With nary a word of opposition, BART has green-lighted a high-rise housing, office and retail development at its Lake Merritt Station that will probably completely transform the area around Oakland’s Laney College.

“I’m on cloud nine,” BART Board President Robert Raburn said after the board voted 8-0 to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with the East Bay Asian Local Development Corp. and Strada Investment Group.

The goal is a transit-oriented development that includes a plaza and a pair of apartment and office high-rises — one 27 stories and the other 21 stories. One tower would be located on the old Metropolitan Transportation Commission headquarters site and the other on what is now the BART station’s parking lot.

In all, the plan calls for 519 units of housing, with 44 percent to be rented out at below market rate. About a fifth of the office space will go to local nonprofits.

The combination of affordable housing, space for nonprofits and a local minority partner in the deal is a veritable trifecta of political correctness.

Plus it supports regional and state climate goals, Raburn said.

One thing the development will not have is parking. The station’s 177 spaces are doomed to extinction, with no significant replacement parking included in the plan.

Back to Gallery BART trading parking for housing, offices at Oakland’s... 39 1 of 39 Photo: The Chronicle 2 of 39 Photo: Jen Fedrizzi / Special to the Chronicle 2016 3 of 39 Photo: Lindsey C. via Yelp 4 of 39 Photo: Aaron T. via Yelp 5 of 39 6 of 39 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 7 of 39 Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession 8 of 39 Photo: John Storey, Special to The Chronicle 9 of 39 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 10 of 39 Photo: Sam W. via Yelp 11 of 39 12 of 39 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 13 of 39 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 14 of 39 Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle 15 of 39 Photo: Mrs. Q., Yelp 16 of 39 Photo: David C. via Yelp 17 of 39 Photo: Jason L. via Yelp 18 of 39 Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession, Special to The Chronicle 19 of 39 Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle 20 of 39 Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession, Special to The Chronicle 21 of 39 Photo: Yinja L., Yelp 22 of 39 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 23 of 39 Photo: Peter DaSilva, Special to The Chronicle 24 of 39 Photo: Johnny G. /Yelp 25 of 39 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 26 of 39 Photo: Yelp 27 of 39 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 28 of 39 Photo: Greg G. via Yelp 29 of 39 30 of 39 Photo: Courtesy of Gaumenkitzel 31 of 39 Photo: Vanessa S. via Yelp 32 of 39 Photo: Wilmer V. via Yelp 33 of 39 Photo: Cali G. via Yelp 34 of 39 Photo: Cyn T. via Yelp 35 of 39 Photo: Lan F. via Yelp 36 of 39 Photo: Fereen A. via Yelp 37 of 39 Photo: Sophorn R. via Yelp 38 of 39 Photo: Megan K. via Yelp 39 of 39 Photo: Drew K. via Yelp













































































Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff is already on board, saying the use of a local project partner with a history of lifting up “rather than push out our longtime vulnerable communities” was a winner all around.

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Councilman Abel Guillén, whose district includes the station, said that in addition to creating housing, the three-block-project would bring “commercial vibrancy to an area that is need of more businesses.”

The Lake Merritt project is the latest in a series of high-density housing and office developments springing up on BART parking lots throughout the system and changing the face of the Bay Area.

Developments have gone up at the Pleasant Hill, MacArthur and Fruitvale stations, with North Concord next in line.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross