BERKELEY — Construction of a new student housing project on the former People’s Park site is expected to continue on time and as planned, regardless of weather conditions or protests, university officials confirmed Monday.
Recently laid cement and the erection of a crane are the latest signs of forward movement on a UC Berkeley housing project on a 2.8-acre lot known as People’s Park. The site – bounded by Haste and Bowditch streets, Telegraph Avenue and Dwight Way – is expected to house more than 1,100 undergraduates and at least 100 former homeless Berkeley residents once completed at the start of the 2027-28 academic school year.
“Construction has been underway for several months now and is progressing as planned, and on schedule, largely without incident,” said UC Berkeley spokesperson Kyle Gibson in an email Monday. “Like any other construction site, this site is closed to the public and trespassing is prohibited.”
Gibson’s comments came just days after about 20 people protested the development of the site, just the latest in a long history of activism and protest at the lot that became an unofficial park after activists took it over in the late 1960s.
Officers responded to the area Saturday afternoon after about six protesters climbed on top of shipping containers currently being used as a boundary between the public and the construction site, Gibson said.
Officers monitored the scene for hours but no citations or arrests were made Saturday, said Gibson, who was unable to confirm if any of the protesters were university students.
Charles Gray with peoplespark.org, the group behind Saturday’s protest, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A message to an Instagram account which shared videos of the protest went unanswered.
UC Berkeley has long planned to redevelop the property into housing since it first took ownership of the site through imminent domain in 1968. Those plans and others to add amenities like sports courts have regularly been met with pushback including a hostile clash between protesters and law enforcement early this year that led to multiple arrests.
Phase 1 of construction involving site preparation like grading, debris removal, utility work and landscaping began this summer after the state Supreme Court ruled against two groups who alleged the environmental review of the university’s proposed project failed to adequately analyze noise impacts from future residents or alternative sites for the proposal.
“Since we began construction in July 2024, it is accurate to say that the timeline of the project is unchanged,” Gibson said. “We hope to open the new student housing building for the start of the academic year 2027-28.”