Urban design critic John King of the San Francisco Chronicle described Township Commons as “a startling act of urban reinvention that, with time, should pull people from across the city to an area that until now has been off the map". The new park welcomes Oakland residents back to their waterfront with a bold and brave definition of a park. An adaptive re-use conceived with a radical imagination, the park is located within the footprint of the former 9th Avenue terminal and is inspired by the shipping history as well as the natural history of the site. Select building elements including walls, trusses, and the imprint of loading dock geometry are preserved in the new design, but also are transformed to inspire and allow for new uses—including the creation of containers of coastal, drought- tolerant plants.

The design celebrates movement—evoking the past movements of shipping history of the trains, trucks, ships, and workers that exchanged goods at this site—but is reimagined as a place for people to move on bikes, scooters, roller skates, and on foot as they enjoy the curated hardscape. The deck has become a beloved public stage for dance and yoga. It is a new typology of paved recreational space that is both a loop trail, and a viewing platform with multiple ramps for smooth transition from participant to spectator.

Its success as a first phase of development has created a strong public identity for the new Brooklyn Basin neighborhood. In the future, parks in phases 2, 3, and 4 will complement this recreational space. Taken together, the parks will provide 30 acres of waterfront experiences linked by the Bay Trail—all of which host habitat plants for pollinators and provide a setting for remnants of the industrial history that contrast and mingle with planted areas.

Einwiller Kuehl Team Members:
Sarah Kuehl - Founder and Principal
Liz Einwiller - Founder and Principal
Whitney Stewart - Senior Associate
Gisela Steber - Associate
Chelsea DeWitt - Associate
Lauren McClure - Designer

Collaborators:
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger - Structural Engineering, Shoreline Protection
BKF Engineers - Civil Engineering
MWA Architects - Architecture Consultant
Volume Inc. - Environmental Graphics
WRA Inc. - Environmental Consultant
Arthur Landscape Irrigation - Irrigation
Signature Development Group/ZOHP - Client