Core Spaces Moves Ahead With Housing Tower in Berkeley

Core Spaces has moved forward with a 26-story student housing tower at the foot of UC Berkeley.

The Chicago-based student housing developer led by Marc Lifshin got the nod from a Berkeley city design commission for its 456-unit complex at 2128 Oxford Street, across the street from the lower side of campus, the San Francisco Business Journal reported.

The project, dubbed the Hub, is slated to go before the Zoning Adjustment Board next month. It would replace two mixed-use buildings.

If approved, the tower would be among the city’s tallest, with other soaring apartment buildings also in the works.

Plans call for a 285-foot highrise with 456 apartments, of which 40 would be set aside as affordable for very-low income households. It would include 15,000 square feet of retail and dining, split between ground-floor shops and a rooftop restaurant.

The 16 rent-controlled apartments slated to be bulldozed for the project would be replaced in the new apartment building.

Core Spaces employed a density bonus through Senate Bill 330, which streamlines the approval process and limits public hearings.

The building would be among Berkeley’s first high-rise green buildings; it would be all-electric and LEED Gold certified, according to the developer.

Initial plans in fall 2021 called for a 285-unit student housing complex to accommodate up to 800 residents.

Downtown Berkeley is growing taller faster than any other Bay Area city hub.

As of last year, six buildings between 16 and 28 stories are proposed in Berkeley’s central core, enabled by state legislation that makes it easier for developers to build residential buildings regardless of whether cities want them or not.

Berkeley-based NX Ventures’ plans to build a 28-story, 317-foot tower at 1998 Shattuck Avenue, while Georgia-based Landmark Properties plans to build a 25-story, 268-foot tower at 2190 Shattuck. The tallest building in Berkeley is now the 186-foot Chase Building at 2150 Shattuck.

This week, the Berkeley City Council voted to eliminate nearly all single-family zoning, while upzoning low-density residential neighborhoods to allow for higher density projects, according to the Business Times.

Last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that UC Berkeley can move forward with a controversial plan to develop People’s Park for student and homeless housing.

This year, the state named Berkeley a “pro-housing” city, making it eligible to apply for a state housing grant.

— Dana Bartholomew