People’s Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places a week ago.
The People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group said the designation was in recognition of the park’s historical significance to the Bay Area’s cultural and political evolution stretching back to the turbulent 1960s.
Leaders of the group told Berkeleysidethey hope the historical designation will persuade UC-Berkeley to end its plans to build a 12-story housing development for 11-hundred students on the site.
But, so far, the university seems unmoved.
A Cal-Berkeley spokesman told Berkeleyside that the designation is “honorific” and doesn’t have restrictions on future use or development.
The university hasn’t set a date when it plans to start construction at People’s Park, but the City of Berkeley has begun the process of resettling about 55 people – who call the park home – to the Rodeway Inn. Those accepting the offer will receive a year-and-a-half of transitional housing.
