It has been a symbol of free speech in Berkeley for decades, but after a state Supreme Court ruling, UC Berkeley has the green light to convert People’s Park into a student housing project.
Like many UC Berkeley students, Cassidy Saunar walks a long way to take summer classes.
“(It’s) a 30 to 35 minute walk from one of my classes that I just came from,” Saunar said.
Saunar will be a senior in August. She and other students said the housing shortage is a major problem for students and means they have to pay higher rents and live further away from campus.
“It’s quite difficult to find housing here and you have to keep in mind that it will be quite expensive,” says Saunar.
“The academic rigor here is just insane. There is so much pressure on so many people that the last thing I think students should be worrying about is knowing whether they can pay the rent or have a stable place to live.” , says student Delilah Devin, who is also entering her fourth year at Cal.
UC Berkeley has said it can only house about 20% of its student population, one of the lowest housing capacities in the entire UC system.
“I definitely think a lot of people would benefit from living closer to campus,” Saunar said.
The plan is to build housing for 1,100 students, permanent supportive housing for more than 100 homeless people, and preserve about 60 percent of the site as public park space.
“We see this as a win-win: We’re going to house the students, we’re going to house the homeless,” said Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín.
“The student housing shortage impacts everyone in our city because it limits our housing market. It makes it harder for people to live in Berkeley and it drives up rents,” he continued.
Opponents of the project said they are not against student housing, but rather they have sued the UC Regents because there are better potential housing locations than People’s Park.
The park has a long history of activism and political protest, dating back to the freedom of expression on campus in the 1960s. In 2022, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“A high-rise in the middle of this park destroys that open space and, of course, destroys the historic character of the park,” said Harvey Smith of the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group. The group had argued that the university had failed to analyze the noise impacts of future residents. But state lawmakers recently passed a bill that invalidates that argument.
“Our representative basically concocted a backroom deal with UC,” Smith said of the decision. While the decision has changed things dramatically, those fighting to preserve the park haven’t given up yet.
“It’s clear that our options are becoming increasingly limited. But it’s not over until it’s over,” Smith said.
A construction timeline has not been announced. The university plans to spend a total of more than $400 million on projects, and the stated costs have increased significantly from their initial estimates due to a number of lawsuits and higher construction prices.
