1,000-plus more homes could sprout in Berkeley with flurry of proposals
A flurry of housing proposals could produce well over 1,000 new residences in Berkeley.
BERKELEY — A flurry of housing proposals could create — if all are built — well over 1,000 new apartments in Berkeley, a review of several new projects on file with the city Planning Department shows.
All told, the projects could produce slightly more than 1,300 residences in Berkeley, with the great majority of them clustered along the busy commercial strip of Shattuck Avenue, according to city planning documents.
Perhaps the most dramatic change in the Berkeley skyline would be the potential development of a 28-story housing tower at 1998 Shattuck Avenue.
This residential tower would replace a restaurant row along Shattuck Avenue between Berkeley Way and University Avenue.
Here are the details of the projects in Berkeley and where the new housing would be located if built:
— 1950 through 1998 Shattuck Avenue and 2071 University Avenue. A 28-story tower that would produce 599 residences. This would potentially be the tallest structure in Berkeley.
— 2700 Shattuck Avenue, the site of the shuttered McKevitt auto dealership complex. 293 units are being planned.
— 2660 through 2680 Bancroft Way. 115 units are being planned as part of a project that would revamp and repurpose the Bancroft Hotel and bulldoze a surface parking lot.
— 2655 Shattuck Avenue. 95 residences.
— 2614 Telegraph Avenue. A student housing project with 83 rooms.
— 2955 Shattuck Avenue. 80 units.
— 2462 Bancroft Way. 66 apartments.
Some of the projects are being floated using provisions of SB 330, which allows developers to seek an expedited approval process for their projects.
The proposals in some instances are a reminder of the fast-shifting economic landscape for real estate, especially in the wake of the coronavirus and the brutal shortage of affordable housing in the Bay Area.
A growing number of developers have proposed housing projects in the Bay Area that would replace office buildings or retail sites, including shops and restaurants.
Housing demand is rising, while the appetite for new office space, hotel rooms and stores has waned.