Document Watch: Latest Racetrack-Berkeley Lab Presentation

developers presented their latest plan to the Waterfront Committee on Sept. 7. Developers said Monday, Sept. 19, that they will have a somewhat redesigned plan to show in the near future. Go to a to learn more. The City Council to create a task force to study the property's future.

Watch the full presentation from the Waterfront Committee on KALB here. See the PDF version of the complete presentation from developers to the right.

Highlights from the Sept. 7 presentation by Steve Guest (RMW), project architect

• Amenities include a shoreline park with panoramic Bay views; a clean-up of the watershed; a park along the eastern side of the site with trails and a boardwalk through the marsh; activity areas for kite flying or playing fields; a network of pedestrian and bike trails
• Developers would add a road to connect Gilman and Buchanan streets
• First phase includes two lower "fingers" of lab buildings; a later phase would include two additional "fingers"
• The public could expect "campus open space" that would be manicured, fence-free and "completely open"
• Current design includes 2 million square feet of lab space and 2.5 million square feet of additional development, including 750,000 square feet of development in Albany
• Developers are looking at lab and office space and a hotel in Albany; in Berkeley they are looking at another potential hotel, housing, private sector labs and office space
• Parking would be hidden underground via a "raised groundplane" up to "the traditional place where Fleming Hill used to be"

Highlights from Cinda Gilliland (SWA), landscape architect

• Goal is to create a setting for buildings in a natural landscape, and make the landscape work at multiple levels
• Many different landscape possibilities for habitat due to varying elevations and geologies 
• 10 different habitat zones: Restoration of salt marsh, coastal habitats, oak woodlands and riparian areas, dune habitat, marsh, coastal scrub and coastal prarie
• The "upland area," including the campus, could include oak woodland and upland meadows
• "Entry ellipse" would include potential for community gathering space with retail around it
• Large lawn area on Fleming Hill might include playing fields
• Developers want "landscape to function for many people at different levels," with "passive as well as active programs"
• Activities could include wildlife viewing, walking, viewing scenery, picnics
• Picking up on "art heritage" at the Albany Bulb, there will be places "where art might be scattered about on the site"
• Could have a kayak put-in spot at the cove, with another one possible near Gilman Street
• On the eastern side, "linear park along the creek" with restored wetland habitat, areas to walk and engage space in different ways
• Coastal zone will include areas for picnicking, hiking, with a "natural area transition to the Bay and tidelands"; open water bird viewing and kayak put-in spots
• In sum: "We want to create a place ... with a lot of variety that's welcoming to many types of people. Things close to buildings will feel more urban, with wide spaces for people to stroll and sit."

See the city's project website at http://www.voicestovision.com. The developers also have a website: http://lbnlatggf.com.

Read more about the process for selecting the proposed second campus of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Albany Patch here.

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Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.