Quote:
Expanded Plans For 2128 Oxford Street In Downtown Berkeley
BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON JUNE 10, 2022
https://sfyimby.com/2022/06/expanded-plans-for-2128-oxford-street-in-downtown-berkeley.html
Increased plans have been filed for The Hub, the mixed-use tower at 2128 Oxford Street in Downtown Berkeley, Alameda County. The application has nearly doubled in residential capacity while the height has been raised from 17 to 25 floors tall. On top, a rooftop bar and restaurant will offer commanding views of the surrounding region and, potentially, two more similarly-tall buildings. Core Spaces is the developer.
The roughly 260-foot tall structure will yield over 665,000 square feet, with 650,500 square feet for residential use and 15,800 square feet for commercial retail. Inside, the building will feature 551 apartments, of which 49 would be restricted as affordable housing.
The application makes use of Senate Bill 330 for a streamlined approval process. Developers hope to qualify for the State Density Bonus program, which requires affordable housing in exchange for benefitial zoning waivers that increase residential capacity.
Rhoades Planning Group is managing land use, Site Design Group is responsible for the landscape architecture, and Kimley-Horn is consulting on civil engineering.
Old rendering:
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Major increase to height and mass for another one of the Downtown Berkeley tower proposals. I can see this one catching NIMBY flak over the sheer scale of the proposal, but it's an appropriate density for a site right next to UC Berkeley and one block from BART.
The architecture looks acceptable; I like the color, the curved corner windows (assuming those stay in the new renderings when they are released), and the ground-level treatment. The proposed pedestrian plane looks like it would do an excellent job at promoting an active streetscape, and it replaces a solid stretch of many small shops with a similar arrangement.
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