Presenters: Mark Rhoades, Rhoades Planning Group, and John Caner, Downtown Berkeley Association

Please join us for a discussion on the emergence of downtown Berkeley and what the future holds. Since the adoption of the Downtown Area Plan (DAP) in 2010, Downtown Berkeley has been undergoing an historic period of growth similar to the 1920’s from a change perspective. More than 5,000 dwelling units have been proposed, entitled, and/or constructed in the DAP area. Approximately 7,500 or more new residents will ultimately call Downtown Berkeley their homes. That number of new residents will make the downtown the mixed-use transit-oriented neighborhood that it was meant to be when BART first opened. Much of the housing is badly needed niche housing for students and young professionals and including hundreds of below market rent units.

Rhoades Planning Group has assembled a live Google Earth massing model with just the last five years of projects in the DAP area. The model will allow Berkeley Design Advocates members to “see” the massing of these projects juxtaposed in the actual downtown environs. The model includes all of the proposed and approved high- and mid-rise structures.

Location: AIA East Bay Conference Room, Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way #310, Berkeley, CA 94709.

Many thanks to AIA East Bay for hosting this event!