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Re: (rshsdepot) West Oakland, CA
why is this being called West Oakland? wasn't it just Oakland?
I was thinking they were going to talk about some Keyes System structure
- -----Original Message-----
>From: I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com
>Sent: Mar 27, 2006 12:41 PM
>To: rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net
>Subject: (rshsdepot) West Oakland, CA
>
>From The Oakland Tribune.
>
>
>Bernie Wagenblast
>
>Transportation Communications Newsletter
>_http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/_
>(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/)
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>
>
>
>Link to photo:
>_http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site181/2006/0327/20060327_074629
>_0327trib_trainstation1.jpg_
>(http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site181/2006/0327/20060327_074629_0327trib_trainstation1.jpg)
>
>
>
>Locals weigh prospects for train station
>Event space, charter school among uses being considered for historic West
>Oakland site
>By Cecily Burt, STAFF WRITER
>Inside Bay Area
>
>OAKLAND — A group of West Oakland residents has been working feverishly to
>figure out how to reuse a Beaux Arts building at 16th and Wood streets in a
>way that both respects its history and residents.
>Oh, and their plan has to make money, too.
>
>They've been at it since the Planning Commission a few months ago approved
>the first few residential projects that are part of the massive Central Station
> development surrounding the historic Southern Pacific Train station.
>
>So far, the core community planning group has agreed the grand, main hall of
>the Beaux Arts building should be rented out for weddings, parties and other
>events, with an on-site catering
>
>company providing the food.
>
>The group also agreed a charter school specializing in the arts would be a
>good fit for part of the space, perhaps the station's baggage wing or an
>addition on the back where the tracks are now.
>
>The school could use the main hall for performances, said Ben Golvin of
>Equity Community Builders, who was hired to help the community formulate their
>wishes for the station into concrete ideas, and then help them whittle away
>those that are not viable. One established school has expressed interest and a
>new school is also interested, Golvin said.
>
>The station reuse plan should come before the Oakland City Council for
>approval in late May, after which a request for proposals will be circulated to
>solicit businesses, entrepreneurs or nonprofits who want to rent space in the
>station.
>
>The process has come a long way. Some West Oakland residents fought bitterly
>for community control of the station after developer Rick Holliday bought it
>several years ago.
>
>They said the station should be turned into a museum to honor the
>African-American experience in West Oakland, paying particular homage to the black
>Pullman Porters. Oakland was the West Coast headquarters for the Brotherhood of
>Sleeping Car Porters, the first black labor union in the country.
>
>As part of the City Council's approval of the 1,500-unit Central Station
>residential development, the train station, now owned by BUILD, the for-profit
>branch of nonprofit Bridge Housing Inc., will be restored with public and
>private funds. Upon completion, the management or ownership of the building will
>be turned over to an entity that can ensure the station will be
>self-sustaining.
>
>The community has met several times to define not only the uses for the
>building but also the kind of operator it might have and the governance structure
>that will oversee it all.
>
>Golvin said it took a while for the community to trust the process, and they
>had to give up on some dreams to make the plan work.
>
>"We had someone from the library come and talk about turning it into a
>museum for the trains, or Pullman Porters, or West Oakland history, and I think
>people realized that won't happen, because people won't just walk by and go
>inside," Golvin said. "A community center was proposed, but that isn't
>sustainable. So people have come to realize that, and started looking at other uses
>that can be sustainable.
>
>"The main hall should not be carved up," he said. "It should be maintained
>for event space, with a commercial kitchen and various uses that will support
>that space. Weddings, that kind of thing. So if it can be the home to a
>caterer that has a built-in clientele, that would be a synergistic use."
>
>That is not to say that earlier wishes won't play a part in the restored
>station. The station probably will feature exhibits, pictures and information
>about the porters and their importance in West Oakland history.
>
>"The uses are not mutually exclusive," Golvin said. "There can be
>performances and events and educational things going on. It's a way to get what people
>want, but in an entrepreneurial way rather than a purely public finance way."
>
>He said he also expects that some potential businesses will be able to
>provide community benefits by linking their services with local schools or
>programs, such as the culinary program at McClymonds High School.
>
>Ellen Wyrick Parkinson, a longtime Oak Point resident involved in planning
>for the station, said many people were sold on the charter school concept and
>although she thinks it could be a good idea, she urged caution in the
>screening process.
>
>She said she expects that a charter school at the station would be more like
>a private school because that's probably where the new residents would send
>their children.
>
>"With all the new housing being built around here we should be building a
>new (public) school in West Oakland and we're not, so we have to think about
>who's going to benefit," she said. "The catering would be great . ... It would
>have to be a huge catering company. One that carried a restaurant with it
>would do well. A museum would play a small part, just a few displays. Museums
>can't stand on their own."
>
>=================================
>The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
>railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
>
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
------------------------------