A Newsletter for the Neighbors of the University of California, Berkeley |
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Hotel plans move forward By Kathleen Maclay In early March, UC Berkeley announced the selection of a firm to develop a hotel and conference center in a downtown Berkeley location adjacent to the university. Following a competitive selection process, Carpenter & Company Inc. and UC Berkeley have entered into an exclusive negotiationg agreement. The firm will conduct a six-month feasibility study to construct the project at the corner of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue, across from the downtown Berkeley BART station. The developer, which is based in San Francisco and Cambridge, Mass., will work with UC Berkeley, the city of Berkeley, and the Berkeley community to ensure that the project design complements plans in progress for a potential new space for two prestigious campus institutions, the seismically-challenged Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. The company has committed to work with the city and community to ensure the project is environmentally sensitive, pedestrian-friendly, and a good fit with the downtown arts district. Carpenter & Company developed and owns the 293-room Charles Hotel, adjacent to Harvard University. In partnership with Starwood Hotels, it also developed San Francisco’s 270-room St. Regis Hotel, next to Yerba Buena Center and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Like the proposed Berkeley hotel, the St. Regis is part of a mixed-use complex and incorporates a museum, the Museum of the African Diaspora. Carpenter’s track record in developing and operating university-related hotel projects in complex, pedestrian-oriented urban environments makes it “uniquely qualified” for the Berkeley project, says campus project manager Kevin Hufferd. A panel of campus planners, real estate professionals, and academic administrators worked with a real estate consultant to select the developer. Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates called the hotel and conference center a potential “showcase project” — one, he says, that will “help bring excitement and vitality to our downtown. I am pleased that an experienced developer team is on board, and I look forward to working with the university, Carpenter & Company, and the community as the planning process begins.” The campus and the developer have agreed that, in light of the project’s unique nature, it should be subject to the city’s review process. UC could have taken the position that, as a state institution, it is exempt from city zoning regulations, notes James Didion, executive real estate adviser to Chancellor Robert Berdahl. “The university is delighted with the professionalism and experience of the development team, and with the positive approach the city has adopted in conceptually supporting the project,” Didion said. “Although the university will not be involved with the development from an ownership perspective, we believe it will be a very positive addition to Berkeley’s downtown environment and will provide needed benefits to the urban fabric and the university.” Carpenter’s chief executive officer, Richard Friedman, said his company is approaching the project with a “completely open mind” about its possibilities. “Our experience in working with civic groups in communities,” he said, “has taught us that the best projects come from collaboration and partnering, coupled with a comprehensive understanding of the financial realities of today’s development environment.” The Carpenter team includes Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the nation’s largest independent hotel management company, as the potential operator of the hotel and conference center. Carpenter will hire a Bay Area urban planner to develop the conceptual framework for the complex. The proposed hotel would have between 175 and 200 rooms; the conference center would be between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet, plus parking. The developer has expressed an interest in including some housing, as well. The proposed site of the project is currently owned and occupied by the Bank of America, which supports the proposed redevelopment and has agreed to work with the development team to ensure the continued operation of branch service for its customers. A market study conducted by the Berkeley Conference and Business Bureau in 1998 pointed to the need for a conference center near the campus; another study, last summer, confirmed that conclusion. |
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