This new neighborhood, situated on seven-and-a-half acres in the southern end of Oakland, has a range of affordable housing, green pathways, pocket parks, and open spaces. While Tassafaronga is anchored by a large public plaza, each of the three new areas of housing also has a semi-private shared space, creating sheltered play and gathering areas for children and residents. A three-story apartment building features affordable rental units in varying configurations built in conjunction with the Oakland Housing Authority. Apartments flank a hidden parking structure, setting a residential rather than industrial tone, and also enclose a second-level open-air courtyard.On either side of a main plaza, twenty-two family townhomes are going up in cooperation with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The recipient families of these homes personally participate in the construction of the buildings, with 500 hours of sweat-equity labor, which they are then able to purchase with an extremely low-interest mortgage. All buildings on the property are designed to a green standard for both the construction and continuing life of the structures, incorporating such features as solar power and recycled materials. A defunct pasta factory and parcel of unused industrial land are reclaimed as an artist-oriented series of live-work spaces.
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