Oakland police headquarters could become affordable housing

OAKLAND, Calif. - The nine-story Oakland Police Department headquarters could be torn down and replaced with affordable housing.

The City Council on Tuesday voted to begin seeking proposals for the redevelopment of the Police Administration Building, or PAB, at Seventh Street and Broadway in downtown Oakland. 

A separate at the same meeting set the stage for the police department’s main offices and more to be relocated to a new center in East Oakland, The Oaklandside reported.

Rebecca Kaplan and Carroll Fife wrote a plan calling on developers to submit proposals that include at least 600 housing units, at least one-third of which are affordable for low-income residents, and a ground floor space for shops or community uses.

The police chief’s office, the crime lab, the records departments, the police academy are now housed at the current site. These functions could be moved to East Oakland, under the plan.