At the West Oakland BART Station, Mandela Station is a vibrant, connected community, bringing housing, retail, and businesses closer to transit. This smart growth strategy will increase transit ridership for the individual site use, and provide a key catalyst for accelerating the development of the surrounding district – while lessening the environmental impact of the development with techniques which conserve water and energy as well as safeguard the land. This Transit Oriented Community (TOC) has already been recognized with the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Award to the T3 Affordable housing component of the project, which will provide 30% of its energy from renewable solar energy.
Building Communities Around Transit
Mandela Station will enhance West Oakland by bringing more job opportunities and affordable housing at transit along the West Oakland BART Station. This new place will increase transit ridership and reduce traffic congestion. Additionally, Mandela Station will reduce emissions, and bring equity within an integrated and accessible community to benefit current and future tenants.
The Model for Healthy, Connected Communities
Mandela Station will serve as a model for other developments to build vibrant communities in higher density areas that are mixed-use and connected to transit stations. To date, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has already implemented transit-oriented development projects throughout the Bay Area. The goal is to capture value and increase ridership around stations. More than just expanding transit, Mandela Station will improve the lives of the West Oakland community and surrounding areas by integrating housing, retail, and community amenities as part of the transit planning process.
