Pre-application permits have been filed for a seven-story apartment building at 2300 Ellsworth Street in Southside, Berkeley. The proposal, located across from the UC Berkeley campus, is expected to produce around 90 units with the assistance of Senate Bill 330. Riaz Capital is the project applicant.
Writing to YIMBY, Riaz Capital has shared that the proposal is expected to create around 90 units, the sizes of which are still in design. The firm also shared that “affordable levels and amounts have not been determined yet for the project. The project will not have any vehicular parking, but plenty of bike parking!”
2300 Ellsworth Street, image via Google Satellite
Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects is responsible for the design. The design for 2300 Ellsworth is typical of the firm’s bold use of solid panels contrasting dark void-like windows. Renderings show the infill will rise directly from the sidewalk with an alternating vertical-panel pattern. However, the integration of color is unusual given the firm’s typically monochromatic portfolio. Teal panels, potentially patinaed copper, are shown framing the windows, while a rust-tone cornice crowns the building.
The 2300 Ellsworth property, a five-shop commercial structure, is listed for sale by KW Commercial for just under $3 million. The proposal will merge two parcels at 2300 and 2310 Ellsworth Street. Demolition will be required for an existing 12-unit residential building.
2300 Ellsworth Street, image via Google Street View
Senate Bill 330, or the Housing Crisis Act signed in 2019, provides safeguards for proposals that meet existing zoning laws. Along with utilizing Senate Bill 330, the proposal will be able to surpass the city’s zoning regulations thanks to the State Density Bonus program, with waivers for height limits and open space requirements so that proposals can achieve at most a 50% increase in the residential capacity compared to a base zoning project.
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I’m all for more housing but I’ll miss the lovely corner building. Stanley Saitowitz doesn’t have the design skills to incorporate it in any meaningful way.
It is really an ugly building; it looks cheap, has no character, doesn’t flow, exposed fire escape, with little or no thought put into the design. I picture cheap brown carpet in the hallways, white walls, and fake plastic plants with fluorescent lights.
We definitely need more low income housing it would be a blessing finally moving to a unit and have an opportunity to live life