Ashby Arts
Quick Look
Ashby Arts
Status: 2008 (dual entitlements achieved for 98 unit market rate and 98 unit senior affordable developments)
Project value: $38,000,000
Total No of Units : 98
Retail (gross) : 7,500
Site s.f. : 34,210 s.f.
Acres : .79
Units/acre : 125 d.u./acre
Spaces/s.f. com. : 1/500 gross s.f.
1200 Ashby Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
Challenges
Higher crime low community investment neighborhood, low density residential adjacency, impacted traffic intersection, difficult entitlement process, existing neighborhood groups organized around preventing change – strong NIMBY contingent, former gas station.
Vision
Well designed, appropriately scaled, transit oriented, mixed-use sustainable infill development, spark neighborhood reinvestment, housing near West Berkeley/Emeryville job centers, viable retail, community oriented/neighborhood gathering space, target young professional renters or first time home buyers, prominently mark important Berkeley gateway, bridge between West Berkeley arts and Ashby Arts District.
Result
Positive overall neighborhood reactions, solid core of neighborhood support, local business support, strong contemporary design with neighborhood gathering place, strong corner tower design marking gateway. Quality of project and program resulted in relatively short entitlement period. On March 23, 2010 The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to reallocate housing trust funds to the Ashby Arts project: http://berkeley.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=653 , affirming the Council’s original allocation of housing trust funds on July 23, 2009:http://berkeley.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=590
Project Details
| Product: | Mixed-use infill development project with 98 residential units (for rent or for sale), 7,500 square feet of retail |
| Approvals: | City of Berkeley Use Permit and Design Review, entitlements, State Density Bonus, Mitigated Negative Declaration. |
| Status: | 2008 (dual entitlements achieved for 98 unit market rate and 98 unit senior affordable developments) |
| Value: | $38,000,000 |
| Partners: |
Rawson, Blum and Leon of San Francisco.
|
| Lenders: |
First Republic Bank
|
| Sustainability: |
LEED Silver
|
| Carbon Savings |
Greenhouse Gas Savings: 352,800lbs/year; Energy Savings: 6,860,000 BTU/year; Vehicle Miles Traveled reduction: 980,000 miles/year (39,000 gallons of gas, 712 barrels of oil)
|
Project specs
| Number of units | |
| 2 bedroom | 31 |
| 1 bedroom | 59 |
| studios | 8 |
| Total No of Units | 98 |
| 3 bedrooms | 20 |
| Area | |
| Retail (gross) | 7,500 |
| Density ratios | |
| Project gross s.f. | 168, 811 s.f. |
| Site s.f. | 34,210 s.f. |
| Acres | .79 |
| Total bedrooms | 129 |
| Bedrooms/acre | 164 |
| Units/acre | 125 d.u./acre |
| Parking | |
| Total | 113 spaces |
| Spaces/unit res. | 1/unit |
| Spaces/s.f. com. | 1/500 gross s.f. |