Back in 2023, when Oakland’s sprawling Holy Names University campus sold for $65 million, worries swirled that the land would be redeveloped for housing. At the time, BH Properties, the real estate investment firm that purchased the site, said in a statement that the site offered “a unique opportunity to provide facilities for the many educational institutions seeking expansion alternatives.”

Now, less than three years later, that stance has reversed. On Monday, zoning permits were filed to redevelop the campus, demolish 14 existing buildings and build 165 single-family homes.

Rendering of the Holy Names University campus redevelopment. (Courtesy of Oakland Planning & Building / Rendering by Bull Stockwell Allen)

Rendering of the Holy Names University campus redevelopment. (Courtesy of Oakland Planning & Building / Rendering by Bull Stockwell Allen)

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According to planning documents, developers want to subdivide the 58-acre property into 195 parcels, with 165 residential lots. Each one would have detached single-family homes ranging from two to four bedrooms and two-car garages. The development is set to preserve the iconic midcentury McLean Chapel, bell tower and performing arts center, along with the historic McCrea House, which would have its exterior restored. The 14 institutional structures slated for demolition have been deemed “functionally obsolete.”

The project is described as maintaining “the feel of an idyllic college campus with a human scale, interconnected community, and deep sense of place.” About 75% of the homes will be clustered within the existing campus site, with the remaining dwellings planned for the adjacent hillside. A new integrated trail system is slated to be built and about half of the campus to be preserved as open space.

Rendering of a large cottage on the proposed development. (Courtesy of Oakland Planning & Building / Rendering by Bull Stockwell Allen)

Rendering of a large cottage on the proposed development. (Courtesy of Oakland Planning & Building / Rendering by Bull Stockwell Allen)

BH Properties is using Senate Bill 330 to speed up the application process. At least 5% of the units will be deed-restricted housing for very-low-income households, but the developer isn’t planning to take advantage of the state density bonus to increase the amount of housing. Instead, it is seeking to waive building height, minimum lot area, maximum lot coverage and floor area ratio requirements.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the shift comes after BH Properties struggled to attract a new university to lease the space. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

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This article originally published at Major changes coming to Bay Area neighborhood as it plans to add 165 homes.