The Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center, which previously housed Berkeley community spaces such as a gymnasium and an arts and crafts center, is undergoing renovations as part of a project to improve community facilities surrounding Grove Park.
The city has since demolished the center in preparation for remodeling and safety improvements, with the exception of the gym, according to Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Department director Scott Ferris. The construction started in late July, and the city of Berkeley held a groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 5.
Ferris said the building will be undergoing a seismic retrofit, which involves redoing the center’s foundation and walls so that it won’t collapse in the event of a major earthquake.
“We wanted to make the building seismically safe so that we could use it as an emergency shelter for Berkeley residents in case there was an emergency,” Ferris said. “We also wanted to update the programming areas, the locker rooms, the art rooms, the computer labs (and) the kitchen.”
When the center reopens, the city plans to host tutoring sessions, mental health classes and violence prevention workshops, among other events. Ferris said there will also be an after-school program for middle school students.
Updates to the Youth Services Center will cost the city $13 million in total, with $11 million funding construction. The project is partially funded by phase two of Measure T1, which allocates a total of $100 million in bonds to improve the city’s infrastructure and facilities.
Ferris added that the city has been upgrading facilities surrounding Grove Park, such as the playground, softball field and basketball courts, over the past 10 years. He said the renovation of the Youth Services Center will conclude that project and that solar panels will supplement existing utilities at the center.
“All the infrastructure is being set up so that we can install solar (power) once we’re complete,” Ferris said.
City of Berkeley | Courtesy
The city has also commissioned public artist Sorell Raino-Tsui, also known by the artist name Tsui Xiao Rui, to create a mosaic for the front side of the building. Five finalists were chosen from a national call for artist proposals, and Raino-Tsui was the only local Berkeley artist to place and eventually win.
Raino-Tsui’s proposal, tentatively titled “South Berkeley Shines 2” as a sequel to another local mural, features local historic figures, different textures representing the land, sea and sky, as well as a bead pattern drafted by local Lisjan Ohlone artist Renee Ring.
To Raino-Tsui, having the opportunity to create public art for the city where he grew up is a “full-circle moment.”
“Most of my work is in Chinatown, but Berkeley is where I grew up,” Raino-Tsui said. “I went to Malcolm X Elementary, which is right around the block there. I play basketball at Grove Park … It feels like kind of a legacy piece to me.”
The remodeled center is slated to open in January or February 2027, according to Ferris.