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Developer John DeClercq of TransAction Companies Ltd. has submitted plans to the city for a new residence/parking structure on Kittredge Street behind the Berkeley Central Public Library. 

The company’s submission for a use permit will be reviewed by city planners and the Zoning Adjustment Board who decide if it is complete. “We already own the land and we haven’t asked for any variances,” he said. 

In keeping with the location the name for the five-story apartment building would be Library Gardens, and the proposal calls for a mix of 196 one- and two-bedroom units. DeClercq has not determined rents yet. 

The developer wants to knock down the Hinks Garage and build another one that is seismically fit. He would replace the 375 spaces there with a traditional three-story garage made of concrete and steel. 

The top of the garage would be the podium or the base for the new apartment complex. Two of the three levels of parking would be subterranean. The top floor would be at street level and four stories of apartments will be built above the garage. 

In addition to the 375 spaces of replacement parking for the Hinks Garage, DeClercq wants to add 126 new spaces, for a total of 501. Of those new parking spaces 98 of them would be set aside for residents and the remaining 25 for “general purposes. 

When asked if he would use robotic, computerized parking, he said he would be keeping tried and true half ramps. 

“We would love to use robotic parking, but we’re not that daring. We strongly support the mayor’s proposal, but we would like to see somebody else do it first,” he said. 

Mayor Shirley Dean has proposed a study of the feasibility of using robotic parking for the city-owned downtown garage between Addison and Center streets. 

The new concept of computer-driven parking arrangements that would shift pallets of cars without the need for space-eating ramps is set to make its U.S. debut in Hoboken, N.J. 

DeClercq said his company “looked very long and hard” at the hydraulic parking tiers that developer Patrick Kennedy installed in the Berkeleyan building on Oxford Street. But they decided the garage space TransAction is planning is too large to use it efficiently. 

As for what will happen to downtown parking when the Hinks Garage is torn down and the new one is not built yet, he replied, “That’s a challenge. We are working with many other people to put in alternative parking, shuttles, and valet services. 

“We’re working with other garages. We are going to do our best to keep the disruption as minimal as possible.” 

The apartments would range from 650 square feet to 850 square feet, DeClercq said. Ten percent of the apartments, or 19 of them, would be reserved for people with incomes that are not higher than 50 percent of the median income of Alameda County residents. 

“This is very affordable,” said DeClercq, Senior Vice President of TransAction. 

The building would be 50 feet high and compatible with surrounding buildings like the Shattuck Hotel and the new library, he said. 

As envisioned in the plans, Library Gardens would have several interior courtyards and arches line the façade in a style he describes as Tuscan.