After seven years in planning, The David Brower Center and Resources for Community Development (RCD) began construction on a landmark green development in downtown Berkeley. The multi-use complex is intended to be a model of environmentally and socially sustainable planning. It will be built within walking distance of public transportation and include affordable homes and retail space at Oxford Plaza.
The Brower Center will be a LEED-Platinum-certified building, where the Center’s nonprofit office tenants may be able to benefit from collaboration and a healthy working environment. It will be among the first buildings in the Bay Area to receive the highest LEED green building rating. The Brower Center will include 50,000 square feet of affordable office space leased primarily to nonprofit organizations, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Theater, meeting spaces, an art gallery, and an organic restaurant.
Move-in is scheduled for January 2009, and the Brower Center has a waiting list of more than 30 organizations, including the California League of Conservation Voters, International Rivers Network and Build It Green. The Center for Ecoliteracy and Earth Island Institute are among the Center’s anchor tenants.
David Brower, a pioneer in the environmental movement, was the Sierra Club’s first executive director and founded the League of Conservation Voters, Friends of the Earth, and Earth Island Institute. Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates stated, “The David Brower Center will provide an international center for environmental research, advocacy, and innovation. I can think of no more appropriate place in the world for this work to take place."
Oxford Plaza will meet a need for affordable housing in Berkeley by creating 97 units of affordable, high-quality rental units. The new apartments – from studios to 3-bedroom units – will be affordable to those usually priced out of Bay Area housing, from individuals bringing in less than $12,000 yearly to families of four earning up to $50,280 annually. The Plaza is located close to BART, buses, jobs and amenities.
Resources for Community Development (RCD) is a non-profit affordable housing development corporation. Founded by Berkeley community members in 1984, RCD currently has a portfolio of over 1,300 affordable housing units that it has developed or owns in Northern California.
Press Release, Landmark Sustainable Development Breaks Ground in Berkeley: The David Brower Center and Oxford Plaza Merge Environmental Headquarters, Cultural Venues, and Affordable Housing (May 14, 2007), http://www.browercenter.org/?q=node/98
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