Durant Apartments Durant Avenue, Berkeley. Applicant OPHCA's Amended Statement for August 21, 2014 DRC Meeting

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Derrick Hicks
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Durant Apartments 2631-2637 Durant Avenue, Berkeley ATTACHMENT 1 Page 1 of 6 Applicant OPHCA's Amended Statement for August 21, 2014 DRC Meeting The existing 18-unit apartment building at 2631-2637

High density student housing is one of the goals of the Berkeley Southside Plan within which this parcel is located. The building is no longer habitable and is now empty.

1 Durant Apartments Durant Avenue, Berkeley ATTACHMENT 1 Page 1 of 6 Applicant OPHCA's Amended Statement for August 21, 2014 DRC Meeting The existing 18-unit apartment building at Durant Avenue is approximately 90 years old. Because of its close proximity to the UC campus, it has always been student housing. Student housing is the highest and best use of this property. High density student housing is one of the goals of the Berkeley Southside Plan within which this parcel is located. The building is no longer habitable and is now empty. There are no plans to rehabilitate this building because the cost would exceed $2 million and the resulting building would still be inferior, less seismically safe, not meet current building codes and less energy efficient than a new building built from the ground up.. Existing views on Durant facing NE and East OPHCA LLC proposes to replace this severely distressed building at Durant Avenue with a 5 story modern elevator building, fully ADA compliant, with 56 units: 19 2BR and 37 studios. We have removed the interior courtyard, enabling larger front and side setbacks than required. With the internal hallway, 2BR units could only be arranged on the 4 corners of the building (due to window placement), so the current plan has fewer 2BR units and more studios than the previous (May, 2014 interior courtyard) plan. AUPs Requested We are asking for three AUPs. One for relaxing the rear setback (which faces a parking lot and solid concrete wall of the adjacent museum), another for relaxing the lot coverage to 59.66% (100% allowable with AUP) and the third for adding a 5 th floor (which is also allowable with an AUP for this parcel). Rent Control and Low Income Housing Five of the proposed 56 units will be low income units. We agree to have 18 units subject to rent control as existed in the current building.

Page 2 of 6 Energy Efficiency, ADA and Amenities There is a shortage of high quality student housing and particularly ADA compliant housing near the university.

The new building will be compliant with current building and safety codes, having a modern sprinkler system, laundry, community center, free wired internet connections, bike storage and video gated

2 Page 2 of 6 Energy Efficiency, ADA and Amenities There is a shortage of high quality student housing and particularly ADA compliant housing near the university. The existing building has seriously deteriorated electrical, plumbing, safety, structural and security systems. The new building will be compliant with current building and safety codes, having a modern sprinkler system, laundry, community center, free wired internet connections, bike storage and video gated access. The proposed 20 kilowatt PV solar rooftop system will meet the building's common use electrical needs. Other green improvements include energy efficient windows and water heaters. Parking Pursuant to the zoning ordinance, there is no parking requirement for the proposed project, nor is there any for the existing building. As this building is exclusively student housing, parking is not necessary. A handicapped loading zone will be requested. The building sits next to the Berkeley Art Museum loading dock and a 2 large yellow parking zones. College/Durant looking S on College College Durant looking W on Durant The Neighborhood The neighborhood is almost exclusively related to the needs of UC Berkeley. Across the street are 5,6, 7 and 8 story dormitories. The 6 story Hotel Durant is a also across the street. Two landmarked neighbors are adjacent to the subject property. Landmarked Neighbors We have modified our design to take into consideration some of the concerns of our landmarked neighbor fraternity house to the east. We now have a very large setback on their side and have agreed to provide help with their concerns about illegal parking in their adjacent driveway. We have also recessed the top floor on that side and added two deep shafts on the east side (where the stairwells are located) to reduce the effect of the mass. On the museum side we also have very large setbacks in addition to the almost 40' of space between the current building lot line and the museum due to the large museum loading dock.

3 Page 3 of 6 DRC May 15, 2014 meeting During this meeting the OPHCA design team was challenged to be bold, to have more reverence and dialogue with the adjacent museum. We were presented with the following examples of bold design:

4 Page 4 of 6 PROPOSED FRONT ELEVATION DURANT AVE.

5 Page 5 of 6 Bicycle Storage A bicycle storage room has been added. Open Space This project will include a considerable landscaped open spaces on the sides of the building and a large rooftop deck with views of the Bay, Berkeley hills and campus. The landscaping on the sides of the building are designed to increase the privacy for first floor unit windows. Exterior Lighting Plan We plan to use can ceiling LED lighting to light the walkways, hallways, entry and foyer. Materials and Colors We are using primarily light neutral colors to reduce the effect of the mass. At the Design Review Meeting on August 21, 2014 we will show two different proposed color schemes. 23D Development Standards A. No lot of less than 5,000 square feet may be created - SATISFIED B. No more than one person who resides in a Group Living Accommodation use shall be allowed for each 175 square feet of lot area. One additional person who resides in a Group Living Accommodation use may also be allowed for any remaining lot area which may be less than 175 square feet, but not less than 100 square feet in area. 1. The Board may approve a Use Permit to increase the density of a Group Living Accommodation use if it makes the following findings: a. At least 50% of the total building floor area is designated for residential use; SATISFIED b. The increase in density will not be detrimental to the immediate neighborhood; SATISFIED and c. The project meets the purposes of the District. SATISFIED C. The height for a Main Building shall satisfy the following requirements: 1. The maximum height shall be four stories and 60 feet, except as otherwise provided in paragraphs 2 and 3 below. SATISFIED 2. Within the portions of the District located east of Telegraph Avenue and/or more than 130 feet south of Bancroft Way (THE PROPOSED SITE SATISFIES THIS REQIREMENT), the Board may approve a Use Permit to increase a project s maximum height to five stories and 65 feet if it makes both of the following findings: a. At least 50% of the total building floor area is designated for residential use; SATISFIED and b. The project meets the purposes of the District. SATISFIED The Board may approve an application for a Use Permit, either as submitted or as modified, only upon finding that the establishment, maintenance or operation of the use, or the construction of a building, structure or addition thereto, under the circumstances of the particular case existing at the time at which the application is granted, will not be

6 Page 6 of 6 detrimental to the health, safety, peace, morals, comfort or general welfare of persons residing or working in the area or neighborhood of such proposed use or be detrimental or injurious to property and improvements of the adjacent properties, the surrounding area or neighborhood or to the general welfare of the City. Prior to approving any Use Permit the Board must also make any other findings required by either the general or District regulations applicable to that particular Use Permit. The proposed project will not be a detriment to the neighborhood or the City in general. The proposed project represents a significant improvement to the Southside neighborhood. To permit consistency with the building setbacks existing in the immediate area where a residential building setback would not serve a useful purpose. The proposed project satisfies these findings above. DEMOLITION The Board may approve a Use Permit to demolish a building containing one or more dwelling units if it makes the findings required by the foregoing section, and that: 1. The demolition will remove a structure that is hazardous, unusable or is infeasible to repair; or 2. The demolition is necessary to permit construction approved pursuant to this Ordinance, of at least the same number of dwelling units as the demolished structure. Both findings are appropriate in this case. The existing structure is severely distressed. The removal of this structure will allow for the construction of 56 new dwelling units. All units are vacant and will remain so, For the past 30 years the existing building has received almost no re-investment due to the declining health of the former owner. Before OPHCA purchased the property at the end of June, 2012, it had complete inspections and reports done for the building. They showed that the deferred maintenance has taken its toll with over $1.8 million in repairs necessary to make this building habitable, but not to current code. Because it would be uneconomic to invest over $2 million and still not have units that are built to modern specifications, nor have units that are ADA compliant, we propose to demo the existing building and replace it with a 5 story modern elevator building with 56 units, fully ADA compliant. Summary There is a shortage of high quality student housing and particularly ADA compliant housing near the university. The proposed project will remove a dangerously distressed and vacant building from the neighborhood and add significant new additional housing, add increased business to the depressed Telegraph Area commercial environment one block away, and begin to revitalize the housing stock in the Southside district of Berkeley. This proposed redevelopment will be a great improvement over the current housing and an asset to the City of Berkeley. We respectively request that it be recommended for approval to the Zoning Adjustment Board so we can bring this project from design to reality. For Further Information Contact: Cliff Orloff, Managing Partner, OPHCA LLC clifforloff@alum.mit.edu

UCB - STILES RESIDENCE HALL CITY DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE PACKAGE

UCB - STILES RESIDENCE HALL CITY DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE PACKAGE 2014 Solomon Cordwell Buenz Project Description STILES SITE STUDENT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT The Stiles Site Student Housing Development is located on the south of the UC Berkeley campus proper, bounded by