On April 21st, The University of California at Berkeley celebrated the grand opening of the cutting-edge and newly re-envisioned Grimes Engineering Center. The formal Bechtal engineering building served as a foundation for the expanded project, a 35,500 two-story glass pavilion with a three-level open forum at its center. Skidmore Owning and Merill are responsible for the design, with PGA Design responsible for landscaping.
Zoning changes have been approved to support a new life sciences campus at 1333 2nd Street in West Berkeley. The project will be built on the former site of Pacific Steel Casting and will involve demolishing both the old foundry and the nearby former Berkeley Forge and Tool building. The project site spans an area of 10 acres. The scope of work includes the demolition of the former Pacific Steel Casting plant that was shut down in 2018 and development of a hub for life sciences companies.
The 2655 Shattuck Ave project took another step forward last week when The City of Berkeley filed for a Notice of Exemption for CEQA, in accordance with the standards of Infill Development Project exemptions. Studio KDA’s updated designs were released for the project last year, but site construction has been awaiting the completion of several approvals, this exemption included.
Despite objections from contraction unions, an application to introduce a new residential project continues to progress for a site located at 3000 Shattuck Avenue in South Berkeley, Alameda County. The project proposal includes the construction of a new 10-story development offering space for residential and commercial uses. The project site currently houses Berkeley Gas and Smog gas station. NX Ventures is the project applicant and property owner. Trachtenberg Architects is responsible for the designs. InsideOut is responsible for landscape architecture.
Last week, Berkeley Moshav, the nation’s first Jewish urban cohousing complex broke ground at its site on San Pablo Ave. The four-story, mixed-use construction begins more than 10 years after the original proposal, making a historic debut for a new type of community-based housing. Urban Development + Partners has worked with Studio KDA architects and local Jewish community groups to realize this long-held dream.