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Daily Planet Staff 

Fiscal realities took precedence over old bricks and mortar Tuesday night, as the City Council overturned the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of 801 Grayson St. as a Structure of Merit. 

The designation would have made it difficult for the property owner, Bayer Corp., to demolish the four 80-year-old structures on the property. 

The new facility Bayer wants to build at the former Philadelphia Quartz property will bring 400 new, mostly union jobs and boost the city’s tax revenues, argued Councilmember Margaret Breland, whose district includes the 14-acre property. The vote to overturn the commission decision was 6-1-1, with Councilmember Diane Woolley abstaining and Councilmember Kriss Worthington voting in opposition. Mayor Shirley Dean was absent, attending an international mayor’s conference in Israel. 

In a second 7-0-1 vote, which was advisory in nature, the council asked Bayer officials to work with members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission to find ways of preserving some of the history of the site. Councilmember Betty Olds abstained on this vote. 

Commissioners had not argued that the site was of merit because it was designed by a noted architect or was outstanding in its construction. Rather, they argued that the buildings are worth preserving because they represent the construction of the era and are a reminder of a period in West Berkeley history of intense industrial expansion. 

“The West Berkeley plan seeks to...accentuate West Berkeley’s history,” Commissioner Carrie Olson told the council. 

Opposing landmark status, Bayer representatives underscored the humanitarian nature of the company’s work. 

“There are 7,000 young boys alive because of what we produce on our site,” Bayer site manager Dick Thomas told the council, referring to a drug the company has produced for hemophiliacs. 

If the site were designated as a landmark, the company would have to write an Environmental Impact Report, a formal document detailing the impacts of demolishing the four buildings on the site. The company would lose valuable time, Thomas said, noting that Bayer management had warned that if all necessary permits were not obtained by May 31, the new project and its jobs would go to Bayer facilities in North Carolina or Germany. 

Thomas offered, however, to preserve part of a façade of one of the buildings, including several of its distinctive arched windows. The facade would be incorporated into fencing that would run along the Grayson Street and Seventh Street portions of the property. 

Councilmember Dona Spring asked if the brick exterior could be incorporated into a new building, but Bayer representatives said that was not possible. Building materials for drug manufacture are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which prohibits the use of porous materials, they explained.  

Bayer got the support of the Chamber of Commerce. “Every time I see a business go elsewhere, I think we’re not doing the best for Berkeley,” said Rachel Rupert, the chamber’s executive director. 

But Woolley argued that businesses often come before the council pleading urgency and that, at least one of the buildings should be landmarked. 

“I think the big brick building is of merit,” she said.