Both wanted to change the fact that while East Oakland had a population of familes with kids and teenagers, there was very little for them to do, if anything. To the end of changing that state of affairs, Reid spear-headed a giant plan to build ball fields at what is now the Zhone Technologies building site.
The political agreements and money needed to make that happened never appeared so the first idea died on the vine. But Reid never gave up. Now, he has assembled a plan such that the City of Oakland's in partnership with ELS, an architecture and urban design firm based in Berkeley -- which would seem to place the city in the role of developer.
The Sports Center project is embeded within their website but you have to know to look for it, otherwise in an online search it will pass you by. The building will be , if built, a 50,000 square foot complex at Edes Avenue and Jones Street with two swimming pools, a dance center, space for community meetings, a running track, and an aerobic fitness center.
To say that this project is needed is an understatement. It must and should be constructed. If it's approved and it should be, it will open March of 2010.
