Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Edes Avenue

History

In 1952 a nursery closed after 26 years of operation, and the two-acre plot of land at 10900 Edes was converted into a truck dismantling and recycling yard. The land had been idle since the auto salvage yard closed in 1996. Next door at 10800 Edes, a 1.8 acre brick and construction material recycling yard was mostly abandoned by 2001, gathering trash and providing a home for vagrants.

In 2002, Habitat for Humanity East Bay (HEB) purchased the first of two parcels, both designated brownfields, with assistance from the City of Oakland and the Center for Creative Land Recycling. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Brownfields as “abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities or sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination." Habitat East Bay partnered with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and EPA to transform this toxic salvage yard into a healthy neighborhood on which to build environmentally-sustainable homes for deserving low-income families. The DTSC awarded Habitat East Bay $425,000 as a low-interest loan to finance the investigation and cleanup. The DTSC worked closely with Habitat East Bay to approve a cleanup plan in just over six months.

Two and a half years later, we were ready to begin building. Habitat East Bay began construction of 26 single-family homes on the property. In May 2006, the first of six homes were built in two weeks following a ground-breaking and “Builder’s Blitz” by partners KB Homes and Pulte Homes. Eight additional homes were framed from foundations to roofs in just four days during the 2007 Earth Day Build-A-Thon.

In 2006, HEB purchased 10800 Edes, and with the help of most of the same partners, cleaned up the soils, rezoned the property, and designed it to tie into the first phase. All 54 homes are scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2010.

Project Description

The 3.7 acres Edes Avenue development will contain 54 new homes, just a half mile from our 40-home development on 105th Avenue, in the Sobrante Park Neighborhood of East Oakland. The buildings are two- and three-story wood frame construction homes, similar to other HEB developments. The total cost of the development is projected to be $17 million.