After 15 years of PLACE serving the Bay Area, we are sad to announce that our time at our 64th Street home In North Oakland will be coming to a close by the end of February 2026 and we are asking for your support to coordinate the next chapter of PLACE in its imminent transition. More info below regarding a farewell event in January at another location and help needed.

Over the past several years, the property where PLACE is located has been impacted by evolving city code compliance and permitting requirements. These regulatory constraints significantly limited our ability to continue operating the full range of community education, arts, and affordable housing that PLACE has historically provided. Despite years of sustained efforts and extensive multi-stake holder discussions and negotiations, we were unable to obtain the timely permissions and approvals necessary to continue providing services at this location.

From its inception in 2011, PLACE has been stewarded by a diverse, inter-generational community of artists, educators, builders, gardeners, neighbors, and organizers who believe that housing justice, creative expression, and ecological sustainability are deeply interconnected. Since 2021, PLACE has intentionally prioritized QTBIPOC communities, creating safer, affirming spaces rooted in care, visibility, and belonging. Together, we have grown and built living models of community engagement and mutual support that are more vital now than ever in these challenging times.

While this physical location is closing, PLACE, the organization, is not ending. We have been actively exploring partnerships and new opportunities—including collaborations with other local organizations working on innovative affordable housing and creative community solutions—so that the values, practices, and relationships that have been incubated over the past 15 years can continue in new forms at different places.

From humble beginnings to becoming a vital community hub of creativity, connection, and care, PLACE has grown into something far greater than we ever envisioned. What started as a small space for experimentation and gathering blossomed into a place where art meets resilience, ecology meets justice, and people meet possibility. PLACE has been nurtured by the hands and hearts of so many — and this moment is an opportunity to reflect on that history, honor the relationships that lifted us, and recognize the collaborative spirit that continues to sustain this work together.

PLACE was built on the belief that community space is a tool for healing, learning, and collective transformation — a belief that has been realized through countless workshops, gatherings, performances, mutual aid actions, cultural exchanges, regenerative building efforts, and everyday acts of creativity and care. Over the years PLACE has welcomed and been shaped by diverse voices and practices: art and music that invite connection, gardening, permaculture and Indigenous Knowledge that teach us about our interdependence with the Earth, shared meals and story circles that hold space for joy and vulnerability, and skill-shares that empower us to build, repair, and imagine together.

To each of the organizations that have shared resources, extended invitations to collaborate, or simply showed up with open hearts — Thank You! To every workshop facilitator who taught us a new way of seeing, every musician who helped us feel more alive, every volunteer who sweated alongside us in Action days or gardening circles, and every participant who made PLACE a site of belonging: we see you, we honor you, and we carry your contributions forward.

Our gratitude extends beyond the walls of PLACE and into the wider community — civic allies, cultural workers, mutual aid networks, and intergenerational teachers whose commitment to justice, equity, and collective flourishing continues to inspire and ground us.

Here’s to the next chapter — grounded in gratitude, fueled by collaboration, and rooted in the bold truth that community spaces transform lives and strengthen the bonds that hold us together.

If you feel called to help PLACE during our transition, please consider contributing to this campaign to support with moving and storage costs, as well as a future capital campaign for a new location.

Please fill out our Volunteer Form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfrMdnoGkjyKtGrzLvqrHYyNDDNgNfK50t7bNNEbg4QGT5uA/viewform?usp=header) to support with the needs for the physical move as well as addressing any of the items listed below.

In addition to any financial contributions, we need help with the following:

1) Identifying or securing a new property for future community education, maker-space activities and affordable housing

2) Assisting with breaking down the site, packing, and preparation for storage during upcoming action days

3) Re-homing surplus tools, equipment, and supplies with other community organizations

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR FAREWELL CLOSING EVENT!

DATE: Sunday, January 18, 2026

TIME: 1:00pm-4:00pm (tbd)

PLACE: Saint Columba Catholic Church; 6401 San Pablo Ave.; Oakland, CA 94608

Thank you to everyone who has loved, supported, and helped sustain PLACE over these past 15 years. Our community is the lifeblood of PLACE, and that spirit continues beyond any single location.

With love and deep gratitude,

PLACE founders & stewardship collective

www.placeoakland.org