April 17--The city planning commission approved a proposed office and hotel development in West Oakland on Tuesday, a project that residents on Robinson Street have opposed in large part because of its potential to snarl traffic along that corridor.

The new construction would occupy land between Fifth and Forbes avenues at the base of Robinson Street. A new road aligned with the Fifth and Robinson intersection would allow access into the development.

The commission approved a nine-story office building with four stories of parking below, the first of three buildings that have been proposed.

After three meetings with the community, representatives of the developer, Oakland Portal Partners, agreed to pay for design and installation of a traffic monitoring system at the bottom of Robinson Street, which cut-through traffic now uses to turn right illegally to get onto Fifth Avenue to get on the parkway.

In other action, the commission gave the go-ahead to Parkinson Construction for the proposed Hotel Indigo at North Highland Avenue and Broad Street in East Liberty.

Felix Cardello, an architect for TKA, presented revised drawings of the building facade.

The commission asked that the developer come back in a year to propose a piece of art or other aesthetic element to cover a 20-by-30-foot blank wall on one corner of the building, which could be completed within a year.

The commission also approved the master development plan for Eastside 3, a 44,000-square-foot, five-story development bordered by Penn Circle South, Penn Avenue and Highland Avenue. It calls for 364 residential units, plus space for retail and restaurants.

An upgrade of the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway station will be integrated into the site and a new road will be built overlooking the busway and railroad tracks.

Developer Steve Mosites of the Mosites Co. said that if construction begins as planned in September, the complex would be completed by the fall of 2015.

Diana Nelson Jones: [email protected] or 412-263-1626.

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