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Moms 4 Housing Get Deal to Buy House for Oakland Land Trust

Dan McMenamin
Monday January 20, 2020 - 10:35:00 PM

The group Moms 4 Housing announced Monday that a sale is being negotiated of a house in Oakland that they had been occupying from November until last week when they were evicted. 

The home at 2928 Magnolia St. was purchased in July by the Southern California-based firm Wedgewood Properties, but a group of homeless mothers moved into the unoccupied home on Nov. 18, prompting various community rallies about the city's housing crisis and a series of court hearings that ended with a judge ordering their eviction. 

The eviction took place last Tuesday, with two mothers and two of their supporters arrested at the home. 

But on Monday, Moms 4 Housing announced that a deal had been brokered between their group, Wedgewood, and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf's office to sell the home to the Oakland Community Land Trust, a nonprofit that buys properties and converts them to affordable housing. 

"This is what happens when we organize, when people come together to build the beloved community," said Dominique Walker, one of the mothers. According to the mayor's office, the property will be purchased for a price not to exceed its appraised value. 

Wedgewood also issued a statement about the negotiation agreement Monday. 

"We are honored and inspired to collaborate with the city of Oakland on reasonable, thoughtful, and organized actions to address the issue of homelessness and housing," the company said.