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UC Unveils Stadium, Academic Commons Construction Plans By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday February 04, 2005

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau formally unveiled the university’s plans for a quarter of a billion dollars worth of privately funded new construction Thursday, prompting an angry response from Mayor Tom Bates. 

Included in the projects announced Thursday are a $120 million or more renovation of the western half of Memorial Stadium, a $100 million-$120 million academic building to the west of the stadium and landscaping to create pedestrian plazas and open space between the stadium and Boalt Hall. 

“I am profoundly disappointed to report that this is the first time any City of Berkeley official has laid eyes on these plans,” declared Bates. 

“This announcement reinforces the city’s position that the new UC Berkeley Long Range (Development) Plan (LRDP) is deeply flawed and exists only to rubber stamp back-room development deals.” 

Bates’ comments drew an immediate response from UC Berkeley spokesperson Marie Felde, who declared the “neither the city nor the mayor has been kept in the dark.” 

Felde said UC officials “take great exception to the notion that there’s been some sort of back-room deal. Who has not know of the university’s desire to seismically upgrade the stadium and provide more academic amenities?” 

The university’s press release made no mention of plans for permanent television lights at the stadium—a perennial bone of contention with nearby Panoramic Hill residents. 

Tom Lollini, assistant vice chancellor for physical and environmental planning for capital projects, has acknowledged that lights are in the works, which is certain to trigger a third round of neighborhood opposition. 

Two earlier lighting proposals were defeated, and the university has been using temporary lighting for evening and night football games.  

The second project of the university’s plans, the Southeast Quadrant Academic Commons, will provide additional space for Boalt Hall School of Law, the Haas Business School and the Intercollegiate Athletics department. 

No size estimates have been made for the structure, Felde said. “The departments haven’t determined which types of programs would go into the new building,” Felde said, “and it is the program requirements which determine size requirements.” 

Construction funds for both the stadium and the academic building would come from donors, Felde said. 

While substantial funds have been raised for the stadium program, the law and business school administrative staffs have only begun to discuss fund-raising efforts for the Academic Commons, she said. 

Requests for qualifications seeking architects for both projects have been issued, and the filing dates have passed. 

Plans called for interviews on Jan. 28 with the short list of candidates selected for the stadium project, but Felde said that the talks have been postponed until the end of this month at the requests of the applicants. 

Birgeneau’s announcement and Bates’ response come as City of Berkeley officials are preparing a lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the environmental Impact report the university prepared in conjunction with the school’s (LRDP), which outlines school growth plans through 2020. 

The overall plan for the southeast quadrant of the main campus was formulated by the Memorial Stadium Advisory Committee over the last few months, Felde said. 

The university official said city officials and the public will have plenty of time to add their voices to the project during the environmental review process, which should begin after detailed plans are ready, “hopefully by the fall.” 

“Once we have that level of detail, we can then begin the review,” Felde said. 

Bates noted that the overall plan hadn’t been mentioned in the LRDP, and the only information made available to the city was the same release given to reporters and posted on the university website Thursday morning. 

Felde said that plans to improve the pedestrian areas and open space in the area hadn’t been finalized, nor had they progressed as far as the requests for qualifications issued on the stadium and Academic Commons. 

“The idea is make the area around the stadium more attractive, so it’s more than just sawdust,” Felde said.