An East Bay parcel sat vacant for 30 years, buried under $1.7 million in back taxes. It’s been transferred to a local group — and the county says more could follow.
For 30 years, an empty, blighted lot in East Oakland has been home to weeds, dumped trash, a billboard and a debt so large no buyer would come near it.
On Tuesday, Alameda County leaders voted to hand the tax-defaulted property at 8215 MacArthur Blvd. to a Black community initiative and nonprofit housing developer for only $10.
The county hopes the sale of the 15,000-square-foot parcel — a quarter of a football field — can become a model by which blighted city-owned properties can be transformed into affordable housing and serve as part of a broader effort to keep Black residents in East Oakland…