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Pacific Renaissance Plaza

3.5 (24 reviews)
InexpensiveShopping Centers
Open 9:00 am - 9:45 pm
Updated 2 months ago

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Carol C.

Date: 8/21/2017 Time: 4:50 PM 81° Partly sunny The Pacific Renaissance Plaza is the meeting place (in front of the Oakland Public Library/Asian Branch) where two of my sisters and I get together for our visit to Oakland Chinatown. We all have been here numerous times in the past for events at OACC, Chinese New Year festivities (Toisan lion dance troupe, folk dancers, etc.), lunch at Gum Kuo or CM Bistro and banquet dinner at Peony Restaurant. The plaza's courtyard has four long benches facing the fountain. Other businesses include a Bank of America, The Sweet Booth, a pharmacy and on the second floor are a health care center, Sakura Bistro and a dental office. There is parking in the garage. Then I don't drive, so I would not know how much the charge is for one hour. I usually get drop off at the plaza by my husband or use public transportation (AC#51A) from Alameda. Today's visit is for the Friday Streetfest. It's also the third Friday for this event. August 28 is the final Friday. There is social distancing and everybody here is mask compliant. The Oakland Chinatown Streetfest is happening every Friday from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The event is okay for the time being. It is at least better than being in a crowded beach or crowded park. Finally, it has been a while since I have been here at the plaza. COV-19 has curtailed a lot of my social activities. Whenever this pandemic crisis resolves, I can only hope for a lively atmosphere at the plaza.

Al L.

The Pacific Renaissance Plaza is a mixed use complex of residential, commercial and open public space located in the heart of Chinatown and occupies most of the area bordered by 9th and 11th Streets between Franklin and Webster Streets. Underneath the Plaza, there's a three level underground public garage, which I use when I drive into Chinatown. At $1 for half an hour, it's very reasonable. With residential units above, there are restaurants, shops, banks, and service businesses in the ground and second level of the Plaza. The Asian Branch of the Oakland Library and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center is located here as well. At the center of the Plaza is a fountain with several benches. The Plaza has become a gathering place for the community and is a location for civic activities. You've probably seen press conferences on the news held in the Plaza.

Plaza
Joshua M.

Pacific Renaissance Plaza is home to a wide array of businesses including restaurants, banks, a library, drink and dessert shops, etc. I see many reviews only referencing the number of establishments within the inner portion of the plaza but according to the directory, all the places facing the streets along the outer edge belong to the plaza as well. As such, this plaza has a lot of great places to go to. The times I've been here was typically to grab boba with some friends and just kinda hang around the inner portion of the plaza which is quite nice. The center fountain has a very modern and calming design with a good amount of seating around the edge. There's also a good number of benches here and some nice greenery. Compared to what I am familiar with from SF Chinatown, I find this plaza to be surprisingly clean and spacious in comparison. The open nature of it which allows a lot of sunlight to shine through on a sunny day is quite nice. There's also a parking garage here which I've never used so I can't attest to how it is. All things considered, this plaza is a wonderful spot in Oakland Chinatown which acts as a perfect meetup/gathering spot.

Outside. Center of plaza.
Daniel B.

Pacific Renaissance Plaza is a mixed-use development that takes up two city blocks and sits near the western edge of Oakland's Chinatown. It's also pretty much smack dab in the middle of downtown Oakland, only about seven blocks west of Lake Merritt. Though not located geographically in the center of Chinatown, Pacific Renaissance Plaza sort of acts as a central hub for Chinatown. Opened in 1993, the plaza is home to the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, the Oakland public library's Asian branch, banks (Bank of America, HSBC), and numerous shops, restaurants, and other businesses like doctors and insurance offices. I've been to Pacific Renaissance Plaza a handful of times over the past eight years, always to eat, though my sister has visited the bank too. It's not the newest, nicest, nor cleanest property around, but it's got it where it counts (at least to me) and that's good to great food and drink and plenty of parking (relatively speaking). The plaza is bound by 11th St to the north, 9th St to the south, Franklin St to the west, and Webster St to the east. Metered street parking is available on all four sides of the plaza. There's also an underground garage. You can read more about the garage and see parking rates on the garage's own Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/pacific-renaissance-plaza-parking-oakland. I'll get around to reviewing it some day. As far as a few recommendations on what to eat and drink in the plaza, I recommend the following: * Peony Seafood Restaurant (https://www.yelp.com/biz/peony-seafood-restaurant-oakland) - for delicious dim sum -- great * Gum Kuo Restaurant (https://www.yelp.com/biz/gum-kuo-restaurant-oakland) - for authentic Cantonese BBQ and Cantonese cuisine; their menu is huge -- great * i-Tea (https://www.yelp.com/biz/i-tea-oakland) - for Taiwanese bubble tea and smoothies -- very good * Sobo Ramen (https://www.yelp.com/biz/sobo-ramen-oakland-2) - for Japanese ramen noodles -- OK/good Because of the way the plaza was designed, not all restaurants have their own restroom for customer use. This is kind of annoying. Gum Kuo is an example. If you need to use the restroom while dining at Gum Kuo, you have to get a card from the staff which gives you access to the employees-only back hallways of the plaza. It's a maze with business tenant mailboxes and back entrances to all of the storefronts. Overall, the property is old and not in the best condition (including the tenant restrooms). The commercial section of the plaza is two levels with both covered and uncovered sections. There's a nice center courtyard with a working fountain and bench seating. A lot of elderly Chinese people like to hang out here. The high-rise on the property is residences. There are about 250 condos, 50 of which are supposed to be affordable housing. I recently saw sales of condos at this plaza going anywhere from $429,500 to $680,000 per unit in 2018.

Water fountain at the plaza
Anna L.

Pros: Bank of America (for ATM) I-tea around the corner Peony Restaurant (for dim sum) Post office Asian Branch Library Cons: Paid parking

Pno E.

Lots of shops, Asian restaurants, Bank of America, cell phone store. Peony and Gum Koh are my two favorites.

Close ups of the 12 mosaic Zodiac animals. Fundraising is ongoing at the PRP Art Beautification Project GoFundMe page

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9 years ago

It's a Good plaza to get some Chinese food during lunch time. It has pretty decent parking at the parking garage.

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Review Highlights - Pacific Renaissance Plaza

The Asian Branch of the Oakland Library and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center is located here as well.

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The Oakland City Center is always super clean!!…read more The 12th Street Bart Station is located just down the stairs, and this place is right in the middle of Downtown Oakland. Old Oakland and Oakland Chinatown are just a few blocks away. Lots of small places to eat here, although most are closed during the weekend. You can tell this is a major lunch area during the week for businesses located here and the surrounding area. I think if they promoted this place a little better, it has the potential to be a very popular place, mostly because it is so aesthetically pleasing!!

A nice plaza just outside the 12th Bart station. It's just across the federal building and other…read moregovernment offices. It's very clean and well maintained. Plenty of benches to sit on. Lots of beautiful plants in flower beds and more in big pots. Very cool fountain adorned with a colorful sculpture. Security guard on duty to maintain peace and order. Pretty good selections of shops for your coffee runs or quick bites. Many restaurants to choose from. It gets quite busy though during lunchtime. I saw long lines in subway, Popeyes, Panda Express and Starbucks. Looks like these are the go to places for employees on their lunch breaks. I didn't dine here but I had a cupcake which I enjoyed while sitting in the patio in front of the water fountain. Had a quick chat with the security guard. Overall, nice ambience and atmosphere in here. I don't mind hanging around again when in the area.

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My mom and dad used to go back here in the day when traffic wasn't as bad and when this was a…read morepowerhouse! Those days have long passed. Now they have fancy-ish, ethnically diverse delights, a meat counter, and a cupcake place and a lot of closed stalls. The most frustrating for me is that they will have a stall that is fantastic, only to have it close in a couple of years. The people who work there are very nice. We did have a weird interaction with someone from a restaurant that was no longer there. The value is fine. This is a place that I will park and go to if I see a parking space. If I don't, I won't even bother. I don't know how I feel about them. They are so far from what they used to be and I wonder if closing down and starting over would have been preferable.

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Pacific Renaissance Plaza - shoppingcenters - Updated May 2026

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