NX Ventures Moves Ahead on Apartment Building in Berkeley

NX Ventures has unveiled the look of a 207-unit apartment building in Berkeley.

The Berkeley-based developer has moved forward on plans to build the eight-story complex at 1598 University Avenue, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The building would replace two commercial buildings containing a pizza restaurant and a Chinese language center, plus a parking lot at University Avenue and California Street, a mile from the UC Berkeley campus.

Plans call for a 134,400-square-foot building containing 149 studios, 20 one-bedroom and 38 two-bedroom apartments, according to SFYimby. The project is seeking a 50 percent density bonus in exchange for affordable housing.

Of its 207 units, either 30 or 31 apartments would be set aside as affordable housing for very-low-income tenants, according to the Mercury News.

Along the street, the building would include 5,900 square feet of shops and restaurants, including a cafe and “beverage shop,” according to the Mercury News. A parking lot would serve 39 cars and 82 bicycles.

The ground floor would include a club room and fitness center, plus a 6,300-square-foot courtyard garden.

The caramel-and-putty project, designed by Trachtenberg Architects, would be sheathed with insulated metal panels and include banks of vertical windows, each topped by a horizontal awning, according to renderings. A large mural would rise above the cafe.

NX Ventures bought the three-parcel lot at 1548-1598 University Avenue in September 2021 for $5 million, according to the San Francisco Business Times. An apartment building it developed three blocks east at 1812 University is occupied mostly by students.

NX has filed plans to build another 28-story apartment building proposed at 1998 Shattuck Avenue. The 317-foot-tall building, the tallest in town, is also designed by Trachtenberg Architects.

The NX-Trachtenberg duo is also behind a 16-story apartment building planned for 2420 Shattuck Avenue, and a 221-unit project with room for shops and restaurants at 2920 Shattuck Avenue.

Six buildings between 16 and 28 stories are proposed in Berkeley’s central core, enabled by state legislation that makes it easier for developers to build residential buildings regardless of whether cities want them or not.

— Dana Bartholomew