Public Meeting: Oakland City Council Greenlights Center Construction!
City leaders, City staff and community members gathered May 26, 2026 for the Public Works & Transportation Committee meeting which set the stage for the June 2 City Council meeting.
Milestone Alert
Friends of Lincoln Square Park is thrilled to share that on June 2, 2026, the Oakland City Council unanimously voted to award a 28.4 million dollar construction contract to S.J. Amoroso Construction, clearing the way to begin building our new recreation center. The new two-story, 22,221 square-foot center and will include a commercial kitchen, multiple classrooms and multi-purpose rooms, a community stage for performances, gymnasium, and second-floor outdoor garden.
Lincoln Square Park is a vital community hub that has served generations of Oaklanders in Oakland Chinatown. It is a gathering place for connection, physical health, and mental health.
The new center will be the city’s first resilience hub, serving the community in good times and bad and ensuring that our City can continue to bring the community together through culturally competent programming and services. The addition of new climate resilient building features will also help us adapt to meet our needs in response to our ever-changing climate.
City of Oakland - Shah Kawasaki Architects
This historic vote follows the unanimous May 26 Public Works Committee vote and marks a major milestone in our 30 year journey to expand the capacity of the recreation center to better meet community needs. This project is not only a major priority for the Oakland Chinatown community, but it is also a priority of the City of Oakland, since it meets the goals of many of the City’s existing plans.
Planning for a groundbreaking celebration is already underway. Construction will begin late summer, 2026 and take approximately 18 months.
This 34.4 million dollar investment is funded by: