A three-part vision: Housing for students, affordable housing for the community, and a public park - this is a project unlike any built before on a UC campus.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ’s vision is for the university to provide housing for both students and the community, while maintaining a public park on the historic site of People’s Park. The project will preserve over half the site as a public park, with improved amenities, while setting aside land for over 100 new affordable homes developed by non-profit developer Resources for Community Development (RCD). The rest of the site will become high-density student apartment housing for over 1,100 students.

The city and university of Berkeley face a housing crisis, with an unacceptable number of students and community members struggling with homelessness. This project is unique in creating a partnership between the city, university, and a non-profit housing developer to address this crisis head-on. At the same time, the landscape design, by Hood Landscape Architects, will work to commemorate the significant history of People’s Park and its role in the free speech movement.

Our neighbors experiencing homelessness, our university students, and our communities deserve better than simply a place to camp. The People’s Park project will bring much-needed new homes and student housing, while respecting the history of the site as a space of refuge, free expression, and community-building.

Role: Project Architect, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

Completed: Currently in design

Size: 300,000 SF