200 Second Street

Innovative planning and artisan touches define 200 Second Street, a high-density urban mixed-use building in Oakland’s Jack London Square neighborhood. Seventy condominiums and four lofty live-work spaces elegantly interlace throughout this six-story building, which is filled with imaginative details.

A small corner retail space activated the corner sidewalk realm.

The four FLEX lofts along Second Street have had used ranging from art galleries to residential to food prep. They have a complicated plan that features a dropped floor to allow a double height space. The landscaping in pots was a post construction feature that successfully buffered and softened the street edge.

A custom-crafted steel gate and glass rain awning flank the feng shui-inspired entry court, whose colored exterior pavement carries into the lobby in a terrazzo-style design. The towering lobby is paneled with articulated bamboo and illuminated by colored energy-efficient LED lighting.

Two stacked double-height sky lobbies with murals by local artists bring color, nuance, and humor to tenants’ everyday experience. The glass-faced stair distills natural light and adds to the multi-hued glow of the building by night.

Four floor plans—from junior one-bedrooms with sleeping alcoves to three-bedroom units—all feature nearly ceiling height windows and glass patio doors to capture the area’s ample sunlight.

Particular care went into the planning of the intelligent alcove unit, which features a cleverly situated sleeping nook that adds privacy and flexibility to the space. Designed with first-time buyers in mind, the unit nests with the neighboring one-bedroom-plus unit to take full advantage of the available living area.