2232 Piedmont Avenue Renovation
Summary
SCH Number
2022050346
Public Agency
University of California, Berkeley
Document Title
2232 Piedmont Avenue Renovation
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/17/2022
Document Description
The project involves renovation and restoration of 2232 Piedmont Avenue for the new Entrepreneurship hub (E-Hub) for the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. The renovation would accommodate an Entrepreneurship Hub by the Haas School for students to collaborate and gather. The exterior restoration includes repairs to historic stucco, wood doors, wood windows, wood trim, and iron railings. Interior work includes repair of historic wood doors, wood flooring, wood paneling and trim, and fireplaces. Interior improvements are primarily limited to new accessible restrooms and a kitchenette, located in areas which had been previously modified. Structural sheer reinforcement will be added, and MEP upgrades will be completed, including moving to an electric heat pump system.
The building is approximately 5,928 square feet and three stories tall plus a basement. The attic’s use will change to storage only, and the exterior stair will be removed. The project includes providing an accessible path of travel to the basement, first and second floor with the addition of a new elevator. The elevator will be located on a secondary façade which is not visible from the public right-of-way. This addition will be differentiated from the historic building by offsets and recesses and sits below the historic building’s roofline.
2232 Piedmont was constructed in 1908 and designed by Julia Morgan. UC Berkeley acquired this property in 1958. The university completed a Historic Structures Report and evaluated it as eligible for historic resources. The project conforms to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Contact Information
Name
Shraddha Navalli Patil
Agency Name
UC Berkeley
Job Title
Senior Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Wendy Hillis
Agency Name
UC Berkeley
Job Title
Campus Architect
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1; Class 3; Class 31
Reasons for Exemption
The Project would involve renovation, reuse and rehabilitation of 2232 Piedmont.
The Project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301: Class 1 Existing Facilities because the Project would involve repair, restoration of the structure and involves negligible expansion of use. Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The building is currently used to house the Department of Demography, and would change to house the Haas School of Business. Building use would continue for academic purposes. The project is primarily a renovation and restoration/rehabilitation of the existing 2232 Piedmont structure.
The project is categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines 15303 - Class 3 New construction or conversion of small structures. This project involves the construction of accessory structures such as the addition of a new elevator located on the western façade of the structure. Under Class 3, the project is exempt because the proposed addition to the building would not exceed the limit of 10,000 square feet for a given site that is in an urbanized area.
On a separate and independent basis, the project is categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines 15331- Class 31. Class 31 consists of projects limited to maintenance, repair, stabilization, rehabilitation,
restoration, preservation, conservation, or reconstruction of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitation, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (1995). This project involves the rehabilitation of an existing campus building for a similar land use that is consistent with applicable plans. The Project would rehabilitate an existing historic structure to accommodate a redefined program using strategies consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's (SOI) Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties(Standards), and which do not have a significant impact on the building as a historical resource.
Under CEQA, substantial adverse change includes demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration such that the significance of an historical resource would be impaired (PRC Section 5020.1(q)). The proposed project scope includes restoration (cleaning and repair) of interior and exterior character-defining features and focuses interior improvements in areas of previous change. The proposed changes preserve historic fabric and features to the greatest extent possible, are in keeping with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, and will not result in a substantial adverse change to the building such that its historical significance would be impaired. As such, the proposed project will not cause a significant impact to the historic resource at 2232 Piedmont Avenue.
CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 includes a number of exceptions to categorical exemptions, which include the following: location; cumulative impact; significant effect; scenic highways; hazardous waste sites; and historical resources. These exceptions have been determined not to apply to the Project.
County Clerk
Alameda
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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