People's Park Housing

The site was closed for construction in January 2024. Construction began in July 2024.

Construction updates will be provided as warranted during the construction process.

We anticipate opening the new student housing for the beginning of academic year 2027-28.

We believe we can and must do better than simply provide open camping space, that is unsafe and unsanitary, for those who do not have housing security. We believe the university has an obligation, as a member of the city's community, to help address this crisis.

The campus committed to proceed with construction only after having a plan in place that offers access to shelter and services to all the people currently sleeping in the park. The campus, the City of Berkeley, and community partners announced a unified plan that honors all these commitments(link is external) -- and more:

• Interim housing for people currently living in People’s Park with services that support a transition to permanent housing.
• Construction and funding for a new community-led daytime drop-in center.
• Permanent 24-hour public restroom in the Telegraph neighborhood.
• Full-time social worker who will continue servicing the needs and interests of unhoused people near campus.
• Permanent homes for 100+ unhoused and extremely low-income people.

We are grateful to the City of Berkeley and community organizations for their ongoing support and partnership in these life-changing efforts.

We are committed to doing all we can for those that will accept our support.

Every week UC Berkeley's social worker, facilities manager, and director of local government and community relations meet with city and civic leaders to coordinate and improve efforts to meet the needs of unhoused people in the neighborhoods surrounding our campus.

UC Berkeley will develop, own, and operate the student housing at People's Park.

• There are no private developers.
• There are no private operators.
• No profits are being generated for private entities.

The campus will entrust the facility's daily operations and services to experts in this area and will not itself be providing supportive housing. The campus has made the commitment to provide land at not cost for the facility, and will select a development partner to develop and operate the supportive housing component.

The campus is making a long-term commitment to the supportive housing residents, including creating regular internship opportunities for students in public health and social welfare to work with the service providers.

Criminal activity at People's Park inreased since the enforcement of no-camping rules were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unhoused people at the park frequently became the victims of violent criminal activity, while students and other residents of the neighborhood expressed significant alarm about deteriorating public safety in the area.

In the 3 years before the park was closed for construction, there were 18 rapes, 19 robberies, 110 aggravated assaults, and 48 drug and 6 weapons arrests. In 2021, a UC Berkeley undergraduate was stabbed(link is external) after walking past the park at night—the suspect was charged with attempted murder.

View a complete chart of criminal activity for the 3 years before the park was closed for construction.

Before construction began, there was extensive criminal activity at People's Park, much of it violent. People who frequented and/or slept in the park were usually victims, not the perpetrators, of this activity. Whatever one thinks of the ideals that motivated the creation of the park, was difficult to see the park as embodying those ideals.

The park was originally envisioned as an open, welcoming, and inclusive place — this project is consistent with the park’s past. Our plans offer not just housing, but the promise of a safer neighborhood for all, and a revitalized park that will be used by all.

The configuration of the new park is thoughtfully designed to allow clear views and daylighting. Walkways and paths will bring pedestrians and residents of the new housing through the site, rather than around it. Features of the new park will allow a wider array of individuals to enjoy the park.

The new park will be well illuminated at night, and its design will focus on visibility throughout — no hidden corners. If places are visible to the public, crime is less likely to occur. The new student and supportive housing buildings will feature entries and windows facing the open space that allow residents to view and monitor activities in the surrounding neighborhood.

More than 60% of the site, approximately 1.7-acres (which is about 1.3 football fields in size) will be preserved and revitalized as green public park space. Several of the existing trees will be preserved, and many more new trees and native plants will be added.

We believe in a safe, revitalized park that will be used by a wider segment of students and the Berkeley community.

The student housing is one building, which is divided into two wings. The main entrance is on the ground floor, at the intersection of these two wings.

The north wing features 11 floors of student apartments over a ground floor and a partial basement level. The height of the north wing varies from 127 feet, up to 154 feet where there is a small mechanical room with elevator and building systems on the roof.

The south wing is raised to create an open and airy pass-through into the new park space below. This wing has 6 floors comprised entirely of student apartments with an average total height of 95 feet. The south wing is intentionally setback from Bowditch Street with lush garden plantings and trees.

The height of the student housing aligns with the City's Southside Plan that will regulate privately-developed buildings in this area.

Placement of the student housing has been carefully considered to provide abundant sunshine onto the newly refurbished park space, and on the First Church of Christ Scientist's historic stained glass windows and iconic wisteria vines across the street.

All of UC Berkeley's student housing is offered at rates lower than market in the City of Berkeley, and this project is no exception

Our goal is to provide safe, secure, high-quality residential communities for all campus student housing. This includes offering functional, convenient and comfortable housing at a rate similar to that of other campus housing.

Currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to live in UC Berkeley's campus housing.

A significant percentage of our students are not able to live in Berkeley due to the low supply of housing and high market prices. Living far from campus impedes a student's ability to thrive academically, socially, and culturally.

While the majority of freshmen live in campus housing, this challenge is especially acute for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Today, the majority of non-freshmen live in privately-owned, market-rate housing that is often far from campus.

In developing our plans for student housing, we have the goal of increasing both the number of beds and the housing options for continuing students (i.e., non-freshmen) and for graduate and professional students. The People's Park Housing project is ideal for helping to meet those objectives.

Once constructed, the new student housing at People's Park will create new beds for more than 1,100 sophomores, juniors, and seniors. These students overwhelmingly request campus apartments, and our existing supply is insufficient to meet the demand. Accordingly, every unit in the student housing built at People's Park will be apartment-style.

The campus has made the commitment to provide land for the facility and will partner with a third party development firm to develop and operate the supportive housing component. The campus is making a long-term commitment to the supportive housing residents, including creating regular internship opportunities for students in public health and social welfare to work with service providers to support residents as part of their academic studies.

Various nonprofit and government programs fund supportive housing. These funding programs often focus on particular populations. For example, there some programs are regionally based, and others target specific groups such as unhoused parents, military veterans and the developmentally disabled. The demographics of the residents in the proposed supportive housing will therefore be linked to the funding source.

They are two separate and unconnected buildings. Both buildings will have controlled access for their residents.

The student housing will provide the same access control measures we use in the rest of our residence halls (e.g. access through a key card), including the student housing across the street from People's Park.

The supportive housing building will have approximately 100 apartments. The exact number of apartment homes will be determined as the density and programming details are finalized in the coming months.

The student housing will house more than 1,110 undergraduates (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) in apartment-style units.

UC Berkeley will develop, own, and operate the student housing at People's Park.

There are no private developers. There are no private operators. No profits are being generated for private entities.

As a campus-developed project, the university is responsible for funds spent on the student housing and landscaped areas. The project will primarily be financed.

The campus has made the commitment to provide land for the supportive housing. The supportive housing facility will be separately financed and developed by a development firm. Various government programs fund supportive housing, and this project is no exception.

Since establishing our housing goals in 2017, UC Berkeley has added more than 2,400 beds in four new housing developments that are now open for student residents.

While significant progress has been made, meeting our student housing goals requires more than 9,000 new beds. In order to develop more than 9,000 new beds, it is not a question of which housing sites to develop -- we must use them all.

Learn more about UC Berkeley's long-term student housing plans and goals, recently completed projects, housing projects in active construction and development, and future development sites.(link is external)