The BFHP Hope Center & Berkeley Way
2012 & 2020 Berkeley Way
– Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín
An innovative approach to easing and ending the crisis of homelessness in Berkeley
This project will be a joint development between Berkeley Food & Housing Project and BRIDGE Housing. Our goal is to create a continuum of affordable and very low-income housing that is integrated into the fabric of a vibrant downtown community, rich in transit and services.
The development consists of two distinct entities in one architecturally unified building, designed by award-winning Bay Area architects Leddy Maytum Stacy.
Aerial view March 2021 
Aerial view May 2021
The BFHP Hope Center
Berkeley Food & Housing Project’s portion of the development will consist of:
- 32 shelter beds for homeless adult men
- 53 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless and disabled men and women
- 12 transitional housing beds for homeless male veterans (in partnership with the VA)
- Offices for support staff and partner agencies such as LifeLong Medical and Berkeley Mental Health
- A commercial kitchen and dining facility for residents and daily Community Meal
Who will the Hope Center serve?
The BFHP Hope Center is designed to serve Berkeley’s very low-income, disabled and chronically homeless population through an innovative integration of housing and onsite support services. Planned in close collaboration with the City of Berkeley, it is a vital part of the overall plan to find housing and a permanent stable solution for the city’s estimated 1000 people experiencing homelessness.
There is a critical need for shelter and housing for our homeless, and the HOPE Center integrates shelter, services, and housing in one location. With this one project we can make significant progress to reduce homelessness in our city.
~ Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín
(Mayor Arreguín toured the site with Councilmember Kate Harrison and other in September 2021)
The Vision Behind the BFHP Hope Center
The BFHP Hope Center is not only about housing, it’s about creating a space of safety, sanctuary, dignity and possibilities for human growth. A place in which aspirations and hopes for a better future are represented physically by an abundance of natural light, warm colors, lush green spaces, and common areas that encourage connection, rest, and restoration. The Center is a place where those facing housing insecurity can begin a journey out of homelessness into a community that embodies warmth, welcome, respect, and dignity.
View of the Hope Center from Shattuck (Architectural Rendering by LMS) 
The BFHP Hope Center Courtyard (Architectural Rendering by LMS)
In its entirety, the project will provide the single largest infusion of low-income and affordable housing in the history of Berkeley. The BFHP Hope Center is currently the largest permanent supportive housing for the homeless in development in Berkeley.
It’s location in a transit and service-rich downtown area allows the center’s residents to easily access a range of additional low/no-cost local services, including: legal assistance, disability transportation assistance, senior recreational and social services, and food pantry services.
I’ve been longing to see a project like this that can give our unhoused community a new and positive direction. Thank you for making this a possibility. We at Berkeley Rotary look forward to further opportunities for volunteer service and partnership.
~ Anne Pardee
Berkeley Rotary Club
Supportive Housing Committee
(Anne and other Rotary members toured the site in February 2021)
Berkeley Way Apartments
The BRIDGE portion of the development will contain 89 units of affordable housing, that will be available to the general public on a lottery basis, at between 50% and 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). These will be studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom rental units, owned and managed by BRIDGE Housing.
Berkeley Way Courtyard (Architectural Rendering by LMS) 
View of Berkeley Way from Milvia (Architectural Rendering by LMS)
Funding and Timeline
BRIDGE Housing, a leading developer and builder of affordable housing in California and the Pacific Northwest, is taking the lead in securing the majority of funding from public sources.
- The City of Berkeley has committed $27M to the project, not including the value of the land on which we will build
- Other funding sources include Alameda County Affordable Housing Bond Measure A1, State programs such as No Place Like Home (NPLH) and Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities (AHSC), as well as tax credit equity and the proceeds from a private capital campaign, currently under way.
The estimated cost of the entire development is approximately $120M.
The project broke ground on July 7, 2020 and we anticipate construction will be complete in 2022.
Click below to donate to support the BFHP Hope Center.
To learn more about how you can get involved, contact us at development@bfhp.org.