{"id":117,"date":"2009-01-13T19:52:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-13T19:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terragrafix.com\/blog\/?p=117"},"modified":"2009-01-13T19:52:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-13T19:52:00","slug":"to-ring-in-the-new-year-emeryville-poised-to-drop-the-wrecking-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=117","title":{"rendered":"To Ring in the New Year, Emeryville Poised to Drop the (Wrecking) Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Two of Three Buildings Slated for Demolition Designated by City as “Architecturally Significant” <\/span><\/span>

by Tracy Schroth and Marc Albert<\/span><\/p>\n

City Hall is poised to issue a <\/span><\/span><\/span>flurry of building demolition permits to ring in the new year, hastening the extinction of Emeryville’s architectural and cultural past — for a future filled with — you guessed it — more retail, residential rental units, and parking.
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Plans for three particular projects have much in common. Each violates one or more city laws restricting density, building size, and height. Each is being pushed by three of the city’s most well-connected developers. Each requires the destruction of some of the city’s few remaining architectural gems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two of the endangered buildings are designated as “architecturally significant” buildings worthy of protection under Article 67 of the city’s own preservation ordinance. Adding insult to injury, the proposed projects turn prime locations for a pedestrian-centered renaissance into more auto-centric development, exacerbating Emeryville’s traffic woes.<\/span> <\/p>\n

For what it’s worth, preservation figures prominently in the city’s General Plan. The document declares that historic industrial-warehouses found “in many parts of Emeryville should be preserved,” and that, “the City strongly endorses the reuse of heritage buildings.” These buildings, if saved, not only <\/span>provide a tangible link to the past and an aesthetic sense of place lacking in much new development, they serve as affordale space for small, <\/span>entrepreneurial ventures for which Emeryville has long been known.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many Emeryville residents have asked the City Council again and again for development that cultivates real neighborhoods and provides services to the community — independently owned retail and restaurants, light industrial, and small start-ups. To no avail.<\/span> <\/p>\n

The Alder Building at Powell and Hollis<\/span>
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One of the three buildings slated for demolition is the Alder Building at Powell and Hollis streets. It will be torn down to make way for a 139,000-square-foot office building and parking structure to be constructed by Wareham Development. The property has the dubious added distinction of being acquired in a hostile land grab, orchestrated by the city. The property was sold by the owner only after the city had begun legal proceedings to take the property through eminent domain and give it to Rich Robbins, owner of Wareham, the city’s biggest and most influential developer. The property was sold to Robbins and eviction notices were served to the occupants — a small law office and an architectural firm.
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While the Alder Building is not designated by the city as “architecturally significant,” the other two buildings are — the brick building at Doyle and Powell streets (photo, top left<\/span>), and 3908 Adeline Street, at the intersection of 39th Street (photo, top right<\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The building at Doyle and Powell streets will be torn down to make way for 14,000 square feet of mixed use including retail (10,500 square feet) and “flex space” (about 3,500 square feet) which can be office or retail, and residential (170 rental units), which exceeds the density allowed by city ordinance. The developer also wants to chop down 12 mature street trees.
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The building at 3908 Adeline, which straddles the line between Emeryville and Oakland, will be replaced by more than 100 apartment units and 1,000 square feet of retail\/restaurant space. The height of the new building will reach 49 feet in areas where 30 feet is the maximum height allowed. The project also requires a parking variance to allow 6 guest parking spaces where 23 is the required minimum. The <\/span>building to be destroyed has also been designated as “historically significant” by Oakland’s Cultural Heritage Survey. <\/span><\/p>\n

For more information on these and other projects, click here<\/a>.
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The City Council is sacrificing pieces of Emeryville’s past for a future of more retail and rental units. Didn’t they get the memo?<\/span>
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