Life next door to MacArthur BART: ‘It’s like a small town’

Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle A portrait of Aschabel Tecle at her apartment at the MacArthur...

Aschabel Tecle has only one complaint about the fifth-floor Oakland apartment where she and her family have lived since 2016. Their view has vanished — lost behind the tower being built across the street.

“When the sun was going down, the sky was orange. It was so beautiful to sit on the balcony,” recalls Tecle, 17. “And I don’t get to see the Fourth of July fireworks!”

But lost panoramas are secondary to what Tecle and her family appreciate about their three-bedroom unit at Mural, the first residential building to replace a parking lot at the MacArthur BART Station. Not only are they close to mass transit, but they also have a comfortable home in a safe community, with amenities and necessities close at hand.

Aschabel’s mother and father left Eritrea in the 1980s, and met as migrants in Germany. After Aschabel and her brother were born, they were able to move to the Bay Area to be near family.

Their previous home was an aged two-bedroom apartment near Lake Merritt, but the Tecles emerged from an affordable housing lottery with 5,000 applicants as one of the 90 households that were selected to live at Mural — a complex developed by Bridge Housing and reserved for households making no more than 50 percent of the area’s median income, which is $55,800 for a family of three.

Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Aschabel Tecle cleans up her apartment at the MacArthur Commons on...

The building opened in 2016 and has been followed by two other projects: MacArthur Commons, three buildings that have just been completed, and the 24-story apartment tower set to open next year.

“Definitely you can’t compare our old apartment to this,” says Tecle, who graduated in June from Salesian College Preparatory in Richmond. “When we moved here, we felt so lucky.”

Mural doesn’t have the bells and whistles of the market-rate MacArthur Commons — there’s no outdoor swimming pool, no fire pits, no dog spa. Mural’s two courtyards are modestly landscaped. The community room is a simple space with an attached kitchen.

But the apartments are spacious and sturdy, with double-pane windows that muffled the noise from BART and Highway 24 before construction began on the high-rise out the Techles’ window (“It’s really loud,” Tecle concedes).

There’s also the sensation of living in a community where nine languages are spoken, from Farsi and Burmese to English. A full 86 percent of Mural’s households have lived at Mural since it opened, so people in the hallways or courtyards tend not to be strangers.

“There are a lot of little kids — a lot of kids,” Tecle says. “It’s like a small town. We were really blessed.”

Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Aschabel Tecle�s trophies at her window in her room at the...

The proximity to BART allowed her to commute to Salesian each day, a four-station ride to El Cerrito Plaza Station, where she would then catch an AC Transit bus. This fall she’ll reverse course and head south to attend San Jose State University.

The location is convenient in other ways: One of Tecle’s parents now works at Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Center, a 15-minute walk. Soccer fields and Fenton’s ice cream parlor are short scooter rides away for the teens.

Tecle also lives within yards of a vibrant stretch of Telegraph Avenue: There’s a Walgreens that’s convenient for errands, plus such treats as snacks at Bakesale Betty or Beauty’s Bagel Shop.

As for the commotion around her — buildings opening up, people moving in — no complaints at all.

“I see new people walking their dogs. It’s so fun,” Tecle says. “Seeing the change, and being a part of it, has been unbelievable. Definitely positive.”

Note: this story has been updated to correct some of Tecle’s biographical details.

John King is The San Francisco Chronicle’s urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron