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In the News

City Development Low on Funds

By Jessica Lum, The Daily Californian (07-28-05 )

Berkeley —

The Berkeley City Council learned Monday that it does not have sufficient funding to complete the construction of the David Brower Center, a multifunctional development project that will cost 22 percent more than anticipated last year.

Construction on the center, which will be built between Allston Way and Kittredge Street, is scheduled to begin next year if finances are settled.

But according to Berkeley Director Steve Barton, there is an $8.5 million gap in funding. City officials hope to raise about $6.5 million through loans and grants, leaving $2 million up in the air.

The multimillion dollar shortfall can be attributed to the rising cost of building materials and the competition resulting from the recent boom in construction in California, Barton said.

"It's been challenging and a big learning experience to bring all the finances together, but I'm confident we'll be able to do it with the city's support," said Dan Sawislak, executive director of Resources for Community Development, a nonprofit organization leading the project.

In hopes of lowering and stabilizing costs, the City Council is looking for a new construction company to complete the project and will also look into various loans and grants, including those from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Barton said.

Named for the late Berkeley resident David Brower, who served as the first executive director of the Sierra Club from 1952-69, the project consists of two separate facilities on top of an underground parking structure.

One building, called the David Brower Center, will be an office and conference facility with a restaurant on the ground floor.

The Oxford Plaza, which will stand next to the center, will be a low-income housing complex with low-cost retailers on the ground floor.

Both structures are being constructed according to green building policies, which are intended to optimize energy efficiency and air quality in buildings with features like natural lighting.

"Some of the things like solar panels on their roof-well, they're nifty, but it's not clear that it's an economic benefit," Barton said.

But with the apartment complex stationed in the heart of downtown Berkeley, Councilmember Kriss Worthington called the project "the epitome of all the environmental sustainability rhetoric."

The complex, which will provide 96 units of affordable housing, is the most important aspect of the project, he said.

Oxford Plaza will have 30 percent of its units affordable to residents with incomes of about $20,000 per year, he said. It is also located in a high-density area readily accessible to public transit.

"Except for buildings where you are required to be a senior citizen or disabled, we have virtually no (other) housing for people of that income," Worthington said.

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