Grosvenor's North American property business celebrated the topping out of its downtown Berkeley fully furnished rental apartment building today with a “topping off” barbecue event attended by the project team and members of the construction trades.  The building, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and located at 1951 Shattuck Ave., features 163 Class A residences, 5,000 square feet of retail space and two floors of parking.

The property was designed  in alignment with Grosvenor’s World Green Building Council commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. It has achieved GreenPoint Rated Gold certification, California’s independent rating system, based on healthy, energy- and resource-efficient residences. 1951 Shattuck includes electric vehicle charging stations and all electric ranges in the kitchens. All natural gas was voluntarily removed from the interior of all homes.

“We’re excited to share this beautiful, sustainable new building in the heart of downtown Berkeley,” said Steve Buster, Grosvenor’s Senior Vice President of Development in San Francisco. “It will bring much-needed new rental housing to the market.”

The building, which is expected to be completed early next year, offers sweeping views of downtown Berkeley, the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate bridge, Sausalito and Berkeley/Oakland Hills and easy access to multiple transportation options, including the Downtown Berkeley BART station just two blocks away. Under a project labor agreement, Grosvenor and its construction partners utilized 100% local union workers. It also worked to contribute more than $6 million to the city’s Affordable Housing Fund and over $500k to the city’s Public Art Fund. 

Grosvenor’s community commitment also included partnering with Berkeley Food & Housing’s HOPE project an affordable housing development committed to serving Berkeley’s veteran and chronically homeless populations, and supporting First Source hiring, a program which promotes local hiring.

Grosvenor has also developed high-quality urban residential properties in other vibrant, walkable locations in transit-oriented San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods, including 288 Pacific in Jackson Square, Crescent on Nob Hill, and 1645 Pacific Avenue in Russian Hill.