Demolition permits have been filed for two two-story commercial structures at 2712 and 2714 Telegraph Avenue in South Berkeley, Alameda County. The project would replace the older buildings with 50 student-oriented apartments in a six-story building. Panoramic Interests is responsible for the application.
Initial plans for a 40-unit iteration by Panoramic Interests were filed in 2022 and granted approval. Updated plans were filed for the 50-unit iteration in late November last year, retaining the six-story height and increasing residential capacity to 50 units.
2712 Telegraph Avenue corner view, rendering by Studio KDA
The application invokes the State Density Bonus law and Senate Bill 330 to streamline the approval process and increase residential capacity. Zoning waivers have been requested to alter requirements for open space, the rear yard setback, height limits, and to eliminate parking requirements for cars and bicycles.
The 75-foot-tall structure is expected to yield around 40,770 square feet, including 50 apartments, six possible accessory dwelling units, and one live-work commercial unit. Of the 50 units, five will be deed-restricted for very low-income households. Studio KDA is responsible for the design.
2712 Telegraph Avenue street view, rendering by Studio KDA
The 0.21-acre property is located along Telegraph Avenue between Derby Street and Ward Street. Future residents will be a block from Willard Park and less than 15 minutes away from the UC Berkeley campus on foot.
The demolition permits were filed last week. The two buildings were reviewed by the Landmark Preservation Committee in 2023, which took no action to initiate a landmark or Structure of Merit. The building at 2712 Telegraph Avenue is described as a Colonial-Revival style house constructed in 1904. 2714 Telegraph Avenue was constructed in 1905 as a two-story building described by JRP Historical Consulting as “a mixture of the First Bay Tradition’s Brown Shingle, Colonial Revival, and Mission styles.”
2712 Telegraph Avenue, image via Google Street View
The estimated cost and timeline for construction have not yet been shared.
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Those look like residential buildings to me?
Berkeley is changing fast. With all of this new student housing, the university will be able to expand its number of students. More students = more employees, services, restaurants etc. I’m bullish on the future of Berkeley as a city.
2712 was most recently The Pacific Center for Human Growth, and a search on 2714 turned up several psychologists and therapists. It’s not unusual around Berkeley for old houses to have been turned to commercial uses several decades ago. My childhood doctor was a part of the same practice my father went to, so I can confidently say the “house” that practice operates out of hasn’t been a house since the 60’s. The insides have generally been so chopped up and modified that it would be difficult to convert back to a single-family home.
I really like the green panels over the entryway. It looks like bamboo. The rest of the facade is so bland though.
This is good! If only this type of vision was happening all over the Bay Area.
Density is great but the new facades are so much uglier than the victorian’s they’re tearing down to replace.
Can we mandate that developers incorporate historical or more intricate design styles in new developments? The city will look like one long stretch of greige/brown square boxes soon enough.
Bankers Hill in San Diego is an excellent example of a city that has retained Victorian buildings on lots while adding 5-6 story apartments to them, by either A) turning the original Victorian into the new apartment’s foyer or B) retaining the old casita/Victorian home on the front corner of the lot and buying the lot behind it then adding set back apartments on the now block wide plot.
New housing doesn’t have to always be ugly — unless we keep allowing it.
It is possible for cities to adopt architectural standards, and I wish Berkeley would. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive. Basic stuff about massing and window size could make these apartments much more attractive.
I think it is great that we are building new housing, but too bad that we are building it at a time when architecture is so abysmally bad.
Yeah let’s tear down everything just so UC Berkeley students and faculty can live here and nobody else! THAT’S YOUR IDEA OF HOUSING IN THESE BIG UGLY BUILDINGS! EXCLUSIVITY FOR THE ELITES!
I would encourage you to look up the zillow cost estimated value of these two houses. I guarantee that they are both worth millions of dollars each. And, they are single family size buildings located on a busy major thorough fare. Take it from someone who recently lived on Telegraph Ave, it sucks! Its loud, its dangerous, and there is lots of exhaust from cars, trucks, and buses. This building will be such a better fit for this location, and each of these units will be more affordable than the buildings that existed there before. Not sure how you think leaving multi-million dollar mansions as the only housing option in the east bay will somehow make homes more affordable.