable and supportive housing projects that Oakland leaders hope will ease displacement pressures on older residents. City records also highlight Mercy Housing’s extensive California portfolio and the public financing commitments that pushed this project to shovel-ready status, a combination developers say will be critical as work continues, according to the City of Oakland.
