The Berkeley Design Review Committee is scheduled to review plans for a proposed reconstruction and expansion of a fire-damaged building at 2449 Dwight Way in Southside, Berkeley. The development is looking to rebuild some retail, add rent-controlled units, and double the floor count. Evans Property Company is listed as the property owner.
2449 Dwight Way seen along Dwight Way, rendering by Studio KDA
2449 Dwight Way, illustration by Studio KDA
The 85-foot-tall structure is expected to yield around 49,450 square feet, including 46,830 square feet for housing and 2,630 square feet for ground-level retail. Parking will be included for 42 bicycles. The complex will create 63 apartments, including 24 rebuilt rent-controlled units. Three further units will be deed-restricted for very low-income households. The proposal includes a 60% decrease in retail space from the previous conditions, including three commercial spaces facing Telegraph Avenue.
Studio KDA is responsible for the design. The project will preserve around half of the existing masonry facade, including the Dwight Way and Telegraph Avenue elevations. Facade materials will include brick veneer, cement plaster, and glazed tiles.
2449 Dwight Way vertical cross-section, illustration by Studio KDA
2449 Dwight Way facade elevations, illustration by Studio KDAThe historic structure, named The Chandler Building, was first built in 1909 as a one-story commercial structure and was later expanded in 1921. The building was damaged by a fire in 2015, with 30 residents displaced immediately, and commercial tenants vacated by 2018.
The roughly quarter-acre property is located at the corner of Dwight Way and Telegraph Avenue. The site is half a block away from the People’s Park development, recently renamed to be the Heumann House.
2449 Dwight Way, image via Google Street View
Berkeley’s Design Review Committee is scheduled to start tonight, September 18th, starting at 6:30 PM. The event will occur in person at the North Berkeley Senior Center. For more information about how to attend and participate, visit the meeting agenda here.
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A nice sized project. Will be nice to anchor that middle section of Telegraph and to activate that ground floor.
Great to see this property being developed. However, the article failed to mention that the property has been a boarded up blight on the neighborhood for a decade. The City should have taken action against the property owner to cure the blight conditions or sell the property, we are in a housing crisis after all. No mention in this article of the original rent control tenants rights to relocate back to the building or compensation.