The Residences at

Berkeley PlazaCity of Berkeley

Landmarks Preservation CommissionAugust 13, 2015

Existing

Proposed

Project Design Progress and Noticed Public Meetings (x30):Landmarks Preservation Commission Review

• Preview March 7, 2013• DRC/LPC Subcommittees 3/13, 4/10, 5/15, 7/17, 10/16, 2014• Preliminary DRC – November 20 & December 18, 2014, and April 16, 2015: favorable

recommendation • Preliminary LPC Review February 26, May 7, June 4, & July 9, 2015

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Landmarks Preservation CommissionJuly 9, 2015

Tonight:

• Brief Overview of Additional Community Benefits Proposal to ZAB• Present additional materials responding to feedback from LPC

7/9/15 (Theaters, Roof Top Furniture)• Design Sensitivity/Findings for Approval• Infeasibility of EIR Project Alternatives• Request approval of Structural Alteration Permit

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Landmarks Preservation CommissionAugust 13, 2015

Additional Community Benefits

City Council Recommendation @ $100/sf of rentable space above 75’ and $150/sf above 120’Project Requirement is $13,526,000

Additional Community Benefits for ZAB Review Project Proposal is $26,000,000• New Theater Complex (10 cinemas)• Project Labor Agreement (No Trade or Work

Carveouts)• Additional $ (including Habitot)

Other DAP Required Benefits = @ $11,000,000Annual Economic Benefit (property and other taxes) = @ $1,000,000

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Landmarks Preservation CommissionAugust 13, 2015

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Cinema Plans

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Landscape

Upper Level Courtyard Safety - Safety of Residents/Guests is paramount.

• Drawings indicate a number of fixed elements -- planters, built-in benches, outdoor kitchens, trellises and firepits/fireplaces that are held well back from the parapet guardrail making them safe, enclosed spaces.

• Guardrails are set at or higher than the code required height of 42-inches.• Drawings indicated movable furnishings. These allow flexible use of the courtyards. Based

on two decades of experience with on-podium courtyard design, we have found that users enjoy upper-level courtyards and use them in the manner that the building code provides for.

• Construction techniques and detailing of this concrete and steel building ensures that it is a stable environment that contributes to user safety.

Level-Six Private Patio Landscape Maintenance

• Project will include lease provisions that allow access to the plantings several times per year. This does not need to be through most units, but rather is accessed from patio to patio.

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Historic Resources and Urban Context

• Setting: Variety of Styles and Heights

• Policies: “Both-And” Approach

• Design: Context-Sensitive Features

• Campanile Way Views: No View Impact/Accurate Simulations

• Permits:

⁻ Demolition of the Postal Annex

⁻ Structural Alteration for Removal of Hink’s Addition

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Downtown Area PlanPolicy Highlights

DAP “Both-And” Approach: New Development and Preservation

• LU-4.2: Development Compatibility. Maintain compatible relationships with historic resources, such as street wall continuity in commercial areas.

• Policy HD-3.2: Continued Variety. For building height, massing and scale, allow for continued variety that respects Downtown’s context.

• Policy HD-4.4: Design Creativity & Excellence. Support design creativity during the development approval process and in the resulting construction.

The Residences at Berkeley PlazaCompatibility with Urban

& Historic Setting

• Elements (DAP HD-3.1): materials, cadence, color, fenestration & entry patterns, cornice lines, massing, roof form, street wall

• Design responds to community, DRC, LPC, and staff input

• Street height subordinate to Hotel & similar to Elks Lodge

• Solid base & tower

• Glass wall as back drop

• Traditional storefronts

• Clear separation

The Residences at Berkeley PlazaSecretary of the Interior’s

Standards (Number 9)

• Street height subordinate to Hotel & similar to Library

• Solid base (street wall) & tower

• Glass wall as back drop

• Traditional storefronts

• Clear separation

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Summary of CEQA Alternatives Infeasibility

Preservation or “Environmentally Superior” Alternative• Requires two fire life safety cores be constructed from the bottom of the

building to the top for substantial additional cost• Reduces dwelling unit total by 35%

“Contextual Alternative”• Dwelling unit reduction of up to 24%• Cinema retention infeasible. Reduces the theater space by about 8,000 square

feet, leaving only about 13,000 of the needed 20,000 square feet

The Residences at Berkeley Plaza Berkeley Housing Production Trends

Berkeley Housing Production Trends

• 1970 - 1995 = @650 net new housing units constructed = @26 units/year

• 1995-2010 = @1,300 units constructed = @86 units/year• Berkeley has only allowed an average of @48 new housing

units per year since 1970.• Based on census data Berkeley has about 20,000 more jobs than

employed residents.

Sources: ABAG/Housing Element/US Census

QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION