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On December 2, the City Council held a special afternoon meeting to discuss the future of Berkeley’s infrastructure, one of Mayor Ishii’s top priorities. Co-Chairs Ray Yep and Margo Schuler and other members of the Mayor’s Vision 2050 Task Force presented their final report, “Realize Vision 2050: Update to the Vision 2050 and Recommendations to…

A CalTrans grant (that had been expected to go toward a Turtle Island Monument) and Measure T1 funds enabled a number of projects in MLK Civic Center Park during 2025. As described on a City website, “The Civic Center Upper Plaza Improvements Project in downtown Berkeley renovated the eastern area of Civic Center Park around…

On May 7, 2024, the City Council approved for the Fiscal Year 2025/2026 budget an allocation of $300,000 for the Civic Center Plan Phase III, “Advancing Pre-Design & Construction Activities.” It was authored by Councilmember Susan Wengraf and endorsed by Councilmember Sophie Hahn. It suggested that the funds be used for: 1. Existing Conditions Documentation…

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…