Adams Point

Situated on the north shore of Lake Merritt with easy access to freeways, public transportation, and restaurants to suit any palate, Adams Point attracts Oakland homebuyers who place a premium on convenience.

Triangular in shape, Adams Point is bordered by Grand Avenue to the south, Vernon Street to the north and west, and Interstate 580 to the north and east. The latter connects directly to several of the Bay Area’s major highways, including Interstate 80 and state Route 24.

Those who commute by public transportation will appreciate Adams Point’s close proximity to the 19th Street BART station, one of the system’s East Bay hubs. AC Transit’s NL bus line, which runs down Grand, offers another way to quickly reach downtown San Francisco.

Though almost exclusively residential, Adams Point is within an easy stroll of several of Oakland’s most bustling neighborhoods, including Downtown, Uptown, and Lakeshore.

Even so, Adams Point residents don’t need to go past the neighborhood’s southern border to find a more than suitable meal. Standouts include Coach Sushi, which offers a bottomless sake promotion, and Sidebar, which serves a variety of entrees, snacks, and cocktails. Other restaurants on Grand dish up a diverse array of cuisines, such as Mexican, Ethiopian, Thai, and Chinese.

Residents also won’t need to stray far to grocery shop, thanks to a Whole Foods Market located in the neighborhood’s southwestern corner.

Adams Point lies directly to the north of Lake Merritt Park, home to the majority of the tidal lagoon’s attractions. Families enjoy Children’s Fairlyand, a miniature theme park that has entertained local kids since 1950. Park visitors can also stroll through botanical gardens and rent a boat, canoe, or kayak at the Lake Merritt Boating Center.

Perched along hilly streets – some with views of downtown Oakland – single-family homes in the neighborhood come in a range of architectural styles, including Craftsman and Mediterranean. According to MLS data, the December median sales price for a home in Oakland’s 94610 ZIP code, which includes Adams Point, was $985,000, a year-over-year increase of 26 percent and the highest in the past two years.

One of the major trends we saw in Pacific Union’s East Bay region in 2013 is buyers’ willingness to pay more than list — anywhere from 2.4 to 13.5 percent above original price.

The 94610 ZIP code was no exception to this rule, with buyers bidding over asking price in all but one month of 2013. In December homebuyers in the ZIP code paid an average of 9.6 percent more than list price.

Framed by Grand Avenue, Harrison Street and MacArthur Freeway, Adams Point is a hilly, apartment home haven close to all things Oakland. There’s nothing very glamorous about this neighborhood. It spans about 0.4 square miles of strictly residential terrain fit for the lower middle to middle-class. As such, crime is a bit of a concern for most locals, as like most of the city. The neighborhood also has a rather dense population of almost 10,000 residents. Demographically speaking, the district is split between white and black residents. And to give you a better insight on its population, the median household income is around $50,000/year, right on par with the city.

Adams Point’s residential terrain offers a wide variety of housing options. Its housing inventory is mixed between flavorless, two to three-story apartment buildings and boxy, shack-like homes. For the former, there are some gritty, mid-rise and vastly underwhelming one and two-bedroom apartment facilities. I guess they could appeal to the younger, not-so-well-off community, but I wouldn’t dare. Elsewhere, you can find a number of old, pre-1940‘s, quasi-Mediterranean style homes that fit on these rather petite sized lots. Many of these properties hardly have room for a driveway, just a dirt path that runs alongside the house. You can, however, find a few 1950’s, Victorian style housing that offer two-stories of living space. These tend to be a bit nicer and elicit a sense of coziness and comfortability that’s hard to find in the area. For numbers sake, median rent is around $1,100/month.

Located at the northern shore of Lake Merritt, Adams Point has a variety of amenities to choose from. In fact, it is centered between two downtown plazas, downtown Lakeshore and Uptown Oakland. Each location features a plethora of shopping and dining options fir for any taste and budget. You can also find numerous ground floor retail businesses clustered along Grand Avenue, which is walking distance to the neighborhood. For young families, Lakeside Park encompasses the Children’s Fairyland and a large grass area for residents to exercise and walk along the lakeside path. The neighborhood is also within walking distance to the 19th Street Oakland Bart Station which connects residents to the greater Bay Area.

residential with diverse, blue-collar families making up the majority of the population. Many of the residences are two-story stucco homes or old, mid-size apartment buildings with plain or blemished features. If you’re looking for nicer and more attractive homes, look towards the northern end of Adams Point.

Adams Point aesthetic appeal is somewhat of a work-in-progress. Many of the locals enjoy the tall palm trees and other bushy shrubbery that are peppered along the sidewalks. Locals take advantage of the abundant street parking considering many of the driveways are short and narrow.

For business, restaurants line Lake Merritt’s northern edge while ground floor retail shops cluster around Grand Avenue Street (just outside of Adams Point). The neighborhood is also conveniently located to Downtown Oakland and its public transit system. 12th Bart and 19th Street Bart Stations are within walking distance to the community while buses run along Broadway Street periodically.

Locals typically take advantage of the lakeside front and the many amenities that come with it. Joggers run around the narrow cement path that wraps around the lake, while others use the exercise equipment that lines the parkland. During the night, decorative lights are strewn across tall poles, illuminating the lakeside pasture. On the south end of Adams Point lies Children’s Fairyland, a small park that holds events for children.

Adam’s Point is a densely packed lower middle class neighborhood on the northeast side of Lake Merritt. It stretches up from the lake into the hills at one of the prettiest spots along the lake, just Lakeshore Blvd. This is at the spot that is right by the Lakeside Park.

Adam’s point has a lot of apartments. It is, in fact, four times more packed than your average Oakland neighborhood because of the high density of apartments, and the residential high rises near the lake.

This neighborhood, like much of Oakland, has also undergone gentrification, as is evidenced by businesses like Gold’s Gym and Whole Foods. Overall, however, the neighborhood has kept its diversity, being fairly evenly divided in terms of numbers of African Americans, Asians, Latino’s and Whites. In fact, this is one of the main selling points of the neighborhood.

A number of good restaurants take advantage of the lake side location and make their homes here on Grand Avenue. Here are some of my favorites. ZZA’s Tratoria is a smallish Italian place that features what they call “home-made” Italian food and a fine wine bar. They also cater events, so keep them in mind next time you have an event. If you crave something a little bit more off the beaten track, you might try Enssaro Ethiopian. And if you would prefer a Mediterranean buffet, Bacchesso might be the place to try. There are also restaurants like Milano Spretto, Coach Sushi, and Ahn’s Burgers.

If you are okay with living in an apartment in a very crowded area, this is actually a pretty cool place to live. You can jog at the lake in the morning, be anywhere in the East Bay or the city in less than an hour via public transportation, and be within walking distance of a number of nightspots. Perfect for twenty somethings just out of college.