With $6.6M grant, homeless youth in Alameda County will design programs for their community
Young unhoused people in Berkeley and surrounding cities will lead the decision-making process about how to use the federal grant.
Housing & Development
Top Stories
Grayson Street proposal could add to West Berkeley’s life sciences boom
The project is planned for the site of Berkeley’s Grayson Street homeless shelter. City officials have long known the site was only temporary.
9,000 homes by 2031? How Berkeley will try to pull it off
The city is making a key update to its housing plans. Here’s how the process works and how you can get involved.
Homelessness
The end of the 1960s? Regents vote to put housing in People’s Park.
About 1,100 students will be housed in two buildings in the long-contested park.
Berkeley RVs at 8th and Harrison will transition to new ‘safe parking site’
RV residents are required to move by Oct. 6, but some plan to protest what they see as a rushed alternative.
Homeless residents at Ashby-Shellmound encampment allowed to stay for 6 months, judge says
Where Do We Go Berkeley argued that the residents have disabilities that make shelter options unsuitable.
Commercial development
16-story Residence Inn to open this October in downtown Berkeley
The Marriott-branded hotel will become the third-tallest building in Berkeley and include 331 extended-stay suites, 15,000 square feet of meeting space and a rooftop bar and restaurant.
Berkeley will soon be home to a major research and development center
Developers will construct two modern buildings and add a strolling path with native plants along Bolivar Drive by Aquatic Park.
Ferry service, new hotel, pier rebuild among ideas to revive Berkeley Marina
Large-scale ferry service could begin in 2026 under the current timeline. A community survey about the future of the marina runs through March 12.
COVID-19 has hit economy hard: tax revenue down 13.2%, 3,000+ jobs lost
But the news is not all bad, as a new economic report shows investors put $700 million into Berkeley’s biotech and clean-tech sectors.
Proposed development near Aquatic Park could bring in 1,600 workers
Two developers, working in conjunction with the Jones family who own the land, want to build two Class A R&D buildings.
Housing at BART
Debate continues over affordability, parking, height of BART housing
What’s happening now is important because it will define the parameters for large new apartment buildings that are slated to replace what are now parking lots at the North Berkeley and Ashby BART stations.
After parking lots turn into housing, how will you get to BART?
BART is seeking input on its plan to help Berkeley residents get to the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations once housing is built on the parking lots.
In historic vote, Berkeley puts $53M toward affordable housing at BART
It is the single largest investment in affordable housing Berkeley has made, the mayor said Tuesday night.
Interested in plans for housing at BART? Take these surveys by Feb. 22
The city is collecting community input on affordable housing, land use, building form and public space as part of the public process around plans to build housing at BART.
Affordable housing
‘No real options’: Last tenants agree to leave rent-controlled building, clearing way for UC Berkeley dorm
Cal can now tear down 1921 Walnut St. and the $300 million Anchor House project can proceed.
Mayor: Tenants’ ‘first dibs to buy’ policy on hold until fall due to feasibility, timing
Mayor Jesse Arreguín received pushback from supporters and opposition of the Tenant’s Opportunity to Purchase Act during the months-long process.
Rent board votes in support of Palestinians facing evictions in Israel
It was a welcomed political statement by some but reviled by others who think the board overstepped its boundaries.
Court rules a 260-unit apartment complex can go up at 1900 Fourth St., a site the Ohlone consider sacred
The court ruling, which Berkeley may appeal, is the latest development in a long-running fight about the property.
Student housing
Developer proposes 17-story apartment building across from UC Berkeley
If past attempts to raise tall apartment buildings in downtown Berkeley are any indication, the plans could prove contentious.
4 stories shorter: UC Berkeley drops height of People’s Park student housing complex
But construction won’t start until the 50 or so people living at People’s Park have been housed or offered services, chancellor says.
New developer eyes controversial site downtown for student housing
The project would rise on the downtown Berkeley block where another developer planned an 18-story building.
UC Berkeley will explore moving 8-unit rent-controlled building as part of $82.6M settlement
The university will also pay $920,000 into the city’s Housing Trust Fund as recompense for the structure.
Zoning Adjustments Board
With split vote, Berkeley zoning board approves new ‘group living’ project
A 41-unit “group living” project called Poet’s Place was approved Thursday night by a Berkeley zoning board majority.
‘A mini-urban miracle,’ new Berkeley homeless housing could be model for the state
It’s been a big week for subsidized housing in Berkeley. And it just got bigger.
Neighbors fight proposed Verizon cell site in North Berkeley — again
A group of local residents celebrated three years ago when plans for a Verizon cell site in their neighborhood were dropped. Now, many of them are back at it.
101 units at San Pablo, Hearst approved at former Berkeley Midas site
A six-story, 101-unit project proposed in Berkeley at San Pablo and Hearst avenues won near-unanimous approval Thursday night from the zoning board.
Urban planning
City looking for feedback on electrification blueprint
The meeting drew about 100 people who raised concerns about equity and affordability.
Berkeley votes for historic housing change: an end to single-family zoning
The unanimous vote kickstarts a 2-year-long process which would see about 9,000 more housing units at various income levels built over the next several years.
Berkeley denounces racist history of single-family zoning, begins 2-year process to change general plan
Council unanimously approved a resolution that will work toward banning single-family zoning.
Planning Commission approves Adeline plan with 100% affordable housing goal
The commission says the percentage is not a requirement, but an aspiration. Community and BART talks are ongoing.
Housing Trust Fund
The Housing Trust Fund is the money the city uses to build and support affordable housing projects in Berkeley. The money can be leveraged 4-to-1 to seek outside funding. Money generally comes into the fund when developers choose not to include affordable units within their projects, or who do not include the full number of those units. Rather than building on site, they can pay a fee into the city's Trust Fund instead.
Berkeley wins $42 million in grants for 150 units of affordable housing
Mayor Jesse Arreguín said it’s the largest amount he could recall Berkeley ever having gotten from the state for affordable housing over his 16 years serving the city.
Berkeley’s most ambitious homeless housing project ever breaks ground
The project also includes 89 units of affordable housing, at 50%-60% of the area median income, that will be available to the general public on a lottery basis. It is slated to open in 2022.
Downtown Berkeley Harold Way deal for 18 stories, 300 units is officially over
The city has decided not to grant developer Hill Street Realty more time to secure financing for the 18-story Berkeley Plaza project on Harold Way.
Recent stories
New state law SB9 could shape Berkeley’s effort to end single-family zoning
Nearly 14,000 properties in Berkeley could add new housing under the law, but experts say its impact will likely be modest.
In brief
Rental assistance is available for tenants and property owners in Berkeley
Tenants and property owners who need financial support with rent and utilities can apply by the end of September to receive up to 15 months of help.
The debate that could change the future of housing in Berkeley: How do you define a shadow?
City leaders are launching a new effort to create “objective standards” that could determine how easy it is to build in Berkeley.
Berkeley’s biggest homeless camps were closed. Where are the residents now?
Twenty-five percent of West Berkeley encampment residents are in hotels, 17% were housed and 25% are still on the streets.
