The Medak Center: New Berkeley Rep artist housing complex to let passersby view plays in progress

The same week tensions came to a head over the prospect of building housing at UC Berkeley’s People’s Park, another longtime residential project evolved just a few blocks away. Over at 2009 Addison St., a new apartment building was receiving final touches before its planned opening in September. It will have full amenities, exclusive clientele and the backing of one of the most prominent performance organizations in the country. It also finally has a name: the Medak Center. The performance organization is the renowned Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and the new building next door is named after Susie Medak, the Rep’s managing director and a driving force behind the creation of the complex.

As explained to me by artistic director Johanna Pfaelzer — who inherited the project and took her role in 2019, the same year the complex broke ground — the Medak Center apartment complex will act as a “home away from home” for talent not local to the Bay Area.