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The Civic Center agenda item was carried forward to a special session of the City Council on Tuesday, July 25, at 4 pm.

The Civic Center Vision Team will present and discuss updated design concepts with the “Super Sub Committee” composed of representatives from several City Commissions in an online meeting, open to the public, on Thursday, February 9, at 11:30 am. They are planning a workshop for Berkeley High students the following week and are hoping to…

The Civic Arts Commission voted unanimously on December 7 to approve the new conceptual design as presented by Lee Sprague and Marlene Watson. Representatives of the Berkeley Indigenous People’s Day Pow Wows group spoke in support and stated that the design has the blessing of local Ohlone leader Corrina Gould. CCCC members commented about the…

At its May 31 meeting the City Council approved proceeding with a $300 million bond measure. Berkeleyside reported: “The $150 million the bond would raise for affordable housing could allow the city to build or preserve hundreds of homes for less-wealthy residents, though the exact amount will depend on additional funding from other sources like…

Public Works has prepared a report for the Council following the latest opinion survey. The revenue measure combination that comes closest (61-63%) to 2/3 support is a $300M bond (1/2 to affordable housing, 1/2 to other infrastructure for which the Civic Center could be eligible) paired with a 30 cent per square foot parcel tax…

In our April CCCC meeting, Liam Garland announced that Siegel & Strain Architects will be leading the next phase of Civic Center planning. Eleanor Hollander of the City’s Office of Economic Development and Elmar Kapfer of Public Works will co-manage the project, and Gehl Studio will be brought in again for public input. On May…

A new report by engineering firm Allana Buick & Bers documents water leaks and related issues in the Maudelle Shirek and Veterans Buildings, with an estimated cost to properly repair them totaling $3.4 million. Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any current leaks, so Public Works would like to combine the repairs with seismic retrofitting…

Public Works has had the two buildings inspected for water damage and estimates made for repairs and protection against future water damage. The estimates come to about $2 million for the Veterans Building and $1.5 million for the Maudelle Shirek building.

Lisa Bullwinkel brought to the Coordinating Committee’s attention that there is a City Council-approved Arts and Culture Plan with the following features, some of which are applicable to the Civic Center project: Artist housing and live-work units. Small to midsize, mixed-use performance spaces designed for theater, film, dance, literary arts and musical use. Gallery space…

The City Council adopted a budget for 2021-22 that includes $200,000 for further Civic Center planning and $400,000 for infrastructure bond planning.