Hybrid work model means Oakland's downtown recovery has been night and day
Bay Area cities that are still struggling to recover continue to try and find ways to get people into downtown areas during the day, as the permanence of hybrid work remains a major challenge.
But at night, a change for the better. Like San Francisco, Oakland's downtown is still a shell of its pre-pandemic self during the daytime. People who once worked there daily are not in the office as frequently as they once were.
"We're in Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then we work from home Mondays and Fridays," said Monique Rans, who works downtown. "I feel like it has gotten a little bit busier since when I started almost two years ago. It's still not the most bustling downtown I've seen, as far as cities go, but it seems to be getting a little livelier."
By using cellphone data to get a complete picture of downtown population patterns now versus pre-pandemic numbers rather than just office vacancy rates, the University of Toronto's School of Cities has been tracking downtown recovery rates for several years. Of the cities they track, Oakland's downtown is on the slower side when it comes to recovery during the Monday-to-Friday working hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
It's at about 63% of pre-pandemic levels during the day. However, per the cellphone data, downtown activity jumps at night to around 100% of pre-pandemic activity levels.
"We're coming out of that hole, we're coming out strong, and we're just going to keep on going," said Chef Nelson German, owner of a restaurant called Sobre Mesa.
German says he really noticed things starting to pick up a few months ago.
"At night, there is definitely a change happening. It's still not perfect, of course, there still aren't enough people walking the streets. But there is an uptick, slowly," he said. "I wish it was happening a lot earlier when other businesses that were amazing were still around."
He believes some of the change is due to investments in making downtown Oakland safer.
"What definitely has helped, especially in this area, is having the parking garage that's outside on 19th St., having a program where it's only $5 at a secured lot after hours has made people feel a lot safer," he said.
He says more needs to be done, though. His other restaurant, alaMar, was recently broken into multiple times.
According to Dr. Karen Chapple, University of California, Berkeley professor emerita and director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto, Oakland still has an uphill battle in terms of its downtown recovery.
"Even though our data shows that it has great after-hours activity, I think a lot of that is changing actually in the negative direction. I'm seeing a lot of recent restaurant closures, a lot of store vacancies," said Chapple. "I think Oakland is going to need a little bit more of a boost to come back."
Nelson, however, says he owes it to the Town to be a part of its comeback.
"As hard as it is, and it's still damn hard, there is this light at the end of the tunnel that we're all feeling," he said. "Oakland gave me my dream and made my dreams come true. I'll always be indebted to the Town. I think that's what keeps me going - they've given me so much, I have to give back."
