Berkeley promised to build supportive housing in People's Park. Where is it?

When the University of California, Berkeley fenced off People's Park to build student housing — and after massive protests — the university promised to also fund supportive and affordable housing for Berkeley's unhoused population.

As Riley Ramirez explains in an article for The San Francisco Standard, "The university bought the block in 1967 and demolished single-family homes and boarding houses to build student housing. But after leaving it vacant for two years, a group of young people decided to lay claim to the space and transform it into a park."

In 2017, the university began its effort to build more student housing, clashing with locals who wanted the park to remain a public space and worried about the displacement the redevelopment would cause. The controversy dragged on for years, until the school announced its plan to build a second building and restore 60% of the park as open space after redevelopment is complete. 

But today. even as a project that will house around 1,100 students is on track to open by next fall, the supportive housing project has yet to break ground. "The building will cost an estimated $60 million, but only about half is covered so far," Ramirez notes. "University officials say the project won’t break ground until after Heumann House opens, and no completion date has been set."