The City of Berkeley and UC Berkeley have announced plans to turn an inn close to the campus into housing for unhoused people currently living in People's Park who will soon be displaced by a university construction project.
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The Rodeway Inn at 1461 University Ave. will be leased for 18 months using a $4.7 million grant from the California Encampment Resolution Fund to pay for the building for 12 months and an additional $2.2 million from the university for the remaining six months, the two sides announced on Wednesday. People's Park will close this summer as construction begins on a $312 million student housing project.
The college and city joined forces to house the members of a tent community who currently live at People’s Park and will be displaced once the park is turned into student housing.
"We're proud to honor the legacy of People's Park and better meet the needs of our community through an effort that’s deeply reflective of Berkeley's values," Mayor Jesse Arreguín said in a press release. "This partnership will put a roof over the heads of those living in People's Park, instead of simply pushing them from one neighborhood to another. I'm deeply appreciative of all the partners that came together to make this happen."
Berkeley advocates have spoken out against the student housing project, arguing that the park is a major cultural landmark dating back to the civil rights movement, but their pleas were ultimately overlooked.
One People’s Park resident told Berkeleyside on Wednesday he believes the move to the Rodeway Inn is a positive step, but expressed his concern for how many residents will be supported after the 18-month lease expires.
"I'm glad that the university is doing something now, but I don't think it’s coming from a place of integrity, frankly," Nicholas Alexander, the People's Park Kitchen's project coordinator, told the outlet.
The Rodeway Inn was previously used during the COVID-19 pandemic as housing for residents who lived in encampments near Interstate 80. Abode Services currently manages the motel as housing for unhoused Alameda County residents who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.
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