The parcel is being marketed as the Berkeley Innovation & Technology Park. It is one of three large parcels in West Berkeley that are currently for sale.
Commercial development
Posted inHousing & Development
A vision for Berkeley’s old Pacific Steel Casting site: A hub for industrial innovation
Dozens gathered to discuss what should be done with the 8.3-acre site near Second Street. Most said it must be preserved for manufacturing uses to keep Berkeley a diverse place in which to live.
Posted inBusiness
Pacific Steel Casting Company finances revealed during bankruptcy hearing
The equity firm that bought the company in 2014 only put $2.5 million of its own funds into the business, but took out $11.25 million in distributions, according to Pacific Steel Casting’s vice-president of finance.
Posted inHousing & Development
Best Western Plus set to open in May: 1 of 2 new Berkeley hotels in 25 years
The small hotel is slated to open at an intersection near North Berkeley BART after stalled planning and a recession left the site vacant for more than 10 years.
Posted inBusiness
Pacific Steel Casting files for bankruptcy. Top executives get paid, but workers don’t get severance
The 84-year old company said as early as 2017 that it had to shut down because of financial issues. It repaid the equity firm that bought it $3.8M in 2018, but none of the workers got severance pay.
Posted inNosh
Despite sale of building, 48-year-old Berkeley Natural Grocery will stay open
Before putting the building up for sale, the seller signed a five-year lease with a five-year option to protect the business.
Posted inBusiness
Berkeley’s shuttered Pacific Steel owes around $1M in severance pay to workers
The company did reach a settlement to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars it owed to workers’ health and pension funds.
Posted inBusiness
Berkeley wants input on Pacific Steel Casting plant’s future
The land is zoned for manufacturing and the city wants to hear ideas about how to convert it from heavy industrial use. That will also make it easier to sell.
Posted inCity
Berkeley’s new $40M, 720-car Center Street garage opens today
350 bicycles can also park in the structure, along with 20 electric cars (it’s wired for an additional 37). There is an area for public art and a store.
Posted inBusiness
End of an era: Berkeley’s Pacific Steel Casting shuts down after 84 years
The closure of the city’s last big “smokestack” factory means the end of well-paid union jobs. But it also means neighbors will no longer be bothered by a ‘burnt pot handle’ smell.
Posted inHousing & Development
UC Berkeley has plans for its former, now empty, art museum
The bunker-like building on Bancroft Way that has sat empty for four years, ever since BAMPFA left for shiny new digs downtown, may one day be a life sciences hub.
Posted inBusiness
Temporary reprieve for workers: Pacific Steel Casting to remain open through March
Business has picked up at the 83-year-old company, one of Berkeley’s last remaining heavy industrial plants.