A low-slung Mosswood motel could soon give way to a taller neighbor, with new renderings showing a five-story affordable housing project at 3720 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. The proposal calls for roughly 42 below-market units, mostly studios, in a building that would rise to about 64 feet and sit just over a block from the MacArthur BART station.
According to San Francisco YIMBY, the project would total about 33,900 square feet, including roughly 27,230 square feet of housing and about 1,800 square feet of office space. Plans outline 34 studios, seven one-bedroom units and a single two-bedroom unit reserved for an on-site manager, along with 40 bicycle parking spaces and no on-site vehicle parking.
Per Danco Group, the Arcata-based developer behind the application, an earlier concept for the lot envisioned a six-story, 46-unit building. Danco also documents its prior motel-to-housing conversion work at 3720 Telegraph. Taken together, that past effort and the fresh drawings point to a transit-oriented affordable housing play for the corner property.
Design and Site Amenities
HKIT Architects is listed as the project designer, with Van Dorn Abed Landscape Architects handling landscaping. Renderings show cement plaster with cedar accents, clay-brown tile details, a small backyard and community rooms on the ground floor. As San Francisco YIMBY reported when permits were updated this month, the ground level would also include a lobby, bike storage, management offices and space for resident services.
Transit, History and Neighborhood Context
The roughly quarter-acre parcel sits at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and West MacArthur Boulevard, a site the city previously acquired and used for Homekey-funded motel conversions such as the Inn at Temescal, according to City of Oakland records. With MacArthur BART a short walk away, and an ongoing push for more affordable, transit-oriented housing, it is not exactly shocking that a higher-density plan has surfaced here.
What Happens Next
The updated plans and renderings suggest the project is headed deeper into Oakland's review and permitting process, although neither a construction cost estimate nor a schedule has been made public. Neighbors and transit advocates will get more clarity once zoning decisions and building permits move through the city’s planning pipeline, and so far the developer and city have not released a firm timeline.
If built as shown, the building would add a compact set of below-market apartments in a slice of North Oakland that has seen steady housing activity in recent years. For a neighborhood that inches new affordable units forward one lot at a time, a five-story building a short walk from BART would be a notable move, and one worth watching as the paperwork grinds along.
