en.Wedoany.com Reported - Plans to build over 700 apartments above the North Berkeley BART station made progress this month, with two nonprofit organizations submitting building permit applications to the city, but the overall project timeline has been further delayed to early 2027.

BART spokesperson Chris Filippi stated that the North Berkeley Housing Partners, leading the project, has informed the transit agency that the earliest possible groundbreaking will be in early 2027. Previously, city and transit system officials had planned to start construction in 2025, and in March, BART pushed the expected timeline to early 2026.

The development plan, located on an 8-acre parking lot, will include 13 buildings with a total of 739 apartments, 381 of which are affordable housing units. The project is led by affordable housing developer BRIDGE Housing, with members including the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), Insight Housing, and for-profit company AvalonBay.

Berkeley's online permit center shows that Insight Housing applied for a building permit on December 3 for its project at the corner of Sacramento Street and Virginia Street, a six-story, 85-unit permanent supportive housing building. EBALDC spokesperson Emma Falley said the organization also submitted an application last week for a six-story, 60-unit project at Sacramento Street and Delaware Street.

After years of debate and with the help of state laws to expedite the approval process, city planning staff approved the North Berkeley project in late 2024. However, the project faces economic challenges such as rising construction costs, high interest rates, and softening market-rate rents. The North Berkeley Housing Partners has divided the development into two phases, starting with three affordable housing projects along Sacramento Street, including buildings by Insight Housing and EBALDC, and a 120-unit complex developed by BRIDGE Housing between them. The second phase will include an additional 116 units by BRIDGE Housing and 358 market-rate apartments by AvalonBay, but a BART spokesperson said in March that the AvalonBay project has been paused pending market improvement.

Insight Housing spokesperson Elizabeth Potter said the organization agrees with Filippi's estimate of a 2027 start. Potter provided a statement from Insight Housing CEO Calleene Egan, which said the organization hopes to "secure final funding in 2026 and then begin construction." EBALDC spokesperson Emma Falley declined to comment on EBALDC's construction timeline.

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