Model Shopping

In Fruitvale, a neighborhood bursting with rich and colorful Latino culture it can be hard to stand out amongst the crowd. Yet the vibrancy of the Fruitvale Transit Village has allowed it to shine amongst the bustling shopping district that surrounds it.

The Fruitvale Transit Village, a mixed-use development located between the Fruitvale BART station and International Boulevard, has become a landmark in the Fruitvale neighborhood. Many claim the unique shopping and living center has been responsible for neighborhood's revitalization.

“A long time ago this area was really bad,” said Program Manager of the Fruitvale Business Improvement District, Maria Sanchez. “Before there was nothing around BART and International Boulevard. Now you don’t feel like you’re in a place that is really bad because you get off BART and there is Fruitvale Transit Village with lots of shops and an officer patrolling. You feel safe.”

Robert Raburn of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, who has an office in the Fruitvale Transit Village, believes that the Village has worked to draw businesses into the area. “The Fruitvale Transit Village has helped the Fruitvale area. Its smart growth and new development has served as a magnet for other developments.”

Planning and development of the Fruitvale Transit Village began in 1991 when BART revealed that it wanted to build a parking garage next to the station. Members of the Fruitvale community opposed the idea out of concern that it would increase traffic and pollution without adding anything to the area. With the aid of the Fruitvale Unity Council community members and leaders such as Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, and the BART agency designed The Fruitvale Transit Village Project.

Michael Hunt, aid to Vice Mayor and District 5 Councilman, Ignacio De La Fuente, said that “creation of Fruitvale Transit Village, in conjunction with several community organizations and transportation agencies,” has been one of De La Fuente’s biggest accomplishments while serving the Fruitvale neighborhood. “He’s created something in Oakland that is now being copied in other places. Something that has brought businesses to Fruitvale.”



On any given day one can expect to find the plaza of the Transit Village busy with families, teenagers, and out of area visitors drawn to the many shops the Village and surrounding neighborhood offer.

Within the Fruitvale Transit Village there are multiple eateries, including Powderface Cafe, located directly across from the BART station entrance. Powderface offers New Orleans style beignets, coffee, and smoothies along with a relaxing atmosphere in which to observe the activity of the Fruitvale Transit Village. The delicious aroma of authentic Vietnamese food leaks from Saigon Wraps, a small restaurant that serves banh mi sandwiches along with Vietnamese BBQ and rice plates.

New to the Fruitvale Transit Village is The Plug, a tattoo and piercing shop owned by Muhammed Salem. Despite the current economic recession, Salem states that business is "not bad, not booming but we're doing alright." With multiple people wandering into the shop to look at the t-shirts and body jewelry he also sells it is evident the area provides businesses with plenty of foot traffic. "I used to be in The Mission before here and it's a lot safer here," adds Salem.

Farther along the Fruitvale Transit Village on E12th Street is the Cesar E Chavez Branch of the Oakland Public Library where kids of various ages “hang out a lot,” according to Christina Sanchez, a teenager who was in the library with a few of her friends taking advantage of a reading corner.

There is no denying that The Fruitvale Transit Village has become a center of activity for the surrounding Fruitvale neighborhood. With weekly farmer’s markets and festivals such as the Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead Festival hosted within the village the area serves not only as a shopping center but also as a gathering place for the Fruitvale community.