Bearing Fruit

In the Fruitvale District of Oakland, California, plans are afoot to transform the worn-out, overlooked neighborhood into a vibrant, bustling, mixed-use multicultural center. Now under-way and set for completion next year, the revitalization of Fruitvale is being spearheaded by Arabella Martinez, CEO of the Unity Council, a local community development corporation. “I want to infuse Fruitvale’s established ethnic identity with a new social and economic vitality,” she says. “I envision a complete connection among transportation and land use strategies and economic development for this community.” To that end, the private/public partnership formed to revitalize Fruitvale has developed a plan that celebrates Fruitvale’s ethnic diversity in a contemporary setting that connects community, retail, commercial, residential, and transit uses—despite the many obstacles. Ernesto M. Vasquez is vice president and managing partner of McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, an Oakland and Irvine, California–based commercial, residential, and interior architecture firm.

Thanks to Urban Land Magazine