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School Board to Vote on Hiring Architects for Demolition of Old Gym
The Berkeley Board of Education will vote Wednesday on whether to hire Emeryville-based Baker Vilar Architects to design Berkeley High School’s new bleachers and prepare plans for demolishing its old gym.
School board spokesperson Mark Coplan said that huge locker rooms have been proposed underneath the bleachers.
The architects, who were also hired to design the Martin Luther King Middle School Dining Commons, will also frame the time line for the demolition.
The State Historical Resources Commission unanimously approved the nomination for the Berkeley High School campus to be listed on the National Register as a historic district Friday. The proposed historic district includes the old gym, itself the subject of a landmarking battle.
The Friends Protecting Berkeley’s Resources—the group responsible for writing the nomination—had sued the school district in March for what it charged was an inadequate environmental impact report on the demolition of the gymnasium and warm water pool within its Berkeley High School South of Bancroft Master Plan.
Warm pool users are also against the proposed demolition, which they feel threatens their use of the pool.
The school district plans to build classrooms and a health facility on the site of the old gym.
Wednesday’s meeting will be held at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way at 7:30 p.m.
