The developer of an under-construction apartment building near Lake Merritt that was destroyed in a massive blaze earlier this month has vowed to rebuild as construction crews begin the long cleanup process.

The fire at the six-story building on Valdez Street near Grand Avenue burned in an incredibly hot four-alarm fire that started at about 5am on July 7. It forced hundreds of residents to evacuate from surrounding buildings, including from some nearby apartments that remain uninhabitable.

In a letter to the building’s neighbors, officials with Andersen Construction, the contractor working for developer Wood Partners, wrote that investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives completed their field investigation last week and returned the property to the developer. The city has asked them to clean up the site, they said.

“We have hired a subcontractor to remove debris and clean up the entire job site. Debris on the street level has already been removed, and we expect to have all debris removed over the next few months,” they wrote.

Some windows in a nearby office building remain boarded up.

Residents of eight apartments in two damaged buildings nearby remain displaced, city spokesperson Sean Maher confirmed Monday.

An office building at 180 Grand Ave. was also damaged, with broken glass and other debris falling from it days after the blaze. While that building has since reopened, some of its windows are still boarded up and 23rd Street remains closed behind it due to fears of more falling glass.

The developer plans to resume building the Alta Waverly building. | Via Pyatok

The burned building, called the Alta Waverly, was planned to house 196 market rate apartments and up to 31,500 square feet of retail space. Andersen Construction said the developer’s plan is to rebuild the project, now expected to be completed early in 2019.

Another construction project recently broke ground across Valdez Street from the fire site, so Valdez Street has been closed between 23rd and 24th streets for now. The developers have hired extra security for the project and are discussing the possibility of keeping the street closed for the remainder of the construction.

The street between the two projects is closed and the developer has hired extra security.

ATF spokesperson Alexandria Corneiro said Monday afternoon that there are no updates on the investigation. The ATF typically helps investigate such large fires; its participation is not an indication whether arson is suspected.

But the fire has raised fears of a serial arsonist in the community targeting under-construction buildings after two other fires at the same construction site on the Emeryville border were determined to be intentionally set.

The ATF has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in those fires, as well as a $10,000 reward for information on another construction site fire on Lester Avenue near Lake Merritt on Oct. 31.

Anyone with information for the ATF can call 888-ATF-FIRE.



Andersen Construction is offering its own reward of up to $1,000 for information about the the July 7 fire and is asking anyone with information to call 800-328-3921. The city of Oakland has established an anonymous tip line at 510-777-3333.