Exclusive: Former Bay Area university campus to be converted into single family housing

Exclusive: Former Bay Area university campus to be converted into single family housing

J.K. Dineen

Fri, January 30, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC

4 min read

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The owners of the former Holy Names University campus in Oakland, want to redevelop the 60-acre campus will be with 170 single family homes. (Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle)

Nearly three years after Holy Names University shut down amid declining enrollment and rising costs, the 60-acre campus nestled in the East Oakland hillside is set to be reborn for a new purpose: housing.

On Friday, BH Properties, which purchased the property in 2023 for $65 million, is expected to file an application to build 165 single-family homes on the property while retaining the university's 400-seat theater, as well as the iconic mid-century chapel and belltower designed by architect John Pflueger.

Los Angeles-based BH Properties purchased the 60-acre campus in June 2023, just before a scheduled foreclosure after the university had defaulted on a $49 million loan. After purchasing it, the real estate investment firm worked without success to attract another educational institution, a tough sell in an environment where Bay Area colleges like Mills College and California College of the Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute have been going out of business after heavy post-pandemic financial losses.

"We believe in Oakland and are committed to transforming the former Holy Names campus into a win for the property, community and the city," Jim Brooks, president of BH Properties, said in a statement."This is a particularly compelling location, and we believe that homes of this type can be delivered in the near term."

The development represents a rare chance to build single-family homes in the East Bay's biggest city and to capitalize on a property defined by steep hillsides, deep ravines, flowering rose bushes, redwood groves, circling hawks and views of both the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge. About half of the 60-acre property will be preserved as open space, with meandering hiking trails and wooded areas where children can explore and build forts.

This rendering of the planned housing on the former Holy Names University campus shows how homes would be built into the Oakland hillside. (Design Workshop)

The plan for 165 market-rate single family homes will be consistent with surrounding densities with a variety of home sizes that match the campus and hillside environments.

In early designs, the existing campus footprint will be transformed into a clustered residential village surrounding the McClean Chapel and quad, with about 125 homes between 1,800 and 2,500 square feet. The steeper hillside will be more sparsely developed with about 40 larger homes, likely 2,500 to 3,000 square feet.

In a statement, BH said the community "will become a place for families, empty nesters, and singles alike to enjoy the richness and fullness of life the college campus affords."

BH Properties is working with development advisor Tidewater Capital on the proposed plans for the former campus,

"Holy Names is an incredible location surrounded by a mature hillside neighborhood," said Kyle Winkler, development director at Tidewater Capital. "The plan is in its early stages, but adds much needed housing that will mirror the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhood."

BH Properties bought the former Holy Names University campus after the school shut down in 2023. It wants to convert the campus into single family homes. (Jessica Christian/The Chronicle)

The proposal calls for the bell tower and chapel to be preserved as a library and communal space, while the campus quad remains as a central gathering place. The performing arts theater, which was built in 1993, is envisioned as a hub for culture and enrichment available to the broader community with performances, talks and classes overseen by a nonprofit, the developer said.

Former Oakland City Councilmember Dick Spees, who served the neighborhood for 24 years, compared the Holy Names property to Oakland's Chabot Space & Science Center, which he founded. Spees previously served on the board of Holy Names University.

"Holy Names is one of Oakland's most special places, shaped by its hills, trees and long civic legacy," he said. "I learned through projects like the Chabot Space & Science Center that the best development respects its setting, serves the community and thinks generations ahead. Oakland is at its best when growth is guided by care, balance and long-term thinking - and this project reflects exactly that."

The former Holy Names University campus is nested in the Oakland hills. The proposed housing would create hiking trails worked into the landscape. (Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle)

After the application is submitted the developer says it plans to launch a community engagement process, working with city officials and neighbors on refining the plan.

The project comes as another noteworthy Oakland education-to-housing project - the 448-unit redevelopment of the former CCA campus in Rockridge - is stalled because of financial infeasibility.

If approved, the Holy Names the project would be Oakland's second largest single-family home project. The largest, the 918-home redevelopment of the former Oak Knolls Naval Medical Center, has been delayed for three decades, mired in controversy and false starts. The current owner had said infrastructure work could start this year.

This article originally published at Exclusive: Former Bay Area university campus to be converted into single family housing.

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