Cal Neighbors

The New and Improved University Village will Better Serve University Students and Albany Community

A conceptual rendering of the mixed-use retail and senior housing proposal for the San Pablo Avenue frontage of University Village.

Where until recently, faded World-War-II-era barracks-style housing once stood, a new vision for University Village is taking shape.

That vision, as outlined in UC Berkeley's University Village Master Plan in 2004, builds on the university's long history in Albany to integrate the Village even more fully into the surrounding community.

In addition to new, colorful townhouses for students that replace dilapidated student family housing, proposed upgrades adjacent to University Village include senior housing, a Whole Foods market and additional small retail shops to serve Village residents and the larger community.

A History of Service
The university purchased the University Village property from the descendants of horticulturalist Edward Gill in 1928, initially using the land for growing grounds and research greenhouses for UC Berkeley's College of Agriculture (now the College of Natural Resources), which continues on part of the site today.

During World War II, much of the land was temporarily claimed by the U.S. government, which built hundreds of apartment units to provide housing for the thousands of workers building ships at locations such as Mare Island and the Kaiser Richmond shipyard. At that time, a busy "shipyard railroad" that transported workers from Oakland to points north ran through the heart of the village.

But long after the war ended, the temporary barracks stayed. The university regained use of the property in 1956, eventually turning the units into student family housing and adding additional units in the 1960s to accommodate a growing population.

Over the years UC Berkeley has collaborated with Albany to provide land and facilities for various community uses, ranging from playing fields for youth sports (University Village has been home of the Albany Little League since 1957) to the Albany Children's Center, which carries on the tradition of the site's original day nursery, founded during wartime to serve children of working mothers.

In 1963, the university sold 2.7 acres to the City of Albany to extend Marin Avenue to Buchanan Street and build the current Albany City Hall, followed in 1973 by land for Albany Middle School (now Ocean View Elementary).

By the 1990s, however, it was clear that major upgrades to the aging housing, along with some additional community-oriented en-hancements, were in order. Taking into account the high costs of redevelopment and the need to keep rents affordable, the university settled on a phased approach, one that included new housing units along with retail uses in order to generate revenue to help finance the upgrades and keep housing units below market rates.

Meeting Student and Community Needs
By 2000, most of the wartime housing had come down, along with a chunk of the 1960s housing. In its place rose clusters of colorful wood-shingled townhouses, grouped around courtyards and adjacent to an open-space greenway.

Meanwhile, UC Berkeley joined forces with the cities of Albany and Berkeley to begin restoring Codornices Creek, reclaiming portions that had been confined to a channel to recreate its original meandering path. Additional features include creating a bike and pedestrian trail that will connect to the Berkeley Bicycle Path network.

The remaining World War II-era housing was dismantled last summer. When the latest phase of University Village family housing opens in July, the site will have a total of 974 units, including a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units.

Compared to the mix in 2003, when the final phase of housing renovations began, the current housing mix contains slightly fewer units for families with children, noted Dara Birnbaum, University Village community liaison. "As we redeveloped our housing, the number of University Village children attending Albany schools fluctuated," she said. "We've worked with the Albany school district to update them on our student forecasts so they can incorporate this information as they plan for future enrollment."

Planning for the Future
Currently being proposed are about 175 market-rate housing units for senior citizens, including an assisted living facility, to help address the needs of Albany's growing senior population. (The 2000 Census, the most recent available, showed that 11% of the city's population was 65 or older).

Kevin Hufferd, senior project manager for real estate services at UC Berkeley, sees the proposed units along San Pablo Avenue, which dovetail with the Albany City Council's senior housing goals, as an opportunity to bring together seniors and University Village families, in true village fashion. Adjacent small retail shops, such as a drug store or a coffee shop, would help serve the needs of local residents and create a center for the Village students and community to interact.

The biggest shopping boon for neighbors, though, may well be the Whole Foods grocery store that's proposed along San Pablo Avenue near Monroe. The new store would be a pedestrian-friendly option for the village and other nearby residents. "We've gotten very positive feedback from the community," Hufferd noted. "The overall project should help revitalize San Pablo Avenue and generate significant new tax revenues for Albany."

Both the proposed senior housing and retail uses have been submitted to the City of Albany for environmental review and approval. The first step is a draft environmental im-pact report, which will likely be issued in the fall for public comment.

In the meantime, over the coming spring and summer months, several community-focused initiatives are continuing.

Following the removal last winter of diseased and hazardous Monterey Pines at the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Buchanan Street, which were infected with pitch canker and likely to fall on public streets and sidewalks, a colorful meadow including California poppies, black-eyed Susans and blue flax is now flowering. The university and the city will work together to plan future landscaping on this portion of the Gill Tract, often referred to as the gateway to the City of Albany.
Later this month, new portable buildings will go up at Jackson and Monroe Streets to house the Albany Police and Fire Departments for a two-year stay while City Hall is seismically retrofitted.

The Albany City Council has set up a subcommittee consisting of Mayor Robert Lieber and Councilmember Joanne Wile to meet with campus representatives on future plans for recreation and open space at the Gill Tract.

And by the end of the summer, students and families will be ensconced in the newly opened latest phase of housing.

"University Village has long been its own thriving community," Birnbaum said. "The changes and improvements we're making further strengthen our ties to the city as a whole."