[Berkeleyside] Berkeley’s vacant Oxford Elementary site is for sale for $3M

[Alan Gould]

After a study revealed its earthquake vulnerability, the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) vacated the former Oxford Elementary School site in 2020. Five years later, the district has listed the property for public sale with a minimum asking price of $3 million. Since the school site on 1130 Oxford Street closed, BUSD officials and community members have grappled with what to do with the vacant building. Some suggested demolition and building anew, while others argued that it should be developed into workforce housing. In 2023, six members of a district committee that was formed to weigh the options recommended the property be sold, and the school board ultimately agreed.

Full article:

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/06/berkeleys-vacant-oxford-elementary-site-is-for-sale-for-3m

[Elizabeth]

Knock it down. Build two houses on Oxford. Another two on Walnut. Sell them and you’ve tripled your investment. I wish I had money!

Could BUSD not ask a reasonable price and use that money to upgrade its existing schools or even build a new school if they can find somewhere in Berkeley that is not close to an earthquake fault?

BUSD sold Hillside for less than $1 million to the German International School who in turn sold it for $5.5 milllion a few years later. Do we have to always play giveaway?

Ellizabeth

[Valerie Bach]

I think we should buy it and create a commune for aging elderly hippies!

✌🏽🕊️✌🏼,

VALERIE BACH, Enrolled Agent
Accountant & Very Creative Being

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[Elizabeth]

I wish the city or somebody would buy it and use it as a community resource. It is after all community property. That is what should happen. 

But I don’t even mind a developer making a few bucks and building houses. I just object to the school district which could use the extra money, giving it away. 

Elizabeth 

--

Elizabeth Shaughnessy

Founder

The Berkeley Chess School

Office Phone: 510-843-0117

www.berkeleychessschool.org

On Aug 8, 2025, at 5:07 PM, Valerie Bach <valer...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[meryl siegal]

Hi Valerie,

I like your idea! LMK if you want to move forward!! 

I hope folks don't mind that I send you a letter Aimee Baldwin wrote to the city council. (Aimee and I work together on a Community Group - Beautiful San Pablo- fyi).

aimee baldwin	Thu, Aug 7, 11:48 AM (1 day ago)
to All, Berkeley, manager, bbartlett, Paul, mikechang, meryl, Robbi, Peter, hspe, bcc: beautifulsanpablo

Dear Council Person Bartlett, Mayor, Managers, and Council,

I ask you to please clarify how the City of Berkeley has decided to pass up on the purchase of the former Oxford School site. My understanding is that BUSD must offer the right of first refusal to local public or non-profits purchasers, so I assume the open market sale means that Berkeley has already turned down the purchase or lease of the site.  Here are the Berkeleyside article, Nextdoor post, and open MLS listing for Oxford School stie for sale.

I specifically recall CP Bartlett's amendment to Item 2: Alternative Housing Options for People Experiencing Homelessness referral at the Health, Life, Enrichment, Equity and Community Committee meeting on April 23, 2025; to include geographic recognition, in order to analyze the equity of placement of Berkeley’s existing homeless facilities, particularly in relation to our historically redlined/segregated/disinvested communities. This was passed as Item 29 at the May 20 City Council Meeting.

I am wondering how the City can pretend it has a commitment to seek any and all new locations for housing homeless, but pass up on the old Oxford School Site. I would like to see the City's formal analysis that deemed the site unusable for a shelter, and what people were involved in the City's decision to pass on the site. Have our county homeless services or other homeless non-profits been informed, and also refused the purchase?

Here is a screen shot of our own Mayor Ishii's presentation at the July 12, 2025 BNC meeting (approximately 00:14:05 in the recording), indicating that nearly all new homeless housing in Berkeley has been short-term-leased or purchased in council District 1, at far greater cost than the Oxford School site purchase price.

This is a major failure of the City to meet its obligations to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing.

I have to wonder if the entire "Alternative Housing Options for People Experiencing Homelessness" resolution was merely a distraction to put off formal City decisions on new homeless sites until after the Oxford School site could be put up for sale on the open market during the City Council's summer break. Does our city have only a superficial commitment to bring equity across our city; that the only homeless solutions our city will take swift action on are the ones that will limit them to our historically redlined minority and disinvested communities?

Below are a series of my communications to the City and BUSD regarding the potential use of the old Oxford School Site in the model of the Horizons site on Grayson St, dating as far back as 2023.  This is not a new discussion.

Although we no longer seek a swift resolution to the Civic Center encampments, the City should still be obligated to find a new location for the Dorothy Day House services set to close at the Veterans Hall, when the City has a chance to enact its approved Civic Center Plan. [The CC Plan includes the displacement or potential closure of the DDH services at the Vet's Hall, with no known relocation options at this time].

Finding and utilizing all potential homeless housing or service sites is an ongoing need. As in my 2023 email, City of Berkeley could still explore short -term leasing the site, until the sites long term fate is decided or a developer is ready to break ground on a new project, as was with the Grayson location.  Please explain why we aren't using the old Oxford School site?

sincerely,

Aimee Baldwin

Beautiful San Pablo

On Fri, Aug 8, 2025 at 5:07 PM Valerie Bach <valer...@gmail.com> wrote:

I think we should buy it and create a commune for aging elderly hippies!

✌🏽🕊️✌🏼,

VALERIE BACH, Enrolled Agent
Accountant & Very Creative Being

On Fri, Aug 8, 2025 at 2:48 PM 'Alan Gould' via LOCCNA <loc...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

After a study revealed its earthquake vulnerability, the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) vacated the former Oxford Elementary School site in 2020. Five years later, the district has listed the property for public sale with a minimum asking price of $3 million. Since the school site on 1130 Oxford Street closed, BUSD officials and community members have grappled with what to do with the vacant building. Some suggested demolition and building anew, while others argued that it should be developed into workforce housing. In 2023, six members of a district committee that was formed to weigh the options recommended the property be sold, and the school board ultimately agreed.

Full article:

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/06/berkeleys-vacant-oxford-elementary-site-is-for-sale-for-3m

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[Elizabeth]

A fire station might be a good idea too. 

We don’t have enough! 

--

Elizabeth Shaughnessy

Founder

The Berkeley Chess School

Office Phone: 510-843-0117

www.berkeleychessschool.org

On Aug 8, 2025, at 9:02 PM, meryl siegal <meryl...@gmail.com> wrote:



Hi Valerie,

I like your idea! LMK if you want to move forward!! 

I hope folks don't mind that I send you a letter Aimee Baldwin wrote to the city council. (Aimee and I work together on a Community Group - Beautiful San Pablo- fyi).

aimee baldwin	Thu, Aug 7, 11:48 AM (1 day ago)
to All, Berkeley, manager, bbartlett, Paul, mikechang, meryl, Robbi, Peter, hspe, bcc: beautifulsanpablo

Dear Council Person Bartlett, Mayor, Managers, and Council,

I ask you to please clarify how the City of Berkeley has decided to pass up on the purchase of the former Oxford School site. My understanding is that BUSD must offer the right of first refusal to local public or non-profits purchasers, so I assume the open market sale means that Berkeley has already turned down the purchase or lease of the site.  Here are the Berkeleyside article, Nextdoor post, and open MLS listing for Oxford School stie for sale.

I specifically recall CP Bartlett's amendment to Item 2: Alternative Housing Options for People Experiencing Homelessness referral at the Health, Life, Enrichment, Equity and Community Committee meeting on April 23, 2025; to include geographic recognition, in order to analyze the equity of placement of Berkeley’s existing homeless facilities, particularly in relation to our historically redlined/segregated/disinvested communities. This was passed as Item 29 at the May 20 City Council Meeting.

I am wondering how the City can pretend it has a commitment to seek any and all new locations for housing homeless, but pass up on the old Oxford School Site. I would like to see the City's formal analysis that deemed the site unusable for a shelter, and what people were involved in the City's decision to pass on the site. Have our county homeless services or other homeless non-profits been informed, and also refused the purchase?

Here is a screen shot of our own Mayor Ishii's presentation at the July 12, 2025 BNC meeting (approximately 00:14:05 in the recording), indicating that nearly all new homeless housing in Berkeley has been short-term-leased or purchased in council District 1, at far greater cost than the Oxford School site purchase price.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/loccna/CAHaJ%2BnaN9izZp1mHQq-AEcY54CWoB2EGDJCSJvp%3Djm_tm-UFLQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Margit Roos-Collins]

A contrary point of view:  I’d expect that it will be expensive to build foundations that could withstand the same earthquake/landslide risk that led to closing the school.  And no matter who the city would design the space for, that group might not want to live on a site deemed unsafe for children.  Seems wise that both BUSD and COB decided to let individuals spend their own money and take their own risks when choosing to locate there rather than try to recycle the property for a public use.   

 

Margit

 

From: LOCCNA <loc...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Elizabeth <eliz...@berkeleychessschool.org>
Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 11:17 AM
To: meryl siegal <meryl...@gmail.com>
Cc: Valerie Bach <valer...@gmail.com>, Alan Gould <adg...@comcast.net>, LOCCNA <loc...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [LOCCNA] [Berkeleyside] Berkeley’s vacant Oxford Elementary site is for sale for $3M

 

A fire station might be a good idea too. 

We don’t have enough! 

--

Elizabeth Shaughnessy

Founder

The Berkeley Chess School

Office Phone: 510-843-0117

www.berkeleychessschool.org

On Aug 8, 2025, at 9:02 PM, meryl siegal <meryl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Valerie,

I like your idea! LMK if you want to move forward!! 

I hope folks don't mind that I send you a letter Aimee Baldwin wrote to the city council. (Aimee and I work together on a Community Group - Beautiful San Pablo- fyi).

aimee baldwin

Thu, Aug 7, 11:48 AM (1 day ago)

to All, Berkeley, manager, bbartlett, Paul, mikechang, meryl, Robbi, Peter, hspe, bcc: beautifulsanpablo

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[meryl siegal]

hi Margit and LOCCNA,

If the homes can be built there, surely it can be used for public use as well, as it has to do with landslide evacuation issues. I will follow up on this issue. I know there was a committee of neighbors including architectural experts, and seismic experts discussing these issues, and since it is on the market, it seems it will be developed, either way. Stay tuned.

Best,

Meryl

[Elizabeth]

Dear Margit,

To my knowledge there is no earthquake l fault on or near the Oxford site.

It is on a slide zone. It has been on a slide zone since forever as are 

the surrounding houses. How much have they slid in the last100 years 

might be an interesting question to ask. Would the owners buy their house

again? You bet they would. 

Nothing in Berkeley is done without politics being involved. Been there.

Done that. I’m now 88 years old. Therefore I’m opting out of this conversation. 

But to sell that land privately for $3 million is a failure on the part of the school board 

to perform their fiduciary duty. 

Elizabeth 

--

Elizabeth Shaughnessy

Founder

The Berkeley Chess School

Office Phone: 510-384 -1507

www.berkeleychessschool.org

On Aug 9, 2025, at 11:21 AM, Margit Roos-Collins <mar...@rooscollins.net> wrote: