Commission approves 1 Oak tower and plaza after contentious parking debate

The Planning Commission on June 15 certified the final EIR for the 1 Oak residential tower and voted to approve associated actions including downtown project authorization, zoning and conditional-use approvals. The project is a 40-story, roughly 310-unit tower with a ground-floor plaza (Oak Plaza), public art canopies, and two-level below-grade parking.

Build Inc., the project sponsor, presented revised project materials and emphasized extensive mitigation and transportation demand management (TDM) measures: GreenTrip Platinum certification, one bike-share membership per unit, on-site bike repair, car-share coordination, unbundled parking, and a pedestrian-oriented plaza design. MOHCD said Build will contribute roughly $18.8 million in inclusionary fees and other impact fees that the city intends to apply to nearby affordable housing parcels (parcels R, S and U) to deliver about 72 affordable units.

Neighbors, neighborhood associations and transit advocates pressed the commission to stick to Market Octavia's 0.25 parking ratio. Supporters including neighborhood groups, labor unions and arts organizations argued the project would bring public space improvements, jobs and cultural amenities. The principal contested issue was the sponsor's request for a conditional-use exemption to allow a 0.45 parking ratio (136 spaces) rather than the Market Octavia target.

Build argued that the higher ratio was a financing reality for a 40-story for-sale tower: their market underwriting estimated rental values would not support the cost of a high-rise structure without condo sales; as a condo project the parking option made units marketable to buyers. Build stressed that many of the spaces are likely to be unbundled and underused, and that the project eliminates 66 existing surface spaces as part of the overall change to the block, resulting in a modest net neighborhood increase.

After prolonged debate the commission approved the project with conditions, including: full compliance with the city's TDM point requirements; an explicit condition that parking obligations would be reduced if the project becomes rental; and other project-specific conditions negotiated with staff. EIR certification passed unanimously; the project approvals passed largely on a 5—to— vote where relevant items required a majority and one commissioner opposed at final actions.

Quotes: "This will be the portal to a performing-arts district," said a project neighbor in support; "A 0.45 ratio undermines Market Octavia," countered other residents and neighborhood groups.

Next steps: the approvals require standard implementation approvals (building permits, right-of-way work) and coordination with MOHCD to allocate the in-lieu fees to the Octavia parcels; the project sponsor indicated a construction schedule pending final entitlements.