Nearly three years after Holy Names University closed amid declining enrollment and rising costs, the 60-acre campus nestled in Oakland’s East Hill will be reborn for a new purpose: housing.
On Friday, BH Properties, which purchased the property in 2023 for $65 million, is expected to file an application to build 165 single-family homes on the property while retaining the university’s 400-seat theater and the iconic mid-century chapel and bell tower designed by architect John Pflueger.
Los Angeles-based BH Properties purchased the 60-acre campus in June 2023, just ahead of a scheduled foreclosure after the university defaulted on a $49 million loan. After acquiring it, the real estate investment firm worked unsuccessfully to attract another educational institution, a difficult sell in an environment where Bay Area colleges such as Mills College and the California College of the Arts and San Francisco Art Institute have gone out of business after severe financial losses post-pandemic.
“We believe in Oakland and are committed to transforming the former Holy Names campus into a win for the property, the community and the city,” Jim Brooks, president of BH Properties, said in a statement. “This is a particularly compelling location and we believe homes of this type can be delivered in the short term.”
The development represents a rare opportunity to build single-family homes in the East Bay’s largest city and capitalize on a property defined by steep hills, deep ravines, blooming rose bushes, redwood groves, circling hawks and views of both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. About half of the 60-acre property will be preserved as open space, with winding hiking trails and wooded areas where kids can explore and build forts.
This rendering of planned housing on the former campus of Holy Names University shows how homes would be built on Oakland Hill. (Design workshop)
The plan for 165 market-rate single-family homes will be consistent with surrounding densities, with a variety of home sizes that fit the campus and hillside environment.
In early designs, the existing campus footprint will be transformed into a residential village clustered around McClean Chapel and a quad, with approximately 125 homes between 1,800 and 2,500 square feet. The steeper hill will be less developed, with about 40 larger homes, probably 2,500 to 3,000 square feet.
In a statement, BH said the community “will become a place for families, empty nesters and singles alike to enjoy the richness and fullness of campus life.”
BH Properties is working with development adviser Tidewater Capital on proposed plans for the former campus,
“Holy Names is an incredible location surrounded by a mature hillside neighborhood,” said Kyle Winkler, director of development at Tidewater Capital. “The plan is in its early stages, but it adds much-needed housing that will mirror the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhood.”
BH Properties bought the former Holy Names University campus after the school closed in 2023. It wants to turn the campus into single-family homes. (Jessica Christian/The Chronicle)
The proposal calls for the bell tower and chapel to be preserved as a library and communal space, while the campus quad remains as a central gathering place. The performing arts theater, which was built in 1993, is designed as a cultural and enrichment center available to the broader community, with performances, discussions and classes overseen by a nonprofit organization, the developer said.
Former Oakland City Councilman Dick Spees, who served the borough for 24 years, compared the Holy Names property to Oakland’s Chabot Science and Space Center, which he founded. Spees previously served on the board of trustees of Holy Names University.
“Holy Names is one of Oakland’s most special places, shaped by its hills, trees and long civic heritage,” he said. “We’ve learned through projects like the Chabot Space & Science Center that the best development respects its setting, serves the community and thinks about future generations. Oakland is at its best when growth is guided by care, balance and long-term thinking – and this project reflects just that.”
The former campus of Holy Names University is nestled in the Oakland Hills. The proposed housing would create hiking trails worked into the landscape. (Yalonda M. James/SF Chronicle)
After the application is submitted, the developer says it plans to launch a community engagement process, working with city officials and neighbors to refine the plan.
The project comes as another noteworthy housing education project in Oakland — the 448-unit redevelopment of the former CCA campus in Rockridge — is stalled due to financial infeasibility.
If approved, the Holy Names project would be the second largest single-family home project in Oakland. The largest, the 918-home redevelopment of the former Oak Knolls Naval Medical Center, has been delayed for three decades, mired in controversy and false starts. The current owner said infrastructure work could start this year.
This article was originally published at Exclusive: Former Bay Area University campus to be converted into single-family housing.