Tassafaronga Village

On the strength of its successes in managing the redevelopment of two large public housing projects in San Francisco – North Beach Place and Valencia Gardens – ECB was selected by the Oakland Housing Authority to guide the rebuilding of Tassafaronga Village, a 157-unit affordable development in Oakland’s Coliseum District. ECB successfully enhanced the capacity of the Housing Authority’s project management staff during the pre-construction phase – including close coordination of the design process with explorations of a variety of financing options – and managed the construction of the development. As with the San Francisco projects, Tassafaronga Village was transformed,based on “defensible” urban design principles to better serve the needs of its long-time residents. By increasing the density on a portion of the site, providing accessible open spaces, and incorporating two courtyard developments by Habitat for Humanity that provide home-ownership opportunities for lower-income families, the revitalization of Tassafaronga Village removed significant obstacles to the safety of this community. The changes at the site, however, reached beyond the development itself. The street grid around the site was reconnected to adjacent residential areas, and pedestrian links established to newly-constructed civic developments – two new schools and a library – as well as to an existing public park adjacent to the project. The development achieved a platinum rating in the LEED for Homes program, and gold in the LEED for Neighborhood Development program.