The collective that runs Omni Commons bought the Shattuck Avenue building in 2016, and rmust make a nearly $1 million payment on its property loan this year, or obtain another one, in order to keep it. Credit: Saskia Hatvany
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/10/2024
CONTACT: Noni Session, Executive Director. noni@ebprec.org
Oakland, CA —
The East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC) has plucked the
community arts and organizing hub known as Omni Commons from the jaws of
foreclosure after a
series of challenges left the community hub vulnerable to being
auctioned off for real estate
development. EB PREC has sponsored its nonprofit affiliate, the
Collective Action and Land
Liberation Institute (CALLI), to acquire the embattled building.
Omni Commons, the radical community organizing space developed in the
wake of the Occupy
Movement in 2014, faced foreclosure due to financial difficulties
exacerbated by the pandemic. CALLI is leveraging EB PREC’s unique
cooperative real estate model to prevent the displacement of its tenants
while ensuring the building remains permanently affordable and under
community control.
“Omni Commons is the exact kind of property we aim to keep in the hands
of our community—a
neighborhood asset that North Oaklanders want to see succeed,” says Noni
Session, Executive
Director at EB PREC. “By removing Omni Commons from the speculative
capitalist market, we’re
keeping our organizing ecosystems alive and protecting cultural spaces
where artists, activists, and culture-bearers build upon and preserve
Oakland’s legacy.”
In just five years, EB PREC has liberated a portfolio of six residential
and commercial properties in Oakland and the East Bay. EB PREC plans on
working with CALLI and Omni Commons delegates in a similar community-led
fashion as their other major commercial real estate project, Esther’s
Orbit Room–where residents and local merchants are organizing to
rejuvenate 7th street as a Black Arts, business, & cultural district. EB
PREC and CALLI plan on activating the 22,000+ square foot building for
community benefit by welcoming new member organizations into the space
in the coming months.
“Historically, the collectives who have found the most stability and
safety organizing in Omni Commons have been predominantly white, a
dynamic that was also reflected in the collective’s leadership,” says
Ojan Mobedshahi, Finance Director at EB PREC. “So we’re especially
excited to bring the historic space under BIPOC-led management and look
forward to folding a racial justice element into the Omni Common’s next
chapter.”
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Learn more about CALLI: thecalli.org
Learn more about EB PREC: Visit ebprec.org, sign up for their
newsletter, or visit their press page.
Socials: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
(Contributed by maydayjt)
