OAKLAND, Calif. – Mayor Jerry Brown (search) has angered some of his neighbors by selling his multimillion-dollar home to a group that wants to make it into a homeless shelter.
The two-time governor and three-time presidential candidate's 7,000-square-foot warehouse home is in Jack London Square, where lofts sell for $700,000. Covenant House officials are preparing to convert it into a shelter for 30 young adults.
Fears about safety, damage to property values and future development were voiced at a hearing on the project in May. The zoning board will consider the proposal Wednesday.
Brown's spokesman, Gil Duran, said the property had been on the market for about six months and sold for between $3 million and $4 million. He called the controversy a "back-fence spat with a disgruntled neighbor."
Brown, once satirically dubbed Gov. Moonbeam for his futuristic thinking, moved to the warehouse in 1995 and lived there with a with a revolving group of roommates, including political activists, writers, artists, friends and intellectuals.
He moved in with his longtime girlfriend two years ago and they recently announced plans to marry.
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