Preservation Park

Occupying two blocks in the heart of downtown Oakland, Preservation Park is a Victorian neighborhood, a unique collection of historic residences transformed into the City’s most innovative workplace and event center. In its 125-year history, Preservation Park has experienced life cycle changes common to many urban areas. The community started out in the 1870’s as an upscale residential neighborhood made up of elaborate Victorian homes. By the 1970’s, however, many of the large homes had been subdivided into rooming houses and the neighborhood had deteriorated into what planners at the time considered “redevelopment” material. All but five of the structures on the two-block site were demolished. The construction of a new freeway adjacent to Preservation Park also threatened to destroy a significant percentage of the neighborhood’s historic Victorian homes. To preserve these historic assets, the City of Oakland created a public/private partnership to relocate the endangered buildings and to renovate the regrouped residential structures for a new life as a business neighborhood. Today, Preservation Park does indeed have a new life: 16 turn-of-the-century buildings have been renovated, and with their facades restored, are set among manicured lawns and lush plantings, complete with Victorian park benches and street lamps. Collectively, the structures provide 55,604 rentable square feet of space; 47,015 square feet for office tenants, 977 square feet of retail space, and 7,612 square feet in separately rentable meeting and conference space, which has been host to a wide range of events: trade shows, luncheons, awards dinners – even a World Figure Skating reception!