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Evicted elderly tenants get hope

By Cecily Burt

Alameda Times Star, June 22, 2003

OAKLAND - Representatives of several mostly elderly Chinatown residents fighting eviction from their affordable apartments say tenants should get to stay put because the developer never repaid a $7 million loan to the city.

In exchange for the loan, a development company owned by Larry Chan, president of Park Lane Hotels International, was required to rent 50 condominiums in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza to families earning 80 percent or less than the area median income, for a period of 10 years.

That agreement expired in April, and Chan's company sent eviction letters to the tenants telling them they had to be out by July 31.

The notices came as a shock to the residents, many of whom don't speak English and rely on services provided in the neighborhood. And when they looked around, most found the vacancy rate in Chinatown is extremely low, waiting lists on buildings are long, and market rents are much higher than they could afford.

One 86-year-old woman who lives by herself and had not been able to find another home in Chinatown died this week, and her friends are convinced stress and worry played a role.

"She was healthy before she got that eviction notice," said Eileen Ng, a lifelong friend and outreach worker with United Seniors of Oakland and Alameda County. "When she got it, she called me up and she had that teary voice and she asked me to help. But it wasn't easy to find anything comparable."

Ng said the trauma and stress is wearing on other tenants too, but Chan has so far refused to postpone the date until tenants can find other suitable housing.

Chan has blamed the city for not stepping forward to help the tenants. He said he started sending letters to city officials 14 months ago, warning them the agreement would soon expire. He offered to sell the units to the city to keep them affordable, but city officials declined because there was no money. The tenants were offered the first right to buy their apartments, which could be priced around $300,000 once they are remodeled, Chan said. A few have expressed interest, he said.

The Pacific Renaissance Plaza opened in 1993 as the second phase of a massive city redevelopment project. The Transpacific Center building was the first phase. The final phase across the street at 9th and Franklin is under construction.

The building has 200 high-rise condominiums and 50 low-rise condominiums. There is an 840-car subterranean garage.

City officials have said that Chan abided by the agreement with the city regarding the affordable apartments and the loan. Councilmember Danny Wan (Grand Lake-Chinatown) said city officials told him that it was not a loan, per se, rather the city was supposed to get a certain percentage of the profits from the sale of 200 condos, but there was no profit.

Chan said previously the loan was supposed to be repaid with profits from the development, but it didn't make any money.

In addition to the $7 million loan, the city contributed $11 million toward the garage and owns 500 spaces. It also spent $2 million for the library and the cultural center, both of which it owns.

The city had the option to buy the building for $24 million in 1998, but the debt on the property was too high. So Chan sold the property to another of his companies, nullifying the loan with the city, Wan said.

But Margaretta Lin, an attorney and community outreach worker with the East Bay Community Law Center, said that is not what the city agreed to. Lin reviewed the development agreement Chan had with the city and said the documents reveal the $7 million was a loan that was to be repaid over 25 years at 10 percent interest.

Not only did he not repay any of the principal, but the city has lost $9.1 million in interest so far, she said.

A survey of rents reveal Chan collectively overcharged tenants about $2.2 million during the past 10 years, said Adam Gold of Just Cause Oakland.

Wan has asked the City Attorney's Office to review the development agreement to see if what Lin is saying is correct, although he worries it may be too late. Regardless, he said, he is trying to meet with Chan to see if the evictions can be postponed.

"I think if Mr. Chan is at all agreeable he would postpone the evictions," Wan said."

Tenants and community organizers are holding a meeting at City Hall hearing Room 2 at 11 a.m. Monday. The Oakland City Council Community and Economic Development Committee will hear a report on the Pacific Renaissance tenants at its 4 p.m. meeting Tuesday.