UC's Albany housing near completion

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Oct 13, 2007 | by Andrea Wolf

The long-awaited completion of Albany's University Village, which serves as family housing for University of California, Berkeley, is within view, university officials said.

The project, approved in 1998 by the UC Board of Regents, is in its final phase of construction, and slated to be completed by next summer.

Part of University Village already has opened, and student families have been living in about half of the 582 units since July 2006, said Christine Schaff, communications manager of facilities services at UC Berkeley.

The original barracklike structures were built between the 1940s and 1960s and housed hundreds of Navy families during the war.

The units temporarily became housing for workers at the booming Richmond and Mare Island shipyards before becoming UC Berkeley property in 1956.

But after decades of use, university officials decided the housing had to be demolished and rebuilt despite efforts to keep the buildings maintained and the rent affordable, said Marty Takimoto, director of communications and marketing for residential and student services at UC Berkeley.

"Frankly, the old housing was a little dangerous," Takimoto said. "There were problems with mold, being so close to the Bay and the water table; and there was old lead paint in some of the housing."

With University Village located centrally within Albany, the construction had the potential of causing problems for the neighborhood, especially Ocean View Elementary, located just down the street.

Fortunately, the project has not caused any disruptions for the school, said Albany Unified School District Superintendent Willie Wong.

"The new plans for the villagehaven't affected the school district very much," Wong said. "We haven't had any complaints, and we really appreciate the consideration the construction planners have taken to minimize any disturbance."

The construction crews have clearly defined routes and a specific entrance to the site for their vehicles to keep disruption to the community as small as possible, Schaff said.

The entire property, which borders on Buchanan Street and San Pablo Avenue, has been designed to keep the needs of students with families in mind.

University Village includes a playground, a family resource center, an after-school recreation program and both baseball and soccer fields.

"We maintain a close working relationship with the city of Albany, who owns the fields, and the residents are able to use them," Takimoto said.

There is also an after-school children's recreational center that has year-round programs, including summer camp and Albany's Children's Center, a preschool child care program with the Albany school district.

In addition to creating a kid-friendly atmosphere, developers have made environmental care a priority.

Developers have made the creek that runs through the property more environmentally sound by rerouting and re-establishing the banks to prevent erosion and other degradation, Takimoto said.

"The village is located in an environmentally sensitive area, and planners have kept that in consideration during the construction," Takimoto said.

Residents are also invited to make use of the sustainable community garden, a space for people to grow their own fruits and vegetables.

"The gardens are really well used; there are lots of beautiful plants growing there year-round," Schaff said.

With the construction of the new units, rents have gone up with $1,360 for a unit with two bedrooms and one bath, and $1,549 for a three-bedroom,

11/2-bath unit.

But university officials are hoping to offset some of the costs by leasing retail space along San Pablo Avenue to private businesses, Takimoto said.

"The university is still negotiating who will rent the spaces, but the plan is to have businesses that will be helpful for the student community, such as grocery stores," Takimoto said.

The retail space will be completed by next summer as well, but a time frame on when the businesses will move in is not yet known, Takimoto said.

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