Part 1 of a two-part article on the high performance characteristics of 350 Mission in San Francisco.

A very high level of sustainable design characterizes 350 Mission, a 30-story office tower on Mission Street in San Francisco. The building is LEED v2.2 certified LEED Platinum and also meets the 2011 California Green Building Code (CALGreen) and the San Francisco Green Building Code. To achieve this goal, the owner, Kilroy Realty Corp., and the design team explored a wide range of innovative, high-performance MEP solutions.

The mechanical and lighting systems incorporate numerous energy saving measures. As with all mechanical structures, the primary design criteria were occupant comfort, space, resource efficiency and cost. All occupied spaces must meet the thermal comfort criteria of ASHRAE Standard 55, which sets guidelines for temperature and air velocity under various installation conditions and recognizes the benefits of occupant control over their local thermal environment.

The high-performance HVAC solution is an underfloor air distribution (UFAD) strategy. The main reasons for this decision were lower operating energy consumption, improved indoor air quality (IAQ), individual comfort and controllability of the occupants, longer operating times of the air saver and flexibility in space use. The UFAD system, in conjunction with a high-efficiency chiller and an air saver, offers an excellent HVAC solution. In addition to air distribution, the UFAD plenum also provides power, voice and data distribution.

While other high-performance HVAC alternatives were considered, project leaders pointed to UFAD. Some system alternatives enabled even greater energy savings, such as chilled beams with a dedicated outside air system (DOAS). Another option investigated was an optimized overhead VAV system.

Ultimately, the comparative studies showed that the UFAD system achieved all project objectives, including the owner's vision for flexible office space, improved IAQ and energy savings. The system also achieved the required cooling capacity to offset the thermal loads on the building envelope.

The building's direct digital control (DDC) building management system is fully interoperable and controls both the base building's core and shell systems and tenant systems, including the underfloor fan boxes, chilled water temperature sensors, lighting system, carbon dioxide occupancy sensors and demand-controlled ventilation.

The HVAC system maximizes energy efficiency by delivering conditioned air directly to occupants at floor level, where it is then stratified and ducted above the occupancy zone (via a ceiling void or open ceiling) back to units on each floor.

With a floor distribution, the supply air can be warmer (60 to 62°F) than with a ceiling distribution (55°F) because only the area where people are present needs to be cooled, not the entire room up to the ceiling. The air temperature can increase closer to the ceiling as it leaves the occupied room. The reduced need to cool the supply air results in less energy demand from the chiller, which does not need to produce cooler chilled water.

In addition, UFAD is a low-pressure system. Since the air is not forced through a network of ducts and dampers, the system can achieve significant fan energy savings. The interior zone of each room is a large open air space. UFAD requires only peripheral fan-driven boxes in the external areas.

In terms of IAQ, the floor-mounted air supply and ceiling-mounted return take advantage of the natural tendency of air to rise when heated, pulling it through the occupants' breathing zone. This is the most effective ventilation distribution strategy according to ASHRAE Standard 62.1. Manually adjustable floor diffusers are also provided, allowing occupants to adjust the air volume and optimize their individual thermal comfort.

Other key energy saving measures include energy-saving LED lighting, daylight control, light occupancy sensors and a high-efficiency water heater. In addition to being used in the cooling tower, reclaimed rainwater is also used to flush toilets.

Photo Caption: 350 Mission is a LEED Platinum-certified, 30-story office tower on Mission Street in San Francisco, directly across from the new Transbay Transit Center in the rapidly developing South of Market district. • Completed in 2015, the $250 million project sits on a scant 19,000-square-foot site. The 420,000-square-foot building is a Type 1 concrete structure with a total height of approximately 420 feet. • The tower is clad in a high-performance, unitized curtain wall with alternating inward and outward leaning panels, giving the facade a “woven” appearance as light reflects off the surface. • The tower features a 50-foot-tall lobby that also functions as a free-flowing, open public space. The space utilizes a unique folding glass wall system that opens the lobby to the street while maintaining the interior climate with an energy-efficient radiant floor heating and cooling system. A real-time digital video screen displays art. • All of the building's prime office space has been pre-leased to Salesforce, a global cloud computing company.

Photo credit: © Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP | AJSNY, 2016. All rights reserved.

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BERKELEY — Blame it on the pandemic or rising inflation costs, but whatever the cause, Bay Area animal shelters are in crisis.

And all across the region, people like the workers at LJ Kruse Plumbing in Berkeley are helping.

Every Thursday morning, Marie McLean, who works at the century-old plumbing company, walks a few blocks to the Berkeley Humane Society animal shelter.

“It’s a joy for everyone in the office,” said McLean, who has worked at the plumbing company for 15 years. “We love the dogs. You feed a dog, you take him for a walk, you play with him for a bit and then you take a break and he is standing at the gate crying for you. That is amazing.”

Berkeley Humane has been working with Kruse for some time. That day, McLean picked up a year-old terroir mix named Hugo who was found abandoned in Oakland.

The good-natured puppy spends a few hours in the plumbing company's offices and wins the hearts of everyone who works there.

“The hope is that this dog finds a loving home,” McLean told KPIX.

Will Kruse is vice president and service manager. He loves having dogs like Hugo in the office.

“We care about animals and animal reuse here,” Kruse said. “Berkeley Humane is just a few blocks away, so it’s a natural partnership.”

In the last decade. Kruse says some of his employees and even customers have adopted dogs that they brought into the office.

This is special because Will grew up on the streets and actually volunteered at Berkeley Humane as a child.

“It means a lot to me as an adult and business owner to give back to the community I grew up in,” Kruse said.

Kruse Plumbing is currently running a donation program. Every $3 of every service call is donated to Berkeley Humane.

More from CBS News

Justin Andrews

Justin Andrews joined the KPIX 5 news team in May 2021. You can follow his reports on the morning and midday newscasts.

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BERKELEY — Blame it on the pandemic or the rising cost of inflation, but whatever the cause Bay Area animal shelters are in crisis.

And across the region, people are stepping up to help like the workers at LJ Kruse Plumbing in Berkeley.

Every Thursday morning, Marie McLean, who works at the century old-plumbing company, walks a few blocks to the Berkeley Humane Society shelter.

It’s a joy to everyone in the office,” said McLean, who has worked at the plumbing company for 15 years. “We love the dogs. You feed a dog, you walk a dog, you play with it a little bit and then you go on a break and it’s at the gate crying for you. That’s amazing.”

Berkeley Humane has been in partnership with Kruse for a while. On this day, McLean picked up a 1-year-old terroir mix named Hugo, who was found abandoned in Oakland.

The sweet-natured pup spends a few hours in the plumbing company offices, winning over the hearts of all who work there.

“The hope is that this dog will find a loving home,” McLean told KPIX.

Will Kruse is the vice president and service manager. He loves having dogs like Hugo in the office.

“We care about animals and recusing animals here,” said Kruse. “Berkeley Humane is just a couple blocks away so it’s a natural partnership”

Over the last decade. Kruse says some of his workers and even customers have adopted dogs that they’ve brought into the office.

This is special because Will grew up down the street and actually volunteered at Berkeley Humane when he was a kid.

“Means a lot for me as an adult and business owner to give back to the community that I grew up in,” said Kruse.

Kruse Plumbing has a donation program going right now. Every $3 of every service call will be donated to Berkeley Humane.

Justin Andrews

Justin Andrews joined the KPIX 5 news team in May 2021. You can catch his reports on the morning and noon newscasts.

The post Century-old Berkeley plumbing firm helps discover pets a ceaselessly house appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Once the boxes are filled and crammed into car trunks and back seats, the volunteers caravan across San Francisco to make deliveries to expectant and new Black moms.

The “Sunday Show Ups” began at the start of the pandemic when Gebre noticed that few of the Black Patients at her Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital clinic were taking advantage of a pantry a doctor had set up for pregnant patients. Concerned about insufficient outreach to a vulnerable population during an uncertain time, Gebre sought donations on social media for her Black patients and the grassroots effort took off.

“There were disparities in access to masks, access to education and factual information around the pandemic,” Gebre says. “Out of this hard period, we created a space where we can engage in conversations and give back to the community in a positive way.”

One Love Black Community organizer Asmara Gebre speaks with expectant mother Tanisha Bell about resources for her newborn in Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco, on Nov. 13, 2022, during the organization’s ‘Sunday Show Up.’ (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

The focus on Black women is personal and purposeful: Gebre, 34, was living in a home for single moms more than 15 years ago. She relates to the multitude of challenges her patients face. As a medical professional, she has seen Black women suffer from higher rates of pregnancy-related complications and preterm births even as the city’s Black population dwindles.

In San Francisco, Black families make up half of the city’s maternal deaths and 15% of infant deaths (PDF) despite representing just 4% of all births. City data also shows nearly 14% of Black infants are born prematurely compared with 7.3% of white infants. It’s a cause for alarm because preterm babies are more likely to experience chronic disease, not to mention learning and behavioral difficulties in school.

At first, the donations included masks, hand sanitizer, diapers, children’s books, produce and money. The cash donations allowed Gebre to distribute $200 per woman — no strings attached.

As her network of volunteers grew, so did her reach.

Cassandra Perkins (left) and Asmara Gebre pose for a portrait on Treasure Island after making all their deliveries during One Love Black Community’s ‘Sunday Show Up’ on Nov. 13, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

With the help of her most dedicated volunteer Cassandra Perkins —to outreach coordinator for the San Francisco Department of Public Health – they expanded their deliveries to new moms participating in the California Black Infant Health program and pregnant women who are unhoused. They also aligned with several Bay Area initiatives that are trying to address Racial inequalities to improve Black maternal health.

Perkins has spent the last 23 years working in HIV and family planning clinics in the city’s marginalized Black neighborhoods. She has an easy smile and is the kind of person who gives away books, socks and toiletries stashed in her car to give away to people she meets on the street.

She calls the Sunday show-ups her church.

“I look like them so it’s easier for them to relate to me … just to inform, educate and be of service and always treat people with dignity and respect and you get it back tenfold,” Perkins says.

She said after the women leave the hospital and recover at home, many of them miss out on information about services focused on Black women’s health. The home visits are filling a crucial gap in postpartum care and establishes One Love Black Community as a reliable source of information to a community wary of outsiders after experiencing decades of poverty, environmental injustice and racial discrimination.

Bayview-Hunters Point became a Black neighborhood in the 1940s as African Americans from the Gulf Coast migrated to the Bay Area to work at the nearby Navy shipyard. After World War II ended, jobs evaporated. Black people, who were limited in where they could live in San Francisco due to discriminatory housing policy, were left languishing in substandard housing surrounded by pollution left over from the shipyard.

“If they show initiative in how much they care to help you, then that’s the most helpful because they make you want to put more initiative into yourself,” says Charise Haley, who met Perkins when she was living on the streets and pregnant with her now 10-month-old son.

Haley, who continues to cope with losing her partner to suicide, says she’s close to receiving a subsidized apartment.

“Cassandra is one of my favorite people because if it wasn’t for her actually believing in what I can do, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now,” she says about Perkins.

Haley was among seven women who received deliveries on one Sunday last month.

Charise Haley picks up her son Isaiah from his toy car outside of her home in San Francisco on Nov. 13, 2022, during a visit by One Love Black Community volunteers. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

I ride with Gebre in her SUV that’s cluttered with baby supplies in the back and her half-eaten breakfast in the front. A tireless multitasker, she also finds time to lead Black Centering, a program at UCSF where she organizes nature walks, CPR classes and other community-building activities for expectant Black parents.

Perkins and Katiana Carey-Simms, a midwifery student, follow in two other cars filled with supplies. Meanwhile, Gebre’s son Devin comes along to pack and haul boxes.

We go uphill to an apartment complex overlooking the bay and meet Crystal Hill, who is receiving her first delivery from One Love Black Community. Inside her unit, football plays on the TV while Hill’s 2-month-old boy lays in a baby swing.

Big pots of stew simmer in the kitchen, and the aroma prompts Gebre to offer to sign Hill up for six weeks of meals delivered by Postpartum Justice, an organization that recruits Bay Area restaurants to cook nourishing meals for Black women healing from childbirth.

“I need to start getting healthy because I have high blood pressure and diabetes that stayed with me after [pregnancy],” Hill, 40, tells her.

“This would be a beautiful transition, just having some nice meals and sharing with the family and thinking differently,” Gebre replies.

A short drive later, we stop at the Bayview home of a pregnant woman Perkins recently met while shopping at Safeway. Perkins urges the woman, who declines to be interviewed, to enroll in the Abundant Birth Project because she is in her first trimester and thus eligible. The guaranteed income program gives $1,000 per month to a randomly selected group of Black and Pacific Islander pregnant women who face some of the greatest degrees of income inequality in one of the nation’s most expensive cities.

Sabrina Hall holds her newborn, Harleigh Quin, at her home in Bayview on Nov. 13, 2022, while visiting with volunteers from One Love Black Community. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

The experiment is part of a growing number of guaranteed income programs responding to racial and economic inequality by giving unconditional cash directly to people in need. Abundant Birth’s goal is to ease financial stress for these women and improve their health outcome.

Gebre suspended her monthly cash gifts due to tax reasons, but said she’ll resume it as soon as she receives proper fiscal sponsorship.

She estimates 300 women have received deliveries from One Love Black Community in just over two years. This Christmas, she hopes to show up for 100 families with the help of volunteers from a Black sorority.

She recalls the small acts of kindness that made a big difference for her when she was raising Devin in the Santa Cruz area. Once, when she volunteered at a horse ranch so he could get free riding lessons, a woman slipped a surprise in the book Gebre was reading.

“I remember one day I was running out of gas and was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get through this week of school.’ I opened the book and there was $100 in cash in there,” Gebre says. “There were so many moments where my community showed up for me. Little things here and there, but they add up.”

She says she’s driven to give back because of the support she received.

When we reach Sabrina Hall at her home in an industrial part of the Bayview, Gebre and Perkins pitch the postpartum meals and online support group for Black moms facilitated by UC San Francisco.

Hall, 41, says she developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy and suffered nerve damage and other complications after delivering her daughter, Harleigh Quin, three weeks early. The baby weighed just 5 pounds.

The experience was nonetheless an improvement from four previous pregnancies, Hall says. She participated in the guaranteed income study, and says the extra cash helped her buy baby gear and catch up on some bills.

“With my other kids, no one told me about doulas. [There was] just a lack of education,” Hall says. “This birth, I had a doula, I had Black Infant Health — you know, just the support. I had no one to speak for me with the medical office or the staff. And this time I had an advocate.”

Boxes filled with diapers, formula, and other essentials are loaded into a car to be delivered to mothers throughout San Francisco and Treasure Island as a part of One Love Black Community’s ‘Sunday Show Up’ on Nov. 13, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/ KQED)

Back in the car, Gebre says since the guaranteed income pilot launched two years ago, she noticed patients who receive the money participate more actively in their prenatal care. For example, patients in transitional housing were more likely to find transportation to show up for their appointments.

“I have not met one patient who doesn’t care about their pregnancy or want the best for themselves and their baby, although there are so many factors around them that are influencing their ability to engage or not engage in the kind of quality of care that they want,” she says. “When you’re able to provide additional resources to minimize those stress factors — that burden, that toll is no longer present — you can notice the difference in patients and how they engage in care.”

She drives across a section of the Bay Bridge and exits onto Treasure Island, passing a housing construction project and new ferry terminal. She parks in front of a cluster of townhouses to check on her former patient Danesha Johnson.

“How are you?” Gebre asks while hugging Johnson, who gave birth a month earlier.

“The recovery is fine, no complications. I’m fine,” the 21-year-old says.

When Johnson’s partner, Darrian Burrows, comes out to carry the supplies inside, Gebre tells Perkins that he assisted her in the delivery room and caught his daughter when Johnson made her final push. Perkins remembers seeing him in the hospital when Johnson was in labor, and she’s overcome with emotions.

“That was so beautiful for you to be in the tub with her when she was going through labor to help ease things,” she says as tears fill her eyes.

“You’re giving me the chills because I work in our communities of color and they’re always giving our men a hard time,” Perkins continues. “And some programs, there’s something for the mom and the baby but they don’t want the dad involved. So just to see you all as a couple and loving one another and having a baby brung into this world together …”

Bearing witness to a happy, healthy birth makes her want to keep this thing going, she says.

The post Diapers, Meals and Money: San Francisco Group Helps Black Mothers, One Supply at a Time appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

BERKELEY — Blame it on the pandemic or the rising cost of inflation, but whatever the cause Bay Area animal shelters are in crisis.

And across the region, people are stepping up to help like the workers at LJ Kruse Plumbing in Berkeley.

Every Thursday morning, Marie McLean, who works at the century old-plumbing company, walks a few blocks to the Berkeley Humane Society shelter.

It’s a joy to everyone in the office,” said McLean, who has worked at the plumbing company for 15 years. “We love the dogs. You feed a dog, you walk a dog, you play with it a little bit and then you go on a break and it’s at the gate crying for you. That’s amazing.”

Berkeley Humane has been in partnership with Kruse for a while. On this day, McLean picked up a 1-year-old terroir mix named Hugo, who was found abandoned in Oakland.

The sweet-natured pup spends a few hours in the plumbing company offices, winning over the hearts of all who work there.

“The hope is that this dog will find a loving home,” McLean told KPIX.

Will Kruse is the vice president and service manager. He loves having dogs like Hugo in the office.

“We care about animals and recusing animals here,” said Kruse. “Berkeley Humane is just a couple blocks away so it’s a natural partnership”

Over the last decade. Kruse says some of his workers and even customers have adopted dogs that they’ve brought into the office.

This is special because Will grew up down the street and actually volunteered at Berkeley Humane when he was a kid.

“Means a lot for me as an adult and business owner to give back to the community that I grew up in,” said Kruse.

Kruse Plumbing has a donation program going right now. Every $3 of every service call will be donated to Berkeley Humane.

Justin Andrews

Justin Andrews joined the KPIX 5 news team in May 2021. You can catch his reports on the morning and noon newscasts.

The post Century-old Berkeley plumbing firm helps discover pets a ceaselessly residence appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco non-profit helps LGBTQ Ukrainian refugees

Amid the war in Ukraine, a San Francisco based non-profit is working to provide refugees from the LGBTQ community safe shelter in Poland and Romania, where discrimination remains widespread. Safe Place International was founded by Justin Hilton in 2017.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Amid the war in Ukraine, a San Francisco based non-profit is working to provide refugees from the LGBTQ community safe shelter in Poland and Romania, where discrimination remains widespread.

“All of these displaced refugees were fleeing into countries that were very homophobic,” said Safe Place International founder Justin Hilton.

Safe Place International was founded by Hilton in 2017.

“I was working in India and across Asia on women and girl’s education and LGBTQ rights and was coming through Istanbul, and in one of my visits to Istanbul a trans person was murdered in the street. She was beheaded by a mob,” said Hilton .

Shocked and horrified, Hilton says he began learning more about the plight of LGBTQ refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries.

“They were meeting the same people in Istanbul that they were escaping from in their home countries,” said Hilton.

Soon after, he created Safe Place International, which provides LGBTQ dedicated shelters, community centers, and services for refugees and asylum seekers in parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. Currently, the non-profit is on the ground in Poland and Romania. Iryna Umantseva and her girlfriend Hannah Levashova are among the hundreds of Ukrainian refugees that the non-profit has helped since the war began. The couple fled Ukraine in late February during the second day of the Russian invasion.

“My parents and I really hear the missiles, the explosions, and the air alarms, and we were really scared,” said Umantseva.

With just the clothes on their backs, the couple boarded a crowded train to Poland, leaving behind their parents. Hannah’s parents are now in the Russian occupied region of Donetsk.

“I see the news, and I’m pretty scared about this, and that’s stressful for me,” Levashova.

“There were some bombs near Hannah’s, and she doesn’t know anytime if it comes to her parent’s home,” added Umantseva.

Adding to their stress initially, the reality of arriving in Poland, a country where discrimination against the LGBTQ community remains widespread. That’s where Safe Place was able to help.

“The ability to communicate with them, and to communicate to somebody who really friendly, makes us to feel in more safe space,” said Umantseva.

The non-profit is helping the couple make connections in Poland’s LGBTQ community, pay for an apartment, look for work, and receive therapy.

Iryna and Hannah say they don’t know how long they’ll be staying in Poland. They plan on donating part of their salaries to the Ukrainian armed forces.

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While residents of a RV park in South San Francisco had years of poor internet access, Minnesota-based wireless technology company Kwikbit was able to connect the entire park to multiple locations in 30 minutes using existing lines.

Joe Costello

“This RV park had fiber optic cables for over a decade. The fiber has been sold to various companies over the years. Nobody would plug the people in and the people who owned the fiber said we weren’t going to plug the people in, it was too expensive, ”said Joe Costello, CEO of Kwikbit.

The company took the fiber optic link and distributed it around the RV park, connecting people within 30 minutes. The longest part of the process was waiting eight weeks for the fiber optic company to connect, he said.

“This is a technology that has been in development for probably 20 years,” said Costello. “This is a very fast wireless technology.”

The problem with fiberglass, a very thin piece of glass filament that uses light to transmit, is that new cables must be run and it is expensive to install. The company uses wireless technology that provides high fiber-like speed by creating a fiber optic connection and using small radio transmitters in a small box that is about 6 “by 4” by 2 “. With 100 gigabits, fiber optic itself is faster than necessary, he said.

“We can do a gigabit. But we’re ten times faster than DSL and cable, ”he said.

Fiber broadband is now available to more than 30% of homes in the United States, and fiber networks are expected to reach 50% of homes by 2025, according to a study by the Fiber Broadband Association.

The percentage that fiber isn’t around are disproportionately low incomes and people of color, Costello said.

“The vast majority of people do not have fiber and unfortunately the people who do this are disproportionately rich. So that’s where the digital divide comes in, ”he said.

The pandemic also highlighted the need for an internet connection as people relied on it for work, health care, socializing, and more.

Last year the company visited Corning, an agricultural school in Northern California, and found that 60% of students did not have adequate internet connections.

It’s working to reach more communities, including RV parks in Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and Redwood City.

“Mobile home parks are really good because they have been completely overlooked and concentrated by all internet providers,” he said.

It also focuses on small cities and areas that need better broadband coverage.

The post Kwikbit helps to hook up South San Francisco cellular dwelling park web | Native Information appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN JOSE (KPIX) – The Santa Clara Valley Water District, the wholesaler for the South Bay, is making efforts to polish the image of purified wastewater and lay the groundwork for the replenishment of local aquifers.

At a press event at the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center, Rick Callender, CEO of Valley Water, spoke about the need to keep saving while developing ways to increase supply.

At the event, employees distributed water bottles to elected officials and dignitaries with this message printed on the label: “That used to be wastewater #GetOverIt.”

“(Recycled water) may have an image problem, but I think once people are educated they will understand that if you look at the ecosystem, all water is recycled,” Callender said.

The cleaning center receives water from the regional sewage system San José-Santa Clara on the opposite side of the street, which is pumped through a microfiltration and reverse osmosis system and guided by UV light.

At this stage, the water is cleaner than what can be achieved with home filtration systems, the district said. However, it cannot legally be considered “potable” until it has undergone “advanced oxidation”. The district wants to upgrade the cleaning center and install the technology.

Currently the purification center produces 8 million gallons per day, the majority of which is diverted for industrial use, landscape irrigation, and agricultural crops, while the remainder is dumped into the bay.

Once classified as “potable,” it is up to the state Water Resources Control Board to approve the use of millions of gallons of purified water to recharge aquifers in Campbell.

Callender commented on the district’s efforts to get the water resources committee to act quickly.

“I think this is just the beginning of a conversation we need to have. We need to have it now, we need to finish it, and we need to be able to find ways to ensure that we can use advanced purified water for water supply. I think this is just the beginning of a very long conversation and hopefully the state will be able to step on the regulatory accelerator and figure out how to do this quickly, ”Callender said.

The district will decide whether to expand the current water treatment center on Zanker Road or build a new facility in Palo Alto. Callender said the district is reviewing options for both.

“We are in the worst drought since the 1970s. Our reservoirs will be empty if climate change doesn’t go away. Droughts won’t go away, ”Callender said.

Drinking the purified sewage, Shane Kent said in San Jose, it tasted “good.”

“It’s not like tap water or anything like that, but I don’t notice that much of a difference,” said Kent. “But if I saw a fresh bottle of water and something that was treated wastewater – although technically the same – I’d probably prefer the regular bottle of water to this. So it’s definitely a strange image problem. “

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OAKLAND (KPIX) – The high property prices are not a problem for those who can afford to stay there. But it does lead some African Americans to sell their homes and move. Now, a new program from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is giving low-income black homeowners the chance to profit from their homes without leaving them.

In the 1980s, Oakland was 46% African American, the largest black-dominated city in California. But since then, the city has lost nearly 40,000 of its black residents, some of them due to skyrocketing housing costs. Gentrification is taking its toll on low-income communities and changing the character of Oakland.

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“We have moved from a city that is really rich in art and culture and a high social life to something more sterile,” said third generation Oaklander, Bobby Arte. “The neighborhoods are all starting to look the same. There’s no such thing as the eclectic feel and vibe of the city. And we definitely don’t see that much diversity. “

Arte is the chief operating officer of Well Nest Company, a development company that has become part of a project to rescue black homeowners in Oakland. They do it with backyard in-laws or ADUs, short for accessory dwelling units. His company offers a range of different designs of ADUs and the expertise to guide homeowners through creating them.

“So we can really help streamline this process for the homeowner who doesn’t want to deal with the city, the planning and the design,” said Arte.

It’s a pilot project called Keys to Equity, which gives low-income black homeowners the opportunity to become landlords, earn income without selling their homes, while offering an apartment for someone else. The program is organized by the nonprofit Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services.

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“So we really want to test the assumption, can ADU stabilize the community we care about?” Said RNHS Executive Director Nikki Beasley.

Meanwhile, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has allocated $ 2 million to guarantee home loans so lenders don’t take the risk of lending to homeowners who otherwise would not be qualified, according to Ruby Bolaria-Shifrin, CZI director of housing affordability.

“So you don’t have to be rich or have a lot of equity in your home to get an ADU,” she said.

All you need is a back yard or even a garage that can be converted. The program is only possible due to changes in the law that facilitate the construction of ADUs. The organizers estimate that there are now 20,000 condos in Oakland alone that could qualify for a backyard apartment.

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In most cases, the units can be self-financing and, over time, give low-income African Americans a chance to capitalize on the hot housing market rather than fall prey to it.

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