1600 SHATTUCK
1600 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, California
Located in “The Gourmet Ghetto” area of Shattuck Avenue, this building once housed a mortuary and acquired the name, “The Dead Center.” It was remodeled several times over the years, and in the early ’80s it was turned into a Los Angeles-style strip mall. When UDP co-founder Steven Pontes first saw 1600 Shattuck, he thought it might be the ugliest building on the planet. Besides the unattractive mall exterior, construction challenges included a 1st floor that was 4 feet above the sidewalk and a large interior courtyard. Still, because of its ideal North Berkeley location, Steven saw an opportunity to revitalize a property that had enormous potential, and he purchased it in 1999. Working with architect Kava Massih, the entire face of the building was torn down and rebuilt from scratch, and the first floor was brought back to ground level. 1600 Shattuck now has an artistic look and is a successful office and retail property. We’re delighted to be working with Kava Massih on one of our current redevelopments, the Reliable Parts Building on SE Division in Portland, Oregon.
