It’s all up to Oakland City Hall now as the Oakland City Council and the Oakland A’s need to work out the specific on the Howard Terminal affordable housing issues (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

Howard Terminal: Affordable Housing still a Huge Issue

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–After what Commissioner of Baseball Fred Manfred said a few days ago about the future of the A’s in Oakland, which in Mr.Manfred’s words were not good. There still is a big issue that is part of the deal, if the A’s build their new Howard Terminal; it is affordable housing and the A’s are responsible for that. Some Oakland officials want to set up an “infrastructure financing district”—similar to the ballpark funding proposal—but to build more homes across Oakland. Interesting, because this plan has absolutely nothing to do with the A’s.

I wrote about the importance of affordable housing built as part of the Howard Terminal project, a $12 billion plan that would change Oakland, for the better. On November 1, 2022, officials from the city of Oakland are working on creating a new tax district to fund affordable housing.

Interestingly enough, this did not include the affordable housing that is part of the requirement from the city of Oakland with the A’s. Both sides have yet to negotiate. Oakland Council member Noel Gallo on the deal that the city is supposed to reach with the A’s before the end of this 2022 year said: “not going to happen”.

Gallo believes his fellow council members are increasingly concerned about protecting the city’s general fund from being eaten alive by cost and overruns or miscalculations. Gallo has continued to push hard for the A’s to ditch the Howard Terminal project. Gallo continues to say that he wants the A’s to stay in Oakland, but to build their new park at the Oakland Coliseum site. Something that Commissioner Manfred said it is not an option.

Next Tuesday. November 8, is Election Day and the City of Oakland would elect a new mayor plus other officials. Nobody really knows what are their intentions reading the Oakland A’s and the Howard Terminal project. But as of today the Oakland A’s have not made any comments on the recent statement by Commissioner Manfred during this current World Series.

The City of Oakland still has big problems to deal with, like the thousands that are homeless, the crime in the streets and they shortage of cops, the economy that is affecting everybody and it seems their plate will be more than full and the situation could call to put the A’s HT Project on the back burner.

I know many of you are sick and tired of the Oakland A’s situation, I have heard from people that told me about the A’s’ “who cares, leave already”, to others that are very sadden and still have some hope that they could stay and build their new park: “we need the A’s to stay in Oakland, that is where they belong”.

During the regular 2022 baseball season I have spoken to many loyal A’s fans (at the Coliseum during games and other places outside) and I do believe they still enjoy the game and the A’s but they also have “had it” with the whole enchilada and they have come to the conclusion of the famous saying and also famous song “Que Será, Será”. For those than flunked Spanish, “What Will be Will Be’.

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