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July 3, 2005

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By Dana PerriganSpecial to The Chronicle

Let’s face it: No matter how beloved, some family membersare difficult to deal with. They can be stubborn, cranky,seemingly impervious to reason and — unlike fine wine —

they don’t always age well.For Berkeley resident

Robert Kehlman, that de-scription serves as well forthe old Rose Grocery storehe has lived next to for thepast 34 years.

“It’s been a part of thefamily,” says Kehlman,who made a list linking hisson Ephraim’s growth tothe store’s progressive de-terioration.

When Ephraim enteredpreschool, the owners movedout; in kindergarten, the front window was broken; the first fireoccurred when he left grade school; in junior high, there was arat infestation; part of the back roof fell in when he flunkedarchery at Berkeley High; a second fire marked graduation; theentire back roof gave way as he entered college and, when hisInternet startup company failed, the store’s walls, in apparent

Life of the Rose — The photos at left are framed and hang inthe new condos. They show the Rose Grocery as it lookedshortly after it was built in 1908, at the peak of its neglect alittle more than a year ago, and as it looks today. Inset,developer and architect David Trachtenberg.

Photos by Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

A ROSEBLOOMSIN BERKELEY

1 ROSE GROCERY: Page J6

Historic storefront given new life asentryway to a pair of chic condos

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sympathy, collapsed.Ephraim is now 35 and the

proud father a recently born son.And the old store — built by Ger-man immigrant George Hunrickin 1908, abandoned in 1966 anddesignated a Structure of Merit bythe city in 1988 — has been re-born. That rebirth, in the form of apair of upscale condominiums,has alternately been hailed as anew way of building, an exampleof the architectural maturation ofAmerican culture and a model ofhow to work expeditiously withthe city’s regulatory commissions.

“I think a large part of the mar-ket is turned off by new houses inthe Bay Area,” says David Trach-tenberg, the Berkeley architectwho bought the 5,000-square-footlot a year ago. “People out thereare looking for better, but allthey’re getting is bigger. In thisage of scarce land, I think this re-presents a new way of building.”

Trachtenberg, whose commis-sions include the Berkeley Bowlon Shattuck Avenue and Cody’sBooks on Telegraph Avenue, re-jected the popular notion of build-ing the largest possible structurewith as many units as possible, ascheaply as possible, to maximizeprofit. Instead, he created a spacethat has an organic feel to it — twodwellings, with an interior court-yard of gravel and flagstone andgardens designed by his brotherRobert Trachtenberg of GardenArchitecture. The project wasbuilt by Kaufman Construction.

With 10-foot ceilings, sustain-able Brazilian cherrywood floorsand windows that allow light fromat least two directions, the condoshave an airiness and sense of spa-ciousness beyond their actual pro-portions. Combined with stonecounters, Viking ranges and otherquality interior appointments, thetwo condos appear refined and el-egant.

Red Oak Realty lists the 2,000-square-foot condo built at the rearof the lot, whose two floors con-tain two bedrooms, two full bathsand one partial bath, at $985,000.The 1,510-square-foot condo at2209 Rose has the same number ofbedrooms and baths and includesa separate 500-square-foot studiobuilt over the garage. It goes for$875,000.

While the restrictions imposedon development of a Structure ofMerit may have discouraged oth-ers, Trachtenberg considered it a

challenge and an opportunity. Heand his partner, Dr. Laurie White,sat down at a meeting with themayor, council members, zoningand planning officials, and neigh-borhood residents.

“What allowed us to move veryquickly was the sort of coming to-gether of various planets,” saysMark Rhodes, head of Berkeley’sPlanning Commission. “The proj-ect application was consistentwith the needs and desires of theneighbors and the city. We don’tget that very often — no city does.So when you get one, you try to

move quickly.” “There’s a perception out there

that Berkeley’s hard to work in,”says Trachtenberg. “I don’t findthat the case. It was actually quiteeasy. The process was fast. We satin a room for a couple of hoursand came up with a solution.”

“He (Trachtenberg) thoughtoutside the box,” says Kehlman,who led the neighborhood contin-gent. “The neighborhood was sol-idly behind this.”

As former head of the Land-marks Preservation Commission,Kehlman had argued against des-ignating the old store a Structureof Merit.

“That designation put a lot oflimitation and restrictions on thesite,” he says. “I thought it was abad idea. As is turns out, it was agood idea. It’s one of the most in-teresting features of the neighbor-hood.”

The store’s original owner,Hunrick, had come to Californiato study banking with the founderof the Bank of America, A.P. Gian-nini. In 1906, he moved to Berke-ley and ran a grocery store onShattuck. Two years later, hemoved his business to the RoseStreet location to serve the grow-ing population in the north Berke-ley hills.

There were a number of spe-cialty shops in the area, known asthe Berryman Station shoppingdistrict. It was connected to otherparts of the city by a network ofstreetcar and train lines. Becausehomes lacked refrigeration, resi-dents would place orders for gro-ceries in the morning. In the after-noon, the groceries were deliv-ered.

The distinctive architecturalfeature of Hunrick’s store was itsMission Revival false-front para-pet, which the city wanted to re-tain. Trachtenberg incorporatedthe store’s facade in his design.The Rose Grocery sign remains.Below it, copper panels cover gar-age doors, flanked by carvedwooden pilasters, in place of thewindows in which Hunrick oncedisplayed his wares. A historicalplaque marks the site of the store’sentrance.

Having to keep the facadeturned out to be a boon for Trac-tenberg. Because he did not haveto abide by the city’s requirementfor a setback on new residential lotdevelopment, more space couldbe utilized.

It also meant that he could di-verge from the traditional patternof American home design — adwelling fronted by a large yard —and create something that he be-lieves works better: The idea of agated front wall that leads into aprivate courtyard, where thebuildings are connected to gar-dens. The architect believes this —examples of which can be foundin many Italian dwellings — helpsresidents make a deeper emotion-al connection to their homes.

Trachtenberg considers thischange in architectural philoso-phy as a big shift in Americanhome design.

“People are looking for simple,solid, livable space that doesn’t re-quire a lot of resources,” he says.“Where they can walk to places.Where they can live without a car.I think that there’s a cutting-edgegroup of people out there forwhom the great luxury is simplic-ity. It’s a maturation of our cul-ture.”

Kehlman, who once viewed theold grocery store as a troublesomerelative, says he and the neighborsare more than pleased with thetransformation.

“In point of fact,” he says, “itwas ugly. It was an eyesore. But it’snot ugly anymore. Now, when welook out of our kitchen windowwe see a nice fence, lots of lightand a beautiful property — maybeit was worth the wait.”

The two condominiums at2211 and 2209 Rose St. in Berkeleywill be open today from 2 to 5 p.m.

E-mail Dana Perrigan atperrigan2000@yahoo.com.

COVER STORYThe two condos at 2211 and2209 Rose St. in Berkeley areseparated by a courtyard. The2,000-square-foot condo built atthe rear of the lot is listed at$985,000. The 1,510-square-footcondo at 2209 Rose is listed at$875,000.

Photos by Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

The Rose Street condos arefinished nicely with Braziliancherrywood floors and stonecounter work, above. Left,private outdoor space is anurban bonus.

BLOOM OFTHE ROSE1 ROSE GROCERYFrom Page J1