BERKELEY — Demolition looms for the last historic theater in downtown Berkeley after the city council unanimously sided Tuesday with a developer seeking to build a 17-story apartment complex over a local group looking to preserve the art space.

A 227-unit housing development with a ground floor cafe is poised to replace the United Artists Theater at 2274 Shattuck Ave., a once grand 1,800-seat movie palace built in 1932 that was converted into a seven-screen theater before being shuttered by Cineworld in 2023.

A grassroots movement to save the theater has swelled over the past two years, arguing the proposal does not abide by state environmental laws which include protections for historic resources.

The United Artists Theater — part of a chain of film houses developed during the Great Depression by the United Artists Corporation, a production company founded by film legends like Charlie Chaplin — has been listed on the California Register of Historical Resources since 2006. That designation requires the developer to conduct a full assessment of how their project will substantially impact the historic value of the building, the Save the United Artists Theater Berkeley group argues.

Housing developer Panoramic Interests, on the other hand, submitted technical reports that argued the building has been modified so much over the years that it no longer contains critical characteristics that reflect its historic qualities. All that the developer would need to preserve is the facade of the building, which was deemed a historic resource worth protecting by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2024.

“We are doing everything that the LPC asked us to do in this project, which includes restoring the facade, restoring the lobby and incorporating the significant architectural details that remain in the building in the new structure,” said Panoramic Interests owner Patrick Kennedy.

City staff sided with the developers despite a commissioned peer review that found the project would likely have a significant impact on the historic site. The Zoning Adjustment Board granted Panoramic Interests the approval it needed to demolish the building this past December.

That decision was appealed to the city council which, during a special meeting Tuesday, voted to back the Zoning Adjustment Board’s decision and grant the developer demolition rights. While sympathetic to the preservation group’s arguments, councilmembers said they stand by staff’s assessment of the issue, shared doubts the theater can be profitably reopened and underscored the benefits the new project would bring to the city.

In addition to new housing, including 27 below-market-rate units, the project would bring with it an estimated $7 million in development fees and about $2 million annually in property taxes to the city.

“I understand how hard it is to say goodbye to this place full of memories. I’ve seen probably 50 movies there. The change is inevitable,” Councilmember Shoshana O’Keefe said after rattling off the names of other theaters and performing arts spaces still operating in the city. “If we want those cultural venues to survive and we want a vibrant downtown, we have to move toward growth. We have to say goodbye to this. It’s not coming back and we need to instead bring more people downtown.”

Save the UA group founder Rose Ellis, a long-time renter who said she lives paycheck to paycheck and is currently caring for three family members with disabilities, said she understands and supports calls to build more housing. Their movement wasn’t aimed at stopping the project altogether.

It’s hard to say when construction will begin given market uncertainty, partly related to discussions around tariffs, Kennedy said Tuesday. After breaking ground, construction will take about two years, he said.

With the council’s decision now made, Save the UA is now left to consider pursuing possibly the last remedy to preserving the theater, a lawsuit. Save the UA member Laura Linden said the option is on the table, but she and Ellis noted the group is made up of working class people with little disposable income to fund a legal fight.

“We’re a grassroots group that’s feisty and fierce but we have modest means,” Linden said after the meeting Tuesday, pushing back on assertions Save the UA members are bored, wealthy, anti-housing advocates.