InBerkeley

Government stimulus money may help a new residential building project in West Berkeley see the light of day, after it was put on hold last year when the economy began to tank.

Last year a design was approved by the City of Berkeley for a mixed-use project on the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Grayson Street (pictured above). The plans, by San Francisco based architect Andre Rothblatt, show 23 market rate condos (including 20% inclusionary units) over commercial space, landscaped private and common decks and patios, and a spacious lobby entrance to the residential units.

Now, the project’s developer, Grayson Group LLC, has applied for a federal loan under the terms of the new Administration’s stimulus package and is in the process of converting the project into multi-family, low-income rental units.

Rothblatt, who remains on the project, says he believes this is consistent with the requirements of eligibility for the federal loans, and it is a move that has been welcomed by the City of Berkeley.

The loan application is under review and a response is due in July.

[First published on SFGate's On The Block. Photo: Andre Rothblatt Architecture.]

Property, West Berkeley Property, West Berkeley

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

When the [Berkeley] City Council approves its $148 million general fund budget tonight, there will be no layoffs, all the fire stations will be kept open and no union contracts will be singled out by council members as an albatross. Instead, Berkeley’s budget will actually grow, albeit by less than 1 percent.

The article cites the stability of the city’s large employers, including Bayer, Lawrence Berkeley Lab and the university. Impending cuts at the university could clearly work in the opposite direction. Berkeley also saw a rise in its sales tax revenues in the last year, which is attributed to the absence of big-box retailers.

Business, Issues, Politics

Anyone thinking about driving around Berkeley this weekend should note that on Sunday, June 28, the Berkeley International Food & Music Festival is taking place in and around the intersection of University Avenue and San Pablo Avenue, and extending for several blocks on all sides of the intersection. The festival runs from noon until 5 p.m., and could pose problems for traffic in the area.  While it hasn’t yet been determined if there will be any actual street closures, the increased pedestrian activity in the area would inevitably lead to greater vehicular traffic congestion.  While the promoters of the festival are laudable for advising attendees to Go Green and take public transportation, it’s a safe bet there will be quite a few others who know nothing of the festival and just want to get where they’re going.

General

Sites like InBerkeley are sometimes called hyperlocal, because they focus on a very local geography and very local issues and events. But I’m spotting a number of developments that truly put the hyper in hyperlocal.

News21, a Carnegie Knight venture on innovation in news, and UC Berkeley J-School students have launched an initiative to cover the heck out of one intersection — Telegraph and 51st Street. Here’s the idea:

We’re building an interactive, 360-degree panorama of the intersection, with tons of stories about history, crime, traffic, and anything else we discover.

You can see some of the results in the Twitter-like messages they provide at RightNowOn51st.

Not quite as local, but highly specialized is the Twitter feed for SeenOnTheBus. It is precisely things seen on the bus in Portland, Oregon (H/T for SeenOnTheBus to Fritinancy). There’s something poetic about these small observations on a Portland bus.

Both RightNowOn51st and SeenOnTheBus would translate wonderfully to InBerkeley. It will all come in time.

Hyperlocal

Tonight is the last chance for the public to go before the Berkeley City Council to convince it to fully fund the Berkeley Housing Authority, and save public housing and Berkeley’s Section 8 housing program.

The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.  More information here.

General

Perhaps you’ve been on vacation, or just haven’t come out from your cave for a while. Whatever your excuse, the big news for foodies in Berkeley this month was the opening of the new Berkeley Bowl West at Ninth Street and Heinz Ave.

In case you missed it, Steve Brown writes about the latest addition to this Berkeley institution in the San Francisco Business Times.

And Lance Knobel just reminded me of this article on his initial visit to the new Berkeley Bowl West.  (Thanks, Lance.)

General Berkeley, Food, Retail