Pre-construction activities began Tuesday morning at BART’s West Oakland station for a new transit-oriented development that will provide several mixed-use residential and commercial buildings.

Crews with BART and property development partner Mandela Station Partners LLC temporarily closed portions of the West Oakland BART station parking lot as they began soil testing for a site that will have 762 residential units, new retail spaces, and offices.

Commuters should expect no service impacts while the testing is being conducted, but those looking to park their car at the station’s lot will find reduced capacity. Certain lots will intermittently be closed through Feb. 17 for testing.

A map shows which parking lots at the West Oakland BART station are expected to be closed this week while soil testing is conducted at the station. BART is working with Mandela Stations LLC to build a new residential and commercial development next to one of its light-rail stations. (BART via Bay City News)

Construction for the development is expected to begin in the second half of 2026 and will close an estimated 300 spaces out of the 440 at the station.

Officials at BART encourage people to arrive earlier or seek alternate methods of transportation to the station given the high demand for parking at West Oakland.

The BART Board of Directors approved the new transit-oriented development in 2020. It partnered with the development company Strategic Urban Development Alliance LLC and real estate investment firm MacFarlane Partners to work together under the Mandela Station Partners entity to complete the project.