" Don’t even think about crossing 40th or Telegraph unless you are prepared for crack houses and gun shots all night."

This is total bunk. I live on 37th Street...SOUTH of MacArthur! And I have great neighbors, not crack houses. I've never heard a gun shot. There's a park right down the street and I can walk to BART. Now, would I walk there at night? No. But it's perfectly safe during the day...as safe as any other urban area.

Adam--Yup, you've got it just about right. The few blocks that are squished in between the freeway and Telegraph have a lot of issues with freeway noise and grime, making them pretty undesirable, and west of the freeway, the North Oakland neighborhoods are struggling with a number of issues (not least of which are gang turf wars). For what it's worth, though, the Temescal gentrification is pretty recent too--many of the businesses along that stretch of Telegraph have opened in the last 5-10 years. It's a pretty classic abandonment-reinvestment scene, with both the good (stronger business district, beautification, better QOL) and the bad (displacement of families who can't afford to stay, invasion of yuppy/hipster culture) that come along with that. On balance the change is good for Oakland, I think, but there are definitely some tensions and tradeoffs.

Farrah,
Thanks for posting those pictures of the 47th street property. I went by there recently just to get a gander at the block and wasn't surprised when I saw the photos you put up on Flickr. That block seems to be suffering a bit still, even though it's only a stone's throw away from all the great restaurants on Telegraph.
Am I correct in assuming that Telegraph is a bit of a dividing line for that area? Seems that everything East of Telegraph is all glitz and glam and West of there is still a bit in need of help. But, I may be mistaken, perhaps I don't know the area well enough?

Alison if you knew me in person, you'd know the deadpan delivery in writing is what you get in my voice.

cheers!

I like the Temescal, but still think it's fundamentally overpriced at the moment.

I can tell you the deets on 47th Street. It's a large space in a somewhat desirable neighborhood but it has some big challenges. Termite problems abound but those are the least of that home's issues. The copper pipes have been stolen from beneath the home. There's a large crack in the foundation. There's an inlaw unit that smells very moldy. The shower in the upstairs bath leaks through the ceiling into the first level. It's been "renovated" (I use that term loosely) improperly several times and the main house is not quite a single family home but it's not quite a duplex.

In short, it needs A LOT of work so it's probably better for an investor with the funds to do the work. This is especially true because it'll be hard for most buyers to get financing for that home.

To the Temescal-haters, I lived there for two years and loved it. I had a very short walk to the Bart every day. The restaurants were amazing and they're even better now. My main issues were that there wasn't a grocery store in walking distance and the car break ins. Otherwise, it's a great place with many young professionals and young couples/families.

Hi Alison--
We actually own in a nearby neighborhood now (after giving up on Temescal, where many houses still seem to be getting multiple offers even in this down market!) While we aren't districted to Emerson, we have similar concerns about the schools near us, which are in the same boat. When I say Emerson "ought" to be better, what I really mean is that its catchment area is already socioeconomically (and racially/ethnically) diverse, but this isn't reflected in the school population, which tells me neighborhood families are opting out. (I know this to be true anecdotally, too.) As a former teacher at the elementary level, I can tell you: that's a recipe for disaster. The kids who remain at the school are those whose parents don't have the financial or political means to get them out, and they're often the kids who bring along baggage from difficult home lives, lack of preschool, etc. They're often challenging kids to teach, and if your classroom has 19 of 25 kids in these shoes versus 4 of 25 kids--that's a big difference, and has a strong impact on teacher retention. With a neighborhood-based school model, you have some communities where most families are struggling to get by, and it's to be expected that this will be reflected in your school populations there. But Temescal (and Piedmont Ave, Lakeshore, etc.) aren't these communities by a long shot, so I'm disturbed by the absence of middle- and upper-income kids in these schools, particularly given that test scores track much more closely to socioeconomics than to anything else, so you end up in a vicious cycle where middle-income families opting out leads to poor test scores which leads to middle-income families opting out. The solution is neighborhood commitment to and investment in the local schools. It isn't an easy endeavor, especially for the first families who jump in, but there are success stories even within OUSD (Glenview, Lincoln, Peralta, Sequoia, Cleveland, etc.) Parental involvement is also key, and that's fractured when neighbors are sending their children to different schools all over the city. (Compare Emerson's PTA to, say, Chabot's.) A key difference between the urban school crisis today and the late 60s/70s downward spiral in many urban districts is that then, the middle- and upper-income families had left the city entirely. Today, they're here--they're just not at school. I hope that Temescal families (and others across the city) will be proactive about changing this: organize playdates for neighborhood preschoolers; meet other parents; visit the teachers long before your child is ready for kindergarten. Volunteer, even if you don't have children there yet. Build a support network for the school. Emerson in particular is perfectly situated in the heart of Temesal proper--walkable for many of the kids who are districted there. Make that a neighborhood asset! (Bonus for homeowners: helping to improve your school also boosts your property value!)

Thanks for the comments everyone.
Asher: "as someone who just sold in the Temescal": what did you sell (condo/house)? and what area have you moved to? What made you move to Temescal to start? Do you agree with Anon who states that crime has gone up due to it becoming more gentrified? I used to live on Alcatraz and Shattuck in 1997 and stayed at a partner's place on 38th and Telegraph a lot as well back then and never had any problems with crime then..so I'm curious whether statistically it actually has increased...gun shots all night sounds like a bit much, something I'd expect more in deep east oakland.
Hi Anon: I'm interested in your statement that Oakland schools could change dramatically if parents from the higher income backgrounds were to send their kids to public/neighborhood schools.. I work in San Francisco public schools and see a similar pattern there (e.g. higher income families send their kids to private schools especially once the kids get to middle school and definitely once they reach high school). So do you own or rent in Temescal? And if renting, are you looking to buy now?
Hi Rick: could you say more about promoting an "urban festival"? Have you been to Oakland Art Murmur?
BJ: thanks for googling! You turned up great photos! I didn't see these on my google search...
Hi David: thanks for the comment. I imagined it with a deadpan intonation after the first couple passionate comments and it made me laugh. Thanks!

looks like some termite damage on 47th st.

re: interior photos of 546 47th street. a little googling turned up this very thorough flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/t...

Its funny that with the upgrade of the area around the MacArthur BART station suddenly we have all these panhandlers, homeless people, and other urban "entrepeneurs" that now have a another open air market to hustle the stiffs. It might help to improve property values to promote this urban renaissance festival, a 21st.century urban festival.

Just to play devil's advocate, we've lived south of Temescal (yep, that's below 40th!) for a number of years and spend lots of time there now that it's hopping with new life. Like much of Oakland, it has its challenges--and property crime has gone up in part because it's becoming a yuppier scene in recent years--but I still think it's a great place to live. Two things I would agree on: don't walk from Macarthur BART late at night (I have no issue with it during the day), and crappy elementary school (although this is one of the schools in Oakland that would be *much* better if only neighborhood parents would come together and send their kids there--with a socioeconomic balance reflective of the neighborhood, you'd see test scores go through the roof overnight, and you'd see teacher retention and commitment increase, too). There are a number of nice streets (plus Oak Glen Park) south of 40th, too, provided you stay east of the 24 and don't hang out under the freeway late at night. So...make of it what you will. I'd happily buy in Temescal right now--but be prepared for multiple offers on any nice single-family home.

As someone who just sold in the Temescal, I will offer some words of advice: be careful. Check out the latest crime stats. NEVER walk home from the MacArthur BART at ANY time of day. Crimes in the Temescal proper are sky rocketing. Drive around and see the gang tagging. The public schools rank at the bottom. In the four years that I lived in the area, there were countless auto break ins, robberies, and even a body burned alive on the next block. Don't even think about crossing 40th or Telegraph unless you are prepared for crack houses and gun shots all night.