A development proposal for a tiny sliver of land in Oakland's Pill Hill neighborhood has ballooned once again, this time into a 20-story affordable housing tower with 334 dwelling units, alongside a residential conversion of the adjacent Saw Mill Furniture Building. The site at 3403 Piedmont Avenue sits on just 0.4 acres, wedged between Broadway, Piedmont Avenue, and Interstate 580.
The latest numbers mark a dramatic jump from where this project started. As reported by San Francisco YIMBY, developer and project sponsor oWow began the initial planning process back in 2022, when the proposal called for an eight-story building with just 73 units, according to Kidder. oWow is serving as both developer and project architect on the site.
From there, the project grew in stages. By mid-2023, the plan had expanded to 93 units by tapping the State Density Bonus program, with 24 of those units set aside as deed-restricted affordable housing, per an earlier account. By October 2024, the proposal had grown again to 105 units across an eight-story complex, this time invoking Assembly Bill 1287 to secure a 53% density bonus, with 29 deed-restricted affordable units split between three for very-low-income households and 26 for moderate-income households, the same report noted. That 2024 version also pushed the building's height beyond its prior 85-foot cap to fit double-height penthouse apartments with mezzanines on the eighth floor.
A Much Taller Vision Emerges
The newest iteration leaves those earlier numbers in the dust, now proposing a 20-story tower paired with a residential conversion of the historic Saw Mill Furniture Building. The project's application designates four residences specifically for on-site property managers, and plans to merge the parcels into a single lot to accommodate the design. Parking would include space for 98 cars and roughly 200 bicycles.
The tower is set to feature a sand-toned exterior palette intended to complement the neighboring Saw Mill Furniture Building, a nod to the historic structure it will stand beside. The project application states that historic review of the Saw Mill Building will be processed separately from the broader approval process.
Not everything about the latest plan has been spelled out. The project has not shared an estimated construction cost or timeline, nor has it released details on apartment sizes and amenities for the 334 planned units. That's a notable gap given that an earlier version of the project, back in 2023, also lacked a firm construction cost or timeline, while the 2024 revision had projected roughly 15 months of construction once work began — though that earlier estimate applied to the smaller, 105-unit version and should not be read as a current schedule for the 20-story plan.
oWow Developer Weighs In
Jeremy Harris, reached for comment, said oWow is still working through project details. Danny Haber, another figure tied to the project, offered a blunter take: “Build, baby, build.”
oWow's growing footprint in Oakland housing isn't limited to Piedmont Avenue. The firm also designed the latest version of a separate affordable housing tower at 1523 Harrison Street in downtown Oakland, an 11-story building with 284 units, according to the Mercury News. That Harrison Street project is moving forward without direct subsidy from the city of Oakland or Alameda County, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, with oWow securing tax credits after committing to serve households earning between 30% and 70% of area median income. The Chronicle noted the Harrison Street building is projected to cost roughly $300,000 per unit, with oWow saying it can build on an accelerated 14-month timeline — figures that illustrate the kind of financing and construction benchmarks affordable towers in Oakland are being measured against, even as the 3403 Piedmont project's own cost and schedule remain undisclosed.
Whether the 20-story vision for Piedmont Avenue will hold steady or shift again remains to be seen, given how many times this particular project has been redrawn since 2022. For now, Pill Hill residents are watching a once-modest infill proposal take shape as a 20-story residential addition to the neighborhood.
