Questions about Jack London Square in Oakland (San Francisco, Piedmont: appointed, 2013)

[dlapiduz]

We are thinking of buying a loft in the Jack London Square area in Oakland but we have some doubts as we are new to the region.

In general our main concerns are whether this area is generally safe (crime is everywhere but there are some hot spots) and if buying here sounds like a good investment.

Particularly, I was wondering how safe it would be the walk to the Lake Merrit BART and just walking around in the area.

The area seems to be up and coming but it is hard to tell if it would be a good investment to buy here.

Any help would be more than welcome!

[athleticsfan72737489]

I've noticed that there is more foot traffic (and bike traffic) around JLS in recent years. I think the area is general is pretty safe.

The walk to Lake Merritt BART should be fine during the day. You should also take into consideration the Free B Shuttle (Meet Downtown Oakland: About Downtown). It is a free shuttle that goes up and down Broadway - it operates until 1am on Friday and Saturday - and goes as far south as 2nd and Webster. The shuttle will take you to 12th Street BART.

[04kL4nD]

I live in JLS and I think it's probably one of the safest areas of urban Oakland. Lots of cops around since it's near to the OPD station, and you've got private security from all over as well. I walk to Lake Merritt BART really early in the morning and late at all night all the time and I have had zero issues. If you can afford it, I think JLS is one of the best places to live in Oakland.

[wooliemonster]

FWIW, drove around the area on a Friday night and was disappointed with level of street activity compared to other nearby areas.

[Obamadon1]

JLS has added thousands of residents in the past decade but it's still uncomfortably empty many hours. More residents needed - Ellis Partners proposes two 20-story towers for Jack London Square - San Francisco Business Times. Brooklyn Basin will help.

[dlapiduz]

Originally Posted by Obamadon1

JLS has added thousands of residents in the past decade but it's still uncomfortably empty many hours. More residents needed - Ellis Partners proposes two 20-story towers for Jack London Square - San Francisco Business Times. Brooklyn Basin will help.

It does feel like the area could use a lot more residents but I am wary of whether it is going to reach critical mass or be somewhat dormant for a long while...

[04kL4nD]

I think people confuse the actual square and the produce/waterfront district which actually has most of the condos in the area. Where Broadway/Embarcadero meet is the actual square, and it has a few upscale restaurants and shops, but a lot of people think places like Chop Bar and Nido are in Jack London Square when they're several blocks from Broadway. The whole area is collectively known as JLS, but in truth one is mostly commercial with few apartments/housing, while the other is lofts/condos/warehouses. If you are where most of the condos are located in the middle of the night, yeah it's not exactly buzzing with activity- most people are inside their homes, unless they are walking home from Lake Merritt BART, Chinatown, or from the bars/restaurants on the square.

[wooliemonster]

I've been to a few open houses in JLS. For that price, I'd expect a much livelier neighborhood. And 8pm is not the middle of the night. Yes, density cures all... but will be several years before the neighborhood fills out more (if at all?).

[CirclingLogan]

JLS has the same affliction of many Oakland neighborhoods -- low density, poor access to public transport and lack of critical mass of entertainment options to attract more people from outside the area. As it is, it has its moments: the Sunday afternoon farmer's market for one. Thousands of more residential units need to be built up, more shops, restaurants and bars added and the pathways to Lake Merritt and 12th St BART need to get full makeovers.

The good news is that this is likely to happen over the next decade or so. Once DTO, JLS and Uptown become a contiguous section of housing, office, transit, retail, restaurants and nightlife, Oakland will finally achieve a legitimately vibrant urban center. I could see it becoming something like Center City in Philadelphia, which, outside of Manhattan, contains the most dynamic range of mixed use space in the country. Of course, it will be much better, because it's in CA, no PA.

[04kL4nD]

How does being blocks from either 12th St BART/Lake Merritt BART= poor access to public transit? There's an Amtrak station and Ferry docks within steps of the square, along with a FREE Broadway shuttle to Uptown... If anything, that's one of the prime selling points of the neighborhood!

The problem with JLS is that it's spread out and people aren't really fond of warehouses/low rise apartments being right next to eachother and closed in by the 880 freeway. It feels constricted and spread out at the same time since there's not a whole lot of cohesion to the neighborhood. You've got expensive condos next to warehouses and empty parking lots and big gaps between desirable locations. It's certainly not as cohesive as Rockridge or Piedmont Ave which have main drag of shops/restaurants/etc all in a nice, neat sequential row on both sides of the street. They'll fill in the gaps eventually. For people that actually live in JLS, it's really not as big of a deal or as desolate as it may seem if you're just passing through.

But to answer the OPs question, JLS is still up and coming. It's picked up in development over the last year or so, but it's nothing like the explosive/booming growth of Uptown. Not even close. And in some ways, that's not such a horrible thing. I like the fact that it's quiet at night and not filled with lots of riff raff