Construction of apartments for formerly unhoused and low-income people is planned to begin after the fall 2027 opening of a new student housing building — named Judith E. Heumann House — and revitalized open space.

By Jason Pohl

The building will include approximately 100 apartments as well as on-site support services and case management that help provide for residents’ well-being and stability.

LMS Architects/Hood Design Studio

December 11, 2025

Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, a Bay Area nonprofit with 60 years of experience in affordable housing, will construct and operate a new building for formerly unhoused and low-income individuals at People’s Park, UC Berkeley officials announced Thursday.

Once completed, the building will include approximately 100 apartments as well as on-site support services and case management that help provide for residents’ well-being and stability. Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA) will develop and finalize plans with the project’s architecture team, officials said. While additional apartments might be added as design and funding details are finalized, the overall size and exterior design will remain essentially unchanged fromwhat was originally announced.

“We’re proud to welcome SAHA as a new partner in the People’s Park housing project,” Chancellor Rich Lyons said. “Our provision of this land for this project underscores the university’s deep commitment to advance the greater good by expanding the supply of urgently needed housing for our community’s most vulnerable residents. We look forward to continuing our extraordinary partnership with the city of Berkeley that has been so essential for this project.”

The city previously allocated $14.5 million to the project from the Measure O affordable housing bond, which voters passed in 2018. The state is providing an additional $16.6 million through the No Place Like Home program. The funds — which cover about half of the projected construction costs — have been extended to SAHA, which in the coming months will work alongside UC Berkeley to pursue additional funding to build and operate the project.

When it opens, the supportive and affordable housing project will become part of Alameda County’s coordinated housing system. Future residents will be referred through the county’s existing processes and waiting lists.

“Satellite Affordable Housing Associates is honored to have been selected by UC Berkeley to develop and operate supportive and affordable housing as a key component of the People’s Park housing project,” said Susan Friedland, CEO of SAHA. “We are proud to bring six decades of affordable housing development and operating experience to our local community here in Berkeley.”

The supportive and affordable housing at People’s Park will be adjacent to Judith E. Heumann House, which will house more than 1,100 undergraduates.

LMS Architects/Hood Design Studio

From San Jose to Santa Rosa, SAHA has developed and operates dozens of affordable housing communities throughout the Bay Area. Its properties provide housing and services for more than 4,000 residents in seven Northern California counties.

Prior to the closure of People’s Park, the campus partnered with the city and First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley to establish Sacred Rest, a community-led daytime drop-in center in the Telegraph neighborhood. Now in its third year, the facility provides a safe place to rest, use a bathroom, access on-site services and connect with staff and volunteers from public and nonprofit agencies that support people experiencing homelessness.

Since 2017, the campus has also employed a full-time social worker focused on unhoused individuals. Working with local service providers and public agencies, the social worker has helped hundreds of people and their families secure permanent housing and the resources needed to remain housed.

Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii celebrated Thursday’s announcement and the ongoing collaboration, which she said represents an “innovative partnership” that will help lift people out of homelessness.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with UC Berkeley and supporting SAHA as they bring this much-needed housing to completion,” Ishii said.

Thursday’s announcement was the latest in a series of milestones this year for the student housing development at People’s Park. Construction crews added the steel beams that mark the highest point on the project over the summer. And in August, campus leaders announced the 11-story student housing project will be named Judith E. Heumann House, commemorating the disability rights leader who championed accessibility and justice around the world.

Heumann House is expected to open in time for the 2027 fall semester.

In January, UC Berkeley will also begin construction on the Bancroft-Fulton Student Housing project. Once it opens in 2028, the campus will have increased its housing capacity by more than 50% since launching its student housing initiative in 2018.