Project Fact Sheets

5727 College Avenue Project: What You Need to Know

The proposed development at 5727 College Avenue (the current Trader Joe’s site) has raised significant community questions regarding its size, density, and alignment with local zoning, as well as with the demise of Trader Joe’s or if having any other publicly accessible commercial frontage. This informational overview breaks down how state regulations and local codes are shaping the project’s trajectory, as well as limitations on the city’s ability to modify/reject the project.

The Proposed Project at a Glance

  • Developers: Align Real Estate
  • Preliminary Application Date: 4/22/2026
  • Project Type: Senior Living Facility (Continuing Care Retirement Community)
  • Proposed Height:
    • Tower One - 352 feet tall, 31 stories
    • Tower Two - 294 feet tall, 25 stories
    • Both towers sit atop a 40-foot base building with 3 levels of parking (185 parking spaces, 51 bicycle parking spaces)
  • Site Footprint: Covers nearly the entire 67,201 sq. ft. lot with minimal setbacks and only private open space atop the base building
  • Automobile entrances on both Miles and Oak Grove
  • Pedestrian entrances on both Miles and Oak Grove
  • Loading dock, deliveries and garbage collection on both Miles and Oak Grove
  • Affordable Units: Contains no dedicated affordable housing units
  • Retail/Commercial: No replacement grocery store is planned for the site.
  • Total Project: (389, 1 & 2 bedroom units, 25 efficiency units = 415 units total) = Base Project: 346 units (324 1 & 2 bd, 21 eff) + Density Bonus (20%): (65, 1 & 2 bedroom units, 4 efficiency units)

Key Laws & Regulatory Framework

The developers are navigating a complex intersection of California state housing mandates and local city planning guidelines:

  • SB 330 (Housing Crisis Act of 2019): By submitting a “preliminary application,” the developers effectively froze the local zoning rules, policies, and fees in effect at that moment, preventing the city from changing requirements mid-project.
  • The Density Bonus Law & AB 2694: Expanded in 2024, state law now allows senior care facilities to claim density incentives (such as increased height and extra units) without being required to include affordable housing units.
  • Height limits: Waved except if the waiver would result in a specific adverse impact on health or safety that cannot be mitigated or avoided
  • Off-street Parking Requirements: waived within ¼ mile of transit
  • Oakland General Plan Designation:
    • Zoning Use District: Neighborhood Commercial – CN-2 Zone
    • General Plan Designation: Mixed Housing Type Residential and Neighborhood Center Mixed Use
    • Height Area: 95 feet

Under the state’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA), the legal burden of proof required for a city to deny or downsize an objective-compliant housing project is exceptionally high:

  1. Specific, Adverse Impact: The city must prove by a preponderance of evidence that the project poses a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable hazard to public health or safety.
    • What doesn’t count: Vague arguments regarding “neighborhood character” or inconsistencies with local zoning ordinances do not legally qualify as health and safety impacts.
  2. No Feasible Mitigation: A city cannot deny a project if there is any viable method to mitigate the safety risk other than reducing the project’s density or disapproving it entirely.
  3. Financial Penalty Risks: If a municipality unlawfully denies an application under the HAA, it faces potential court orders to approve the project and mandatory fines starting at a minimum of $10,000 per housing unit.

Get Involved & Stay Informed

For further details, updates, and community organizing resources, you can explore the following avenues:

  • Project Website: Review the preliminary application on the Oakland Planning Portal: Select “Check Permit Status”.
    • Next Page – Enter Planning Number: ZW2600913
    • Next Page – Click tab “Record Info” and on drop down menu click “Attachments” where you can view or download the documents. Return to the “Record Info” tab and click “Related Records”. There you will find a repeat of three of the documents, plus a tribal consultation letter.
  • Assigned City Staff: Alexia Rotberg Email: ARotburg@oaklandca.gov
  • Community Perspective: Read numerous fact-filled and opinion pieces at Rockridge Voice and join the mailing list of Upper Broadway Advocates. Read the Rockridge News for the Rockridge Community Planning Council statement, also RN-Zac Unger & RN-RCPC H&LUC; and San Francisco Chronicle-Two Towers & SFChron-Hands off TJ’s.
  • Be Heard:
    • Reach out with questions or feedback to the above publications, Oakland Planning staff though no planner has been assigned as yet, and your District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger
    • Attend relevant Community and Oakland Planning Commission and/or City Council Meetings.

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