Plan to convert Oakland Courtyard Marriott into homeless housing nixed
Controversial proposal to turn Oakland Courtyard Marriott�into housing called off
A controversial proposal to convert a hotel in Oakland's Chinatown into transitional housing will not move forward.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A controversial proposal to convert a hotel in Oakland’s Chinatown into transitional housing will not move forward.
‘Deeply troubling’
What they're saying:
The nonprofit behind the plan, Cardea Health, sought to turn the Courtyard Marriott on Broadway into housing for unhoused people. However, the project faced opposition from community members and local leaders.
"It's deeply troubling and alarming that city staff would recommend this project to be a homeless shelter without the input of the community," said Stephanie Tran of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.
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Cardea Health had hoped to purchase the hotel and convert it into a 150-bed shelter that would also provide medical care for unhoused residents. But on Wednesday afternoon, the nonprofit’s co-founder confirmed that the seller had pulled out of the deal, citing what she described as "turbulence."
In a statement to KTVU, Cardea Health CEO Dr. Alexis Chettiar said: "The proposed program would have been staffed with 24/7 security and offered intensively supported interim housing for medically frail individuals from encampments in the downtown Oakland area."
Oakland City Councilmember Charlene Wang opposed the plan, saying, "Oakland Chinatown is already barely surviving, this would be the final nail in the coffin."
Wang argued the site was unsuitable for a homeless shelter, noting it sits directly across from a large building that houses vulnerable elderly residents.
"It would be essentially dumping the city's homeless population, and maybe even the county's homeless, into a disadvantaged community," she said.
Future plans
Dig deeper:
Cardea Health said in another statement, "We are sorry that it will not be moving forward and hope that there will be a future opportunity for the site to provide needed services for the greater Oakland community."
The nonprofit is now considering an alternative site in the Hegenberger Corridor, though that location is also facing opposition.