The Merchants Parking Garage will soon be a thing of the past when it is demolished to make room for the largest residential tower in Oakland. 

The garage at 1315 Franklin St. will soon be the site of a 40-story building featuring 634 residential units and 17,000 square feet of retail space. There will also be 600 off-street parking space available.

Of the 634 homes being planned, 27 to 54 units will be permanently affordable. The plans call for either five percent of the units to be made affordable for households earning 50 percent of the area median income, or 10 percent made affordable for households earning 80 percent of the median income. In Oakland, $68,200 is the area median income for a single-person household, while $97,400 is the area median income for a four-person household.

According to a Mercury News report, the developer will reserve 2,400 square feet of retail space at a below-market-rate price for a “community-serving business compatible with residences in the neighborhood.” 

This residential building joins many other residential projects being planned in Oakland, as part of Mayor Libby Schaaf’s plan to build 17,000 new housing units and preserve another 17,000 units for low-income residents over the next eight years.