An eight-story, 359-unit apartment complex at 2700 Shattuck Avenue just cleared a key design checkpoint at a March 18 Design Review Committee meeting, nudging a major South Berkeley infill project closer to final city approvals. The plan would wipe out two long-running car dealerships and swap them for ground-floor retail that plugs directly into the Shattuck corridor. If it gets built as pitched, the project would inject dozens of below-market homes into a stretch already drawing large-scale housing proposals.
Developer Hudson McDonald has secured design approval for the 359-unit building after a multi-year planning push, according to The Business Journals. That coverage notes the project is now moving out of preliminary review and into Berkeley's more formal permitting steps.
City planning documents for the March 18 hearing describe an eight-story, roughly 281,960-square-foot mixed-use building with 359 dwelling units, including 38 very-low-income units, plus about 5,136 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, 141 off-street vehicle parking stalls and 158 bicycle parking spaces, according to the City of Berkeley. The same packet lays out design features such as a second-floor central courtyard, an eighth-floor roof deck and an enclosed two-story solarium, along with a materials mix of thin brick, integral stucco and metal infill panels. Staff recommended the committee forward a favorable recommendation to ZAB with any conditions as necessary, according to the materials.
What the project would replace
Preliminary filings and earlier coverage indicate the site spans much of the block between Derby and Ward and would require tearing down two single-story commercial buildings that have long operated as car dealerships, according to San Francisco YIMBY. That early reporting also noted the developer's plan to tap the State Density Bonus to reach the proposed unit count.
How this fits into Berkeley's building boom
The Shattuck corridor has been turning into a magnet for large residential projects as Berkeley scrambles to hit state housing targets. Nearby approvals and proposals in recent years include towers that would add hundreds of new homes, according to reporting compiled by CTBUH. City planning materials and the housing element highlight pressure to add thousands of units in the current planning cycle, as outlined by the City of Berkeley.
Next steps
With the Design Review Committee sign-off in hand, the proposal is expected to head to the Zoning Adjustments Board for final design review before any building permits can be issued. As The Business Journals notes, appeals, financing and permit timing still have plenty of room to slow down when, or even if, construction gets underway.
Neighbors and affordable-housing advocates will be watching closely to see whether the final approvals lock in the promised very-low-income units and other community benefits. Hoodline will track new filings, ZAB dates and any appeal activity as the developer works toward permits.
