A Los Altos nonprofit is trying to turn a West Berkeley auto shop into a six-story affordable apartment building, marking the third big housing bid for the same corner lot in just a few years. The group has filed plans for a 94-unit, 100‑percent affordable workforce project at 2147 San Pablo Avenue that would replace the existing auto‑body and auto‑glass business and tuck a 46‑space parking garage beneath the new building. The proposal relies on recent state housing rules that allow developers to squeeze more homes onto commercially zoned lots along transit corridors while speeding up local approvals.
According to The Real Deal, Los Altos‑based California Supportive Housing submitted the application to the City of Berkeley in early February 2026 and framed the concept as workforce housing for nearby employees and commuters. The nonprofit is invoking Assembly Bill 2011 along with the state density bonus program to seek ministerial approvals and extra density in exchange for deeply affordable units. In its filing, the group described the proposal as bringing "much needed affordable workforce housing to a commercial district along a major transit corridor in West Berkeley."
What’s proposed
Project documents outline a roughly 78‑foot, six‑story building with about 94 apartments and around 46 parking spaces, totaling approximately 80,040 square feet with a mix of studios, two‑bedroom and three‑bedroom units, according to San Francisco YIMBY. The development would be entirely affordable, although the application does not spell out specific area median income targets. Early renderings and a full project packet had not yet appeared on the city’s website at the time of the latest reporting.
A site with recent plans
This particular corner has been a development magnet. Alameda‑based Wang Brothers Investments bought the parcel in 2022 for nearly $2.8 million and initially pursued a 128‑unit co‑living project with Studio KDA. That concept was later revised to 144 units and went before Berkeley’s Design Review Commission in February 2025, according to The Real Deal. For now, the site is still operating as a small auto‑glass and body shop, listed at the address as Bay Area Auto Glass Express on MapQuest.
Approval path and what to watch
Because the developer is using AB 2011, the project could qualify for ministerial, by‑right approval and a more limited CEQA review, a state pathway meant to speed affordable and mixed‑income housing on commercial corridors while requiring “high road” labor standards such as prevailing wage and apprenticeship programs. That tradeoff is the core of the deal: AB 2011 can shorten parts of local review but layers on labor and other conditions that shape overall project cost and financing. For detailed eligibility rules and procedural guidance, see San Francisco Planning.
Why it matters locally
Berkeley has been under pressure to deliver more affordable and workforce housing while still fielding neighborhood worries about building height, bulk and parking. Efforts ranging from the Berkeley Unified School District’s workforce housing plans to recent projects like The Grinnell show the city leaning on a mix of local funding and state tools to get new units out of the ground, even as arguments over neighborhood fit and escalating construction costs refuse to quiet down. City project pages lay out how those efforts fit into broader housing goals.
For now, the plans for 2147 San Pablo Avenue are still in early stages. The city has not yet posted a complete project packet, and local reporting notes that California Supportive Housing had not responded to requests for comment when the application surfaced. Assuming the AB 2011 ministerial route holds, the next checkpoints would likely include formal intake, design review and any required public meetings, with neighbors, housing advocates and city staff watching the financing strategy, labor commitments and design details as the proposal moves through the process.
