Jack London Square's Ferry Building-Like Market Is Finally Happening

The proposed Ferry Building-like market in Jack London Square has been perpetual vaporware, with two developers attempting to take it on and failing over the past eight years. (Daniel Patterson's Haven was and remains the only tenant willing to take the plunge.) But now another plan is being set to revive it, spearheaded by Steve Carlin, who was involved in the original development of the Ferry Building and is the founder and CEO of Napa's similar Oxbow Public Market.

The new development will be called Water Street Market, and is set to open in the fall of 2016 on the 32,000-square-foot ground floor of the market building. If all goes well, the second floor could eventually be developed as market space; the four top floors are already used as offices. If Water Street makes it, it'll be another major coup for the Jack London area, which has been surging of late with the debut of popular bowling-arcade-beer garden complex Plank, as well as recently-approved plans for over 600 residential units to be built right near the market. More importantly, a Ferry Building-like operation will provide a badly needed grocery option for the area's swelling population, which lacks any kind of amenities in that arena. No tenants have been announced yet, but given Carlin's high profile, it seems likely that many of Oakland's major players on the food scene will be considering a project in the building, which has four restaurant spaces in addition to Haven, as well as a number of stalls, in play. We'll keep you posted on who signs on.