Casa Arabella

There is a long, troubling history of housing challenges in Oakland, including gentrification, displacement and exclusionary housing policies like "redlining." These challenges disproportionately affect low-income Latino/a and East Asian communities in East Oakland. As a result, many long-term residents struggle to remain in their neighborhoods amidst rising rents.

Two nonprofit organizations in Fruitvale — The Unity Council and the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) — have teamed up to build affordable housing to serve the multicultural community. The 2019 Casa Arabella apartment complex is one example: 100% of the apartments (94 units) are affordable, per State of California definitions. Through a combination of Below Market Rate (BMR) and Project Based Voucher (PBV) programs, Casa Arabella offers permanent affordable housing to almost 400 residents whose household income is at (or below) 20-60% of the area median income (AMI). And approximately 20% of the units are specifically for formerly homeless U.S. military veterans. Just a short walk from BART, this is a great example of a modern, transit-oriented development. Residents receive discounted transit fares to encourage commuting and there is plenty of bicycle parking.