Two huge market rate residential senior living towers are proposed for the tiny Trader Joe’s site in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland (College Ave between Miles and Oak Grove). No affordable units are planned, and the developer says they will kick out the very popular Trader Joe’s grocery store currently on the site.

At 25 and 31 stories, the Two Terrible Towers will be the tallest around for miles although all Rockridge is currently low to mid-rise single-family homes and 2-4 story apartment buildings. The proposed market rate project will be almost entirely residential (371 independent living units, 18 assisted living units and 26 memory care units). Some commercial/retail use is planned for the ground floor but does not include a grocery store. Not surprising when you know that the land on which TJ’s sits is owned by Albertson’s (owner of Safeway, Albertsons, and Vons). Clearly there’s plenty of room for a grocery store.

The Rockridge Trader Joe’s store will be eliminated from our neighborhood entirely, forcing us to shop ONLY at Safeway or Whole Foods. The City has designated Rockridge as a “high resource” neighborhood, yet it’s encouraging developments like these that remove those very resources. And because there is no requirement for affordable units, only the wealthy will be able to live there, doing absolutely NOTHING to make a dent in Oakland’s housing affordability crisis! Rockridge needs more diverse housing, but this is not the way to achieve affordability.

Towers this size do not belong on the small residential streets of Rockridge! We want all people to be able to afford to live in Rockridge, but market-rate housing is already overly- prevalent here. And there are lots of vacancies in those buildings. Affordable and workforce housing (for teachers, hospitality workers, day care professionals, etc.) should be the City’s priority.

Tell the developer that the neighborhood wants mid-rise affordable units and wants its Trader Joe’s! It’s good business for them since the current Rockridge TJ’s is full of senior shoppers. The future residents of the proposed towers (415 units!) want convenient shopping too!

The Rockridge TJs was the first California store to become unionized. What happens to these 120+ union employees when the store closes? Let’s fight to save their jobs and this community resource.

Scrap the Two Terrible Towers and Save our Trader Joe’s by signing this petition today. Spread the word by re-posting to Nextdoor, Twitter, Facebook and all your social media accounts. Email the link to your friends! Thanks!