UC Berkeley's Promised Supportive Housing in People's Park Still Doesn't Have a Developer

As part of its plans to redevelop People’s Park, UC Berkeley has long vowed to build about 100 units of housing for low-income and unhoused people alongside a thousand units for students.

The developer for the low-income housing, however, exited the project last spring, and the university has not selected a new one to take its place.

Resources for Community Development (RCD) left the project just months after an appellate court ruled UC Berkeley couldn’t move forward with construction until it evaluated other possible development sites and assessed potential noise impacts to students and other neighbors as part of its environmental review.

In a statement, RCD spokesperson Lauren Lyon said the company reallocated its “limited resources to other developments,” citing delays caused by the appellate court decision. She added that the ruling “sets a dangerous precedent for housing development, especially for the creation of new affordable housing which is so desperately needed.”

“It’s clear that the legal issues have to be addressed, then the developers don’t have to worry about delays,” said Dan Mogulof, the assistant vice chancellor of the university. “As soon as the legal issues are settled, we’ll work to find a developer.”

The appellate court decision stems from a 2021 lawsuit filed by neighbors and activists who were concerned the students and residents in the new housing developments would negatively impact the neighborhood. The university has appealed the case to the state supreme court and is still awaiting a hearing.

The decision could be affected by legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September. AB 1307, written specifically to help UC Berkeley in its quest to build at People’s Park, states that noise generated by a building’s future residents doesn’t qualify as a significant environmental impact and eliminates the need for public universities to consider alternative sites for certain projects.

UC Berkeley is steadfast in its plan to build the 1,100-unit student housing and 125-unit supportive housing project. The university plans to develop the student housing itself. As for the supportive housing, it plans to offer the land, worth millions of dollars, to a third-party developer at no cost.

“The project is not just about student housing,” Mogulof said. “Supportive housing is an inseparable part of the project. We can find a developer to handle that part of the project.”

“[The university’s] desire to build on People’s Park is stronger than their desire to actually put up student housing,” Teague said. “Any other site would have [been built] with relatively little controversy.”

Now part of the National Register of Historic Places, People’s Park was the site of anti-war and environmental justice demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s and has long been a place for homeless residents to camp and find services. Some Berkeley residents worry that history will be erased, despite the university’s promise to create permanent commemorations onsite.

Harvey Smith, the president of the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group, said the site is an international destination.

“[Our group is] not privileged NIMBY neighbors, we’re people all over Berkeley and California that support People’s Park,” he said. “The issues that the park represents, whether it’s environmental, antiwar or free speech — so much of that is relevant right now to what we’re dealing with today.”

While the university and those hoping to protect the park wait for the court’s decision, the large shipping containers surrounding the site will remain in place.

“They will stay there until construction is finished,” said Mogulof, which could continue for the next several years.