So they created the Jack London District Association, a nonprofit neighborhood group that hopes to wield some clout over the area's future.

"We have been really reactive in responding to the development projects in the area," said Wendy Tinsley, president of the new group. "But we would like to transcend beyond that and go to the proactive stage."

Once a warehouse district where rail cars outnumbered people, the Jack London Square area has transformed into a residential neighborhood that has seen factories make way for lofts and train tracks for paved streets.

With the residential developments have come new restaurants, retail stores and the planned $300 million makeover of Jack London Square.

According to U.S. census figures, the area's population grew by almost 20 percent between 1990 and 2000, from just over 2,000 to roughly 2,500.

While the Jack London Square makeover project helped bring residents together, it alone didn't prompt formation of an official neighborhood association, members said.

"Any good neighborhood is going to have an association," said Gary Knecht, a 23-year resident of the square and a member of the association's board of directors. "There is a lot of stuff a neighborhood organization can do."

Among them is getting the neighborhood business community and residents to speak in one, powerful voice.

"It makes it easier to work with government agencies and with companies moving in to propose a project," Tinsley said. "If there is a way to have a neighborhood group to facilitate that, great."

Group members also want to begin promoting events in the area such as the annual "TrashBash," in which residents walk the streets picking up litter.

Having an active community is not new for Jack London Square residents.

In the late 1990s and early 2000, the Jack London Neighborhood Association fought against development of residential buildings on Alice Street and on the corner of Third and Broadway.

That group was once led by Wilda White, a controversial figure appointed to the Oakland Unified School District board by Mayor Jerry Brown.

She was later asked to step down after a falling out with the mayor.

White since has left the area, and some say so did any organization representing the neighborhood.

But now, residents and businesses alike are hoping to recreate, in a broader sense, an association that will fight for the betterment of the community.

"It will be interesting to see how they will come up with one voice," said Councilmember Nancy Nadel (West Oakland-Downtown), who represents the area. "An organized community is more likely to be a more healthy community. They have gathered strength, and that is very nice."

For more information about the association, contact the Jack London District Association at 248 Third St., No. 845 or online at www.jlda.org.