Old City / Produce & Water

Old City, also known as the Produce and Water district, is a commercial melting pot of sorts comprising of industrial businesses, anonymous depots and cluttered warehouses. It is also small, spanning about 0.5 square miles of murky commercial terrain. Its largest drawback is the district’s increasing crime rate, which continues to disrupt the neighborhood’s growth. Demographically speaking, the neighborhood is very diverse (of its 2,000 residents), encompassing a large asian majority with a rather sizable hispanic and black minority.

Old City’s commercial quarters are not too exciting. Its mostly comprised of struggling businesses trying to survive the economic downturn. And it shows with its gritty business parks, unpolished construction depots and other such industrialized zones usually saturating every block. If you head towards the northern end of the neighborhood (closest to downtown Oakland), you’ll find a plethora of glossy, towering businesses that will hopefully carry over into its own quarters soon (but probably not).

As for its residential space, it is heavily tied to the few newly constructed condominiums and apartment homes. If you’re driving through the area, you’ll notice the few polished, mid-rise apartment buildings and condominium complexes that scatter the area. They usually only offer about 2-4 rooms of living space, at least according to city data that was made available in 2009. Also, the data shows that most of the community has less than a high school education while median household income is around $25,000, way below the city’s average.

The single biggest influence on Oakland is its vibrant (and I use this term loosely) African American community, which has managed to hold its ground in the face of the continual churning of the Oakland economy. The neighborhood’s biggest assets are the Jack London Square Amtrak Station, which anchors the southeastern end of the district, and the 12th Street Oakland City Center Bart Station, which skirts the eastern side. Both are main contributions to the district’s buoyed economic development. Commuters also have convenient access to both Highway 880 and 980.