Bay Area Technology School is one of the highest-rated schools in Oakland, serving 350 students in grades 6-12, most of whom qualify for free/reduced lunch. The charter school was founded in 2004 to provide a STEM-based secondary school to underserved students. Bay Tech is part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation small schools movement. It has a nearly 100 percent graduation rate and is consistently one of the top schools in the city for college readiness.

The $20.5 million development project will build a new school for Bay Area Tech on the site of a 100-year old theater—preserving the theater’s entryway and other features as part of the project. It includes 22,000 square feet of classroom, recreational and administrative space which will be open in time for the 2024-25 school year.

Broadstreet committed $5.0 million from LISC’s New Market Tax Credit allocation to support the project, with additional NMTC allocations from Raza Development Fund ($10 million) and Wells Fargo ($5.5 million). Wells Fargo is the NMTC investor for all three allocations.

The financing means Bay Area Tech will be able to move out of its current space, which it shares with several other high schools in a complicated mix of space limitations, services and school populations. It has resulted in overcrowded classrooms and raised concerns for student safety.

School operators would not be able to pursue the development of a new school without NMTCs, which because of their concessionary nature make financing more affordable. A mix of other financing sources helped get the school to the point of breaking ground—including nearly $2.3 million from LISC’s Charter School Finance program, providing grant and loan capital to fund pre-development and acquisition costs.

The new, permanent facility will provide a stable, resource-rich environment, contributing to the school's success in bridging educational gaps in underserved communities. It will also create 75 construction jobs and preserve 35 existing jobs.