Berkeley's Bancroft Hotel eyed for conversion into more than 100 homes
The proposal is to preserve the facade of the historic building.
The owner of Bancroft Hotel Berkeley is looking to convert his property and adjacent parking lot into 100+ multifamily units.
Rhoades Planning Group filed preliminary plans on April 14 for hotel owner Daryl Ross to convert the 22-room hotel located at 2680 Bancroft Way, into 22 rooms with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities, as well as 15 additional residential units.
The Berkeley consultant filed separate plans on April 14, to convert the surface parking lot of the hotel, which is approximately a quarter acre in size, into an 8-story residential building with 78 units.
According to the applications, both projects will be using state density bonus laws, which means that both buildings will include a certain quantity of affordable housing on site.
The filing for the conversion, which states that the project will retain and renovate the existing hotel's facade, suggests that the plans include enlarging the footprint of the building, although additional details were unavailable Monday.
It was not possible to reach Rhoades or Ross for an immediate interview on Monday. Ross' family bought the Bancroft property in the late 70s, just a couple of years before Ross graduated from the UC Berkeley campus. The building had previously been owned by the Berkeley College Women's Club, before it underwent extensive renovations before reopening in 1993 as the Bancroft Hotel. According to the website of the Bancroft Hotel, rates for rooms range between $159 and $230 per night. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Berkeley landmark.
Ross is the owner of several businesses around UC Berkeley, including Caffe Strada which is located next to the hotel. The timeline for city approvals could take some time to close the hotel.