EMPYREAN TOWERS

OAKLAND, CA

Empyrean Towers, developed by Resources for Community Development (RCD), provides 66 affordable rental apartments to low-income households and formerly homeless individuals earning between 20-80% of the Area Median Income. The historic 7-story building is located in downtown Oakland and was previously a market-rate SRO hotel with a history of poor management and code violations. RCD acquired the property out of bankruptcy and combined the project with a nearby building to create a scattered-site acquisition/rehabilitation project.

Before the renovation, Empyrean Towers consisted of 99 small SRO units with no kitchens or individual bathrooms. In addition to substantial work on all major building systems, the renovation expanded the size of all units to provide individual bathrooms and kitchenettes. The ground floor was also reconfigured to provide new offices for property management and resident services as well as a new community room. The newly renovated building offers a vast improvement to residents by providing fully independent units, new shared building amenities and increased on-site resident services.

Empyrean Towers represents a true collaboration between many partners. The project would not have been possible without equity investment by Red Stone Equity as well as support from the city of Oakland, Oakland Housing Authority, the county of Alameda, the state of California Housing and Community Development Department and the San Francisco Federal Home Loan Bank.

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