OAKLAND -- A large residential tower and a hotel are coming to an empty lot on Telegraph Avenue near the Fox Theater.

The City Council on Tuesday gave final approval for the project, the city's first high-rise in about a decade.

The plans by San Diego developer Oliver McMillan and Oakland-based Strategic Urban Development Alliance will bring a 27-story tower with 330 residential units, seven-floor boutique hotel, parking garage and 56,450 square feet of retail. There will be about 50 affordable apartments.

The city-owned land is at 1911 Telegraph Ave. next to Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park.

Much has changed since the city began discussions in 2002 to build there. A once sleepy area of Telegraph has been transformed into the Uptown of today, where bars and restaurants dot the street from the Fox Theater to Grand Avenue.

Uber's future headquarters and a proposed market are across the street from McMillan's project and multiple other high-rise housing projects are planned throughout Uptown and downtown. Lane Partners of Menlo Park, the firm turning the former Sears building into Uber's offices, is a partner in McMillan's project.

The City Council approved the project without comments Tuesday following the advice of the council's Community and Economic Development Committee, which gave its support in a Feb. 23 vote.


David DeBolt covers Oakland. Contact him at 510-208-6453. Follow him at Twitter.com/daviddebolt.