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Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2009
"Oxford Plaza gives Berkeley’s “Civic Edge” a New Look and a New Community"
Contact: Linda Mackey
Email: lmackey@rcdev.org
Oxford Plaza Grand Opening Thursday, June 11, 2009
Event: Grand Opening Ceremony for Oxford Plaza
Location: 2121 Kittredge Street, Berkeley, California
Day/Time: Thursday, June 11, 2009, 3:30 – 5:30pm, Ceremony at 4:30
- Invited speakers: State Senator Loni Hancock, Mayor Tom Bates, Assemblyperson Nancy Skinner, County Supervisor Keith Carson, Shirley Richardson Brower
- Exterior/courtyard architecture and urban landscaping
- Rooftop garden and property tours
May 27, 2009 – Berkeley, California – Resources for Community Development (RCD) will celebrate the grand opening of the City of Berkeley’s newest and greenest affordable residential development, Oxford Plaza, on Thursday, June 11, 2009 from 3:30 – 5:30pm, with a ceremony starting at 4:30pm.
Situated on the outer “civic edge” of Downtown Berkeley along Oxford Street and Kittredge, Oxford Plaza is a green, transit-oriented affordable housing community which provides 97 units of deeply affordable homes to low-income families and individuals. It is a model green and services-enriched community that will support healthy living for all residents, including those with special needs, in a beautifully designed and urban landscaped development. Oxford Plaza becomes part of the beginning of the city’s major renovation of the outer civic edge of downtown and the interface with the UC Berkeley campus. Other components of the site are a public underground garage owned by the City of Berkeley and multiple commercial spaces.
Oxford Plaza pushes the envelope on green building for affordable housing. Its design, which is integral to resource conservation and energy efficiency, is of the same architectural quality and standard of excellence as its site neighbor, the David Brower Center. The projects were able to share materials specifications and the expertise of subcontractors to bring Oxford Plaza to a higher green level than most of RCD’s other affordable housing developments. Sharing a tight sight, the two buildings and their occupants relate to each other visually and literally and the partners want to encourage collaboration and shared community. Oxford Plaza and its neighbor the David Brower Center (DBC), an environmental center, are built to the highest environmental standards for their respective purposes. Oxford Plaza is expected to be certified with a very high Green Point rating by Build It Green, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting green building in California.
Oxford Plaza meets a pressing need for affordable housing in Berkeley and the Bay Area by adding 97 units of permanently affordable, high-quality rental homes with on-site services for residents. Its central location, close to BART and buses, jobs and amenities, helps solve the transportation challenges many low-income workers face. The new homes, studios to 3-bedroom units, are affordable to those usually priced out of Bay Area housing. Income ranges for Oxford Plaza are for individuals who earn less than $12,060 per year to families of four earning up to $51,660 annually. The apartments are adaptable to accommodate residents with physical disabilities.
Funders for Oxford Plaza include the City of Berkeley Housing Trust, City of Berkeley Redevelopment, County of Alameda, CalHCD MHP, Enterprise, Enterprise Green Communities, Home Depot, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Surdna Foundation, Wells Fargo, AHP Far East Bank.
RCD is a non-profit organization that develops and provides housing along the entire affordable housing spectrum, from single room occupancy hotels to 4-bedroom family apartments and affordable homeownership. Founded by Berkeley community members in 1984, RCD has built over 1,500 units over the last 25 years providing quality affordable housing to over 2,500 individuals and families. RCD’s mission is to create and preserve affordable housing for those with the fewest options, to build community and enrich lives.