Presenter: Steve Weindel, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C, Principal and Co-Managing Director of Gensler's Oakland office

The Berkeley Commons development project aims to reposition the 8.4-acre 600 Addison Street site as a premier employment facility in West Berkeley. The project will remove the existing buildings, piles of soil, fertilizer, and outdoor storage material which contribute to the historically poor water quality of Aquatic Park. The Berkeley Commons project proposes over 450,000 square feet of floor area across two Class A 3-story steel-framed Research & Development buildings to accommodate research, innovation, lab, and/or office uses depending on the needs of the occupant(s). These buildings incorporate advanced sustainability and performance measures including fully electric building systems and on-site renewable energy generation, thereby achieving a net-zero energy core and shell and a LEED Gold rating by the USGBC. The project includes substantial off-site improvements to pedestrian and bicycle facilities on Bolivar Drive to improve access and connections to Aquatic Park. Bioretention systems would slow and clean stormwater before it enters Aquatic Park and San Francisco Bay and native and drought-tolerant landscape planting would reduce water use and help sequester carbon. The project would contribute approximately $7 million to the City of Berkeley in its first year, including contributions to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Child Care Mitigation Fund.