A top priority for the Community & City of Oakland
A new Lincoln recreation center has been a long held goal for the Oakland Chinatown community spanning three decades. In addition, the project has also been recognized as a top city-wide priority.
7 reasons why the Lincoln Square Park Rec Center is a top City and Community priority:
Lincoln was highest scoring park project
The community needs a bigger center that better serves the neighborhood. The current center is outdated and too small and cannot meet the high demands for programming. There is no air filtration, heat or air-conditioning in the current center making it ill-suited to serve as a respite during extreme smoke and weather. The youth programs consistently have a long waitlist.
There is broad community support, led by Friends of Lincoln Square and APEN. In addition, many community organizations and leaders have endorsed the project and are supporting efforts to advance the project.
The project supports multiple City goals and strategies as laid out in the:
1996 Open Space, Conservation and Recreation (OSCAR) Element
2014 Lake Merritt Station Area Plan - prioritized Lincoln for further investment and highlighted lack of adequate parks pace needed to serve existing area and future population growth
Current and past Capital Improvement Program plans - in the 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Plan, Lincoln was the highest scoring park project, the 2nd highest priority public building, and the 8th highest priority overall.
Measure U priorities outlined in City staff reports include Lincoln
2025-2028 Oakland Fund for Children and Youth Strategic Plan
Plan Bay Area 2050 by the Association of Bay Area Governments (SB 375)
The project will be the City’s first municipal Resilience Hub. The new center will support frontline communities to become stronger, more self-determining, socially connected, and successful before, during, and after disruptions such as smoke days, extreme heat, and power outages. The proposed community center will have backup sources of energy, heating, cooling, and air filtration. 9.25 million dollars was awarded to the City by the state of California to support the center’s resilience features.
This project is high impact and is a model for other parks and rec centers in the City. This park is the most activated and used rec center in the City. The park serves over 1,000 people a day of all ages and races. It serves much more than Chinatown. Youth, students, seniors and families from all over the City and beyond visit the park 7 days a week, from dawn to dusk, and basket ball players use the courts at night. The park is the only staffed park facility downtown and a trusted and safe public where visitors feel seen and welcomed.
Lincoln Park is an important part of the local economy and City budget, bringing people downtown to shop and dine, and generating fee income from their popular after-school and summer programs. A bigger center will have a bigger positive economic impact.
The Community has waited long enough and the project is now shovel-ready. Talks of improving the center date back to 1996, and while other centers across the City have been built, rebuilt and updated, The Lincoln Rec Center has not been expanded or modernized since it was built nearly 40 years ago. The center has been prioritized for full replacement after a thorough vetting and equitable prioritization process.
About the new center: The project will include construction of a new two story 22,221 square feet recreation center and park improvements located at Lincoln Square Park in Oakland Chinatown. The new center will feature four multi-purpose classrooms/activity spaces, kitchen, office spaces, gymnasium, stage area, elevator, restrooms, and rooftop garden on the 2nd floor.