Black Cultural Zone hub in East Oakland pushes ahead with bank grant

OAKLAND — A Black Cultural Zone hub in East Oakland is pushing ahead with a $1 million grant from Wells Fargo Bank that could bolster efforts to build homes and a marketplace near Eastmont Mall.

The mixed-use development would feature a 119-unit affordable housing development as well as a marketplace that would be part of an emerging Black Cultural Zone near the corner of Foothill Boulevard and 73rd Avenue in Oakland.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo made the $1 million donation to Bay Area Black Cultural Zone, the bank said.

“The donation will help them purchase land and develop the Liberation Park Market Hall and Residences project in East Oakland,” Wells Fargo stated in an email the bank sent to this news organization.

The mixed-use development will feature a 119-unit affordable homes complex and a marketplace within the Bay Area Black Cultural Zone at 6955 Foothill Boulevard in Oakland. The site also includes Liberation Park.

The Market Hall will include vending space for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, small businesses, cultural and performance spaces, and the affordable housing units, according to the information provided by Wells Fargo.

“The Liberation Park Development will drive significant economic and cultural revitalization in East Oakland,” Wells Fargo stated in comments to this news organization.

Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corp. and Eden Housing Inc. have teamed up to develop the mixed-use complex, which includes the 119-unit The Residences at Liberation Park.

“We are excited to execute the community’s vision to bring about affordable housing opportunities in Oakland and to provide the catalyst for economic development and investment activities needed to transform and revitalize the community immediately surrounding the proposed project in one of East Oakland’s legacy Black communities,” Eden Housing stated on its website.