Potential Second-Tallest Apartment Tower Could Rise at 2115 Kittredge Street, Downtown Berkeley

2115 Kittredge Street updated 23-story iteration, rendering by Studio KDA2115 Kittredge Street updated 23-story iteration, rendering by Studio KDA

Modified plans continue to work through the planning commission for a 23-story tower at 2115 Kittredge Street in Downtown Berkeley, Alameda County. The team is continuing to pursue an increased residential capacity for the property, with new documents suggesting the tower could extend nearly three hundred feet above street level, which would make it the second tallest residential structure in the city. Gilbane Development is responsible for the application.

The modified project application is seeking five different waivers and two concessions to achieve the proposed density. The waivers and concessions include reducing the zoning requirements related to useable open space, landscaping, setbacks, overall size, and allowing architectural projections. Most significantly to this story, one waiver would enable plans to “exceed building height limits – to be 291 feet to roof and 299 feet, 4 inches to parapet… where 75 feet is the limit….”

The latest application shows a 35% increase in unit count compared to the previous application from last September. The 23-story building will include 201 apartments, including a mix of affordable units for very low-income and moderate-income households, and a 325-seat performing arts venue. There will be 32 apartments of affordable housing, with 16 units for households earning around 50% of the area’s median income, and 16 apartments for households earning between 80-100% of the area’s median income. Reached for comment, Mark Rhoades of the land use consultant Rhoades Planning Group shared that, “the theater is currently part of the proposal but if financing doesn’t work out for it then it will likely be a ground level retail space.”

California Theater Housing facade adaptive reuse, rendering by Studio KDA

California Theater Housing facade adaptive reuse, rendering by Studio KDA

2115 Kittredge Street establishing view, rendering by Studio KDA

2115 Kittredge Street establishing view previous iteration, rendering by Studio KDA

Studio KDA is responsible for the design. Recent renderings shared with YIMBY show that the team has repeated the design scheme for the tower by adding five additional floors. The exterior scheme is stylized with five golden fins rising above the Art Deco theater, taking inspiration from the historic facade. The gold fins will culminate on the 15th floor, while the top three floors will be set back with terraces, creating shared and private open space.

If the recent application is accurate, the 299-foot tall complex would be the second tallest new building in the City of Berkeley, exceeded only by the 317-foot tall proposal at 1998 Shattuck Avenue. The subsequent tallest proposals include the 284-foot apartments at 2128 Oxford Street, the 268-foot plan at 2190 Shattuck Avenue, and a UC Berkeley-led dormitory to rise 260 feet tall at 2200 Bancroft Way.

2115 Kittredge Street ground-level floor plan, illustration by Studio KDA

2115 Kittredge Street ground-level floor plan, illustration by Studio KDA

California Theatre, image via Google Street View

California Theatre, image via Google Street View

The historic theater stands on a 0.3-acre parcel along Kittredge Street between Shattuck Avenue and Oxford Street. Future residents will be close to the city’s BART Station and AC Transit bus stops. The western edges of the UC Berkeley campus will be under a block away.

Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail

Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews

.

13 Comments on "Potential Second-Tallest Apartment Tower Could Rise at 2115 Kittredge Street, Downtown Berkeley"

  1. It’s been a few years since these high rise proposals have been kicking around. I’m really one of these breaks ground. Can’t imagine upzoning would have been all that useful if no developer could figure out how to make it work financially.

    • Upzoning is aboluately crucial to get these projects started… it is the interest rate environment that is stalling progress at this point.

  2. Steven J Schuyler | February 3, 2025 at 3:02 pm | Reply

    I live next door! First, it is 18-stories, not 23! 23 stories is the monstrosity on center @Oxford Street! My neighbors and I are getting caught right in the middle of all of these high-rise buildings and NON of the builders has much interest in the significant negative impact all these buildings are going to have on our neighborhood ESPECIALLY the disabled people! All they care about is the dollars!

    I was there at the City Council meeting when there was an appeal to the permit and one of the City Council asked them about the ground floor, “What’s your ‘Plan B’?”. To that thery could only say, “There is no ‘Plan B’, it is going to be a theater.”

    Due to the fact that they are not getting 100% occupency (probably because they want too much money!) it is kind of a tough sell to lenders on that part as well! The building across the street from me plus one other building is not at 100% so why would an invester give money to build another building that won’t be at 100%? Foolish! They gotta bring the rents down!

    The place across the street brought their prices down 3 times before people started to rent there! so, what does that tell you?

    • Where do you suggest they build this then? What exactly is the problem?

    • None of these proposals make life harder for disabled people and it’s absolutely insane to claim that they would. Older and/or unupdated structures are significantly less accessible because they often don’t meet ADA requirements.

      And I have bad news for you: having everything at 100% occupancy is actually bad for renters/buyers and causes prices to go up faster. You even admitted it — prices dropped because buildings weren’t able to easily fill every unit. That’s exactly what you want if you care about reducing housing costs. The metro areas with the lowest vacancy rates and lowest construction activity are consistently the most expensive with the most rapidly increasing prices,

    • You should neighborly and welcome new residents to this busy, downtown neighborhood. Show them how lovely and accepting Berkeley is. 🙂

  3. Another vile bait and switch

  4. Why is everything designed by Studio KDA so brutally unimaginative?

  5. Michael Craig Patterson | February 3, 2025 at 8:21 pm | Reply

    This is mediocre architecture, mostly reflective of the 1970s. It is also a silly example of politically inspired example of facadism. People should not be deluded into thinking that it saves the California Theater; it makes a mockery of it. And, perhaps worst of all, it is yet another assault one one of the most stunning skylines in the Western United States, which has been graced by the stand-alone majesty of the Berkeley Campanile.

    • The Campanile is 307ft tall and the base is at an elevation of 320ft. This building is 299ft tall and the site elevation is 186ft. The sites are separated by over half a mile as the crow flies. It is physically impossible for this building, or any of the new proposed buildings around downtown Berkeley, to block the view of the Campanile from vantage points across the bay.

  6. What I think is weird is that it’s a different address than the California Theatre was at. The California Theatre was at 2113 Kittridge. I worked there for a number of years.

  7. I agree about the architecture being mediocre.

    But instead of putting a performing arts space, why not put in a nice theatre? Nothing against performing arts space, I am a supporter, but there are already a lot of performing arts spaces in Berkeley. What we don’t have anymore at theaters. Although many of the theatres have disappeared in downtown, I believe it is because they were outdated and not very nice. The last time I went to the UA theater, it was a bitter cold night and their heater was broken. If the put in a nice theater with comfortable seating, people would go. Or maybe a dining style theatre such as the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in SF. With 40K students in Berkeley, they would go if you make it a good experience.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*