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Aug 16th, 2018: Berkeley Prefabs
A four story apartment building built in four days.
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This new 22-unit project from local developer Patrick Kennedy (Panoramic Interests) is the first in the nation to be constructed of prefabricated all-steel modular units made in China. Each module, which looks a little like sleekly designed shipping containers with picture windows on one end, is stacked on another like giant Legos. The project, initially approved by the city in 2010 as a hotel, then re-approved in 2015 as studio apartments, will be leased to UC Berkeley for graduate student housing. Called Shattuck Studios, it’s slated to be open for move-in for the fall semester. |
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The modules were shipped to Oakland then trucked to the site. Kennedy notes that the cost of trucking to Berkeley from the port of Oakland was more expensive than the cost of shipping from Hong Kong. The modules are effectively ready-to-go 310-square-feet studio apartments with a bathroom, closets, a front entry area, and a main room with a kitchenette and sofa that converts to a queen-size bed. They come with flat-screen TVs and coffee makers. |
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In lieu of providing affordable units on site, Kennedy will pay a fee to the city of Berkeley’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, as required under the city’s affordable housing laws. The amount is around $500,000, he said. The units will rent for $2,180 monthly for single-occupancy, said Kyle Gibson, director of communications for UC Berkeley Capital Strategies. One unit is reserved for a residential assistant (RA). UC has a three-year lease with Kennedy’s firm. |
Clodfobble Wednesday Aug 15 11:40 PM
$2,180 a month for 310 square feet. The mind boggles.
Griff Thursday Aug 16 07:17 AM
I like the concept, but wonder about rents in our increasingly urban society. The prices are madness.
glatt Thursday Aug 16 07:36 AM
Prefab lets you erect structures quickly and efficiently, but what happens in 20 years when this is falling apart? It doesn't look like it is really designed to be maintained. Do you just throw the whole thing away as if it was an old motorhome?
I was thinking the toilet could be a foot closer to the sink in the bathroom and you would gain a foot in the kitchen, but then realized it must be some ADA compliant thing to let a wheelchair maneuver in there.
glatt Thursday Aug 16 07:39 AM
That folding bed is going to break in the first 10 years and the apartment will be rented unfurnished. Tenants will build loft beds.
captainhook455 Thursday Aug 16 09:11 AM
The thought of making up the queen size bed every night and then folding it into a couch in the day will get old quick.
glatt Thursday Aug 16 09:40 AM
Yeah. You would leave it as a bed and only fold it up if company is coming over.
xoxoxoBruce Thursday Aug 16 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Clodfobble
$2,180 a month for 310 square feet. The mind boggles.
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Degrees Thursday Aug 16 11:02 AM
$2,180 per month is "wow that's terrible" money to me. Although it looks like $630 per month is for Berkeley’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Even without it, still that would be $1,550 per month for 310 square feet. 
Glinda Saturday Aug 18 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Clodfobble
$2,180 a month for 310 square feet. The mind boggles.
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I used to live about 12 miles south of Berkeley. In 1998, I bought a 1286 sq condo for $115k. Six years later, I sold it for $350k. Yeah, I painted the whole thing, put in a ceiling fan, and installed a new heat/AC unit, but a nearly $40k increase in value per year is just nuts. (According to Zillow, that condo is worth $500k today, and the HOA charge is now $500/mo. Jeez.)
What's more nuts is, after I sold it, I couldn't find a fucking shack for less than $400k (unless I wanted a 1.5 hour commute to work every day).
Which is why I live where I do now.
glatt Saturday Aug 18 02:18 PM
High property prices are great if they go up just before you plan to move somewhere cheaper. Otherwise, they only mean you pay more in property tax. And that's if you already own. If you don't own, then they just mean you are screwed.
Glinda Sunday Aug 19 03:56 PM
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Originally Posted by glatt
High property prices are great if they go up just before you plan to move somewhere cheaper. Otherwise, they only mean you pay more in property tax. And that's if you already own. If you don't own, then they just mean you are screwed.
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I sold my condo just before the CA housing bubble went completely tits up. Four years later, it was listed at $150k.
A month after that, it was foreclosed to the lender for $111k. Yay me!
It took another 11 years for the value to return to where it was when I sold it. And now, it's worth even more. The California housing market is nucking FUTZ!
xoxoxoBruce Sunday Aug 19 06:27 PM
You're smarter then the average Bearess. 
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