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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In its 125-year history, Preservation Park has experienced life cycle changes common to many urban areas. The community started out in the 1870's, as an upscale residential neighborhood made up of elaborate Victorian homes. By the 1970's, however, many of the large homes had been subdivided into rooming houses and the neighborhood had deteriorated into what planners at the time considered "redevelopment" material. All but five of the structures on the two-block site were demolished. The construction of a new freeway adjacent to Preservation Park also threatened to destroy a significant percentage of the neighborhood's historic Victorian homes. To preserve these historic assets, the city of Oakland created a public/private partnership to relocate the endangered buildings and to renovate the regrouped residential structures for a new life as a business neighborhood."
Today, after some false starts, Preservation Park does indeed have a new life: in all, 16 structures have been renovated, providing a home for 47 nonprofit organizations and related businesses. Collectively, the structures provide 55,604 rentable square feet of space; 47,015 square feet for office tenants, 7,612 square feet in separately rentable meeting and conference space, and 977 square feet of retail space.
Preservation Park's adaptive use plan focused on an often neglected market segment: nonprofit, public benefit organizations. Within this segment, the developers of Preservation Park focused on four types of nonprofit organizations including social service, environmental, educational, and cultural organizations.
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THE SITE
Preservation Park occupies most of a two-square-block site from 12th to 14th streets in downtown Oakland. Bordering the site to the east is the recently constructed high-rise federal office building, which is part of Oakland City Center, a multiblock, mixed-use, office and retail redevelopment project. Immediately west of the site is the Grove Shafter Freeway (I-980), whose construction provided eight of Preservation Park's historic houses.
Construction of the Grove Shafter Freeway entailed truncating 13th Street, resulting in a dead end within the Preservation Park site. Finding an opportunity in this circumstance, the project designers cut a new internal street into the site (Preservation Park Way) perpendicular to 13th Street and joined the two streets with a traffic circle anchored by a historic cast-iron fountain relocated from another site.
The five historic structures north of 13th Street all remain in their original locations. The 11 historic structures that were transported and relocated to the Preservation Park parcel were sited south of 13th Street, with the larger, more imposing structures situated at the exterior of the block, and the smaller structures set in, facing Preservation Park Way. Historic building transportation and siting were orchestrated and financed by the Oakland Redevelopment Agency (ORA).
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
In 1982, the project's original developer, Preservation Ventures, began renovation of the five Victorian homes native to the site, with the aim of leasing the renovated structures as commercial office space. Preservation Ventures, a real estate syndication formed by the Northern California Black Chamber of Commerce used the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit as a source of equity to redevelop the site's five original structures. By 1986, however, with renovation of the five structures nearly completed, none of the office space had been leased, and it was becoming clear that the developer would not be able to complete the project. Adding to Preservation Venture's difficulties were changes in the federal tax code and regulatory stipulations making it difficult to secure historic preservation tax credits for rehabilitation structures that had been relocated, creating a financial shortfall for the redevelopment of the 11 relocated homes.
With this new plan, and an infusion of additional financing from the city of Oakland as well as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bramalea, Inc., took over the development, management, and leasing of the project, donating its executive services to the city. Bramalea's construction initiative, which included the renovations and refurbishment of 11 historic structures and limited on-site improvements, was completed by 1991, and the project was fully leased 18 months later. A successor to Bramalea, Inc.-CMA Asset Managers, Inc.-remains as management and leasing agent.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
The 16 historic structures at Preservation Park, built between 1870 and 1911, represent the breadth of styles popular during this period-Italianate, Stick, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and English Arts and Crafts. Renovation work included installing new mechanical and electrical systems, seismic bracing, and sprinklers; improving access; renovating interiors; and restoring exteriors. The relocated structures needed new concrete foundations.
The elaborately detailed building exteriors received the most extensive restoration. Original Victorian gingerbread detail was patched and repaired, and the structures were repainted in classic Victorian color palettes. Exterior porches and steps, many of which could not be salvaged when the buildings were relocated, were authentically reconstructed where documentary evidence was available, and rebuilt in the period style where records were unavailable.
On the inside, much of the deteriorated interior finish was replaced with new materials, in order to maintain a workable budget for the project. However, interior window casings and other highly noticeable details were retained and restored where possible.
The most challenging issues of the renovation design was accessibility for the disabled. By the nature of their Victorian design, most of the structures had raised first floors, accessible only by a series of steps up to a porch or landing. The solution to this problem, developed by the Architectural Resources Group, the project architect, was to construct an elevated pathway at the rear of the houses. This new pedestrian circulation system, designed as a boardwalk, provides code-compliant route to the main level of each house, as well as an accessible connection between houses. To minimize the impact of the raised walkway, the guardrails and walkways structures were designed in wood compatible with the building architecture, and landscaped with flowering vines.
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FINANCING
ORA acquired the site for approximately $1,250,000 as part of a larger redevelopment and site acquisition process. Financing for the original Preservation Ventures ("pre-Bramalea") project included approximately $1.9 million in equity generated by historic preservation tax credits and loans from ORA. An additional $4 million in financing (a ten-year note) was provided by ORA at the time Bramalea, Inc., joined the project.
In addition to these financing sources, as a nonprofit, community benefit project, Preservation Park was able to garner a significant amount of donated services and materials. Bramalea, Inc., contributed approximately $1 million of "in-kind" services to the project, and arranged for substantial contributions from a variety of other suppliers and contractors.
MARKETING AND LEASING
To develop its marketing strategy, Bramalea, Inc., first undertook a market survey of nonprofit organizations, pinpointing space needs and rent levels. The survey, along with a direct mail campaign, was the principal method used to introduce the project to the nonprofit community in the early phases.
Rent-up was successfully achieved over a planned 18-month period. By allowing 18 months, Bramalea could be selective in the tenants it accepted. Generating a positive cash flow after debt service, the project's revenue provides income to offset ongoing property management and capital improvement costs.
To provide business services for the nonprofit tenants (including a cafe and printing/copying services), space at Preservation Park was reserved for several commercial tenants. A two-tier lease rate system was set up to deal with the two types of tenants, with lower rates offered to nonprofit tenants and higher rates to commercial tenants.
Preservation Park's conference and banquet facilities generate a valuable revenue stream while giving the project good market exposure. The conference center (which in 1999 accommodated 844 non-profit meetings and 198 business meetings) has proven to be a valuable amenity for Preservation Park tenants as well as the surrounding business community. The center piece of the conference center is the 2,200-square-foot Nile Hall, which can accommodate meetings for up to 150 people and receptions for up to 200 people.
EXPERIENCE GAINED
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