Construction Tops Out at 2587 Telegraph Avenue, Southside, Berkeley

2587 Telegraph Avenue construction, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson2587 Telegraph Avenue construction, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson

Construction has topped out for the new eight-story residential project at 2587 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood. The student-oriented complex will provide 485 beds within 52 separate units along the retail-rich thoroughfare. Gilbane Development Company is the project developer.

2587 Telegraph Avenue establishing view, rendering by KTGY

2587 Telegraph Avenue establishing view, rendering by KTGY

2587 Telegraph Avenue topped out, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson

2587 Telegraph Avenue topped out, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson

Once complete, the 85-foot-tall structure will yield around 112,560 square feet, including 52 larger apartments and 2,900 square feet for retail. Dwelling sizes will vary with four studios, 30 four-bedrooms, 13 five-bedrooms, and five six-bedrooms. Amenities will include over 5,100 square feet of usable open space, a fitness center and yoga studio, study pods on each floor, and a small clubroom connected to two rooftop terraces. Parking will be included for 79 bicycles.

Of the 52 units, six will be designated affordable to very low-income households earning less than half of the area’s median income. This allowed the developer to use the State Density Bonus program to increase the project 50% above base zoning, and streamlined the application with Senate Bill 330.

2587 Telegraph Avenue, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson

2587 Telegraph Avenue, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson

2587 Telegraph Avenue, rendering by KTGY

2587 Telegraph Avenue, rendering by KTGY

2587 Telegraph Avenue seen from Regent Street, rendering by KTGY

2587 Telegraph Avenue seen from Regent Street, rendering by KTGY

KTGY is the project architect. Facade installation has not yet started, though the overall massing articulation is visible from the existing wood-frame structure. The facade will eventually be clad with a mix of metallic panels and dark plaster cladding. The ground floor will be further established with wood screens and masonry veneer.

The 0.43-acre property is located along Telegraph Avenue between Dwight Way and Parker Street. Future residents will be a block from the rising controversial People’s Park student dorm, and an eight-minute walk away from the southern edge of the UC Berkeley campus.

2587 Telegraph Avenue evening view, rendering by KTGY

2587 Telegraph Avenue evening view, rendering by KTGY

Rhoades Planning Group assisted Gilbane as the planning consultant. The overall timeline for 2587 Telegraph Avenue has been remarkably swift, with this update arriving approximately two and a half years after Gilbane first submitted the pre-application. Formal applications were filed in May of 2023, approval was granted in early 2024, and the groundbreaking ceremony was held in December. Completion is expected by the summer of 2026.

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

.

6 Comments on "Construction Tops Out at 2587 Telegraph Avenue, Southside, Berkeley"

  1. Scotty Wiener | July 2, 2025 at 9:54 am | Reply

    These podium/plywood jobbies look like rickety firetraps. I don’t think they will age well, and I bet the floors squeak like hell. More substantial construction would be appreciated.

    • Sorry, but I don’t think you understand construction types. I’ve worked on several podium projects and these are by far less rickety than anything built before the codes required a higher level of structural resilience for seismic purposes. There is nothing rickety about these jobs. This is replacing older rickety structures that had no fire sprinklers or some dated substandard system for fire supression that barely can pass inspections. So the most inappropriate criticism of a project like this is not being ‘substantial’ enough.

      • Scotty Wiener | July 2, 2025 at 5:11 pm | Reply

        Whatever you say dear.

        • You have absolutely zero idea what you’re talking about about. Why bother making a wildly factually incorrect claim and then just admitting you don’t have any knowledge of the subject? Absurd behavior.

    • The current structural and fire codes are way more strict than they need to be. This means safety at the expense of costly construction. This also means that modern buildings are very resilient to damages during disasters. Fr reference, one design criteria in all modern multifamily buildings is that when a fire starts in one unit, it won’t spread to other units.

    • The Berkeley Hills wildfire would like to have a word…Have you ever been in an old house in Berkeley before? Talk about rickety firetraps… I love old buildings, but even the cheapest new builds will be safer and sturdier than older-unrenovated buildings.

Leave a Reply to Scotty Wiener Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.


*