Infamous Co-Op Gets New Name, Fresh Start

Amidst enthusiasm from new student tenants, co-op officials and neighbors, Hillegass-Parker House, formerly known as Le Chateau co-op, opened Aug. 21 with a new name, a new look and a new attitude.

The Southside co-op, which was given a $225,000 renovation over the summer, now sports a new coat of paint, new finish on the floors and new carpet for bedrooms and stairwells, as well as professional interior decorating.

The University Students' Cooperative Association, which operates 17 rooming houses and three apartment complexes in Berkeley, hopes the cleaning efforts will mend relations between the co-op and its neighbors, who in 2004 fought a year-long legal battle with the association over Le Chateau's noise levels and appearance.

The renamed house, now only open to graduate and re-entry students, currently houses 57 students and has a substantial waiting list.

The newfound interest in the co-op is a result of its revamped look and calmer environment, said Kathryn McCarthy, community relations and development director of the association.

General Manager George Proper said he hopes the switch from schoolwide tenants to graduate students will foster healthy relations with the co-op's neighbors.

In the spring, Le Chateau was closed due to complaints from neighbors and the costs of a small claims lawsuit, in which 15 of the 22 neighbors who sued the association were awarded a total of $63,000 in damages.

George Beier, president of the Willard Neighborhood Association, a nearby neighbors' group, said he now expects more quiet and less chaos.

"Changing the culture from the undergraduate culture to the graduate student culture (is) a big shift," Beier said. "I think that that particular house had sort of an anarchist nature, and we found it very difficult to work with that group of people. I do not think we'll have that problem at all with the new group."

McCarthy agreed that relations are already improving, citing a recent private tour for neighbors, and the recently published Good Neighbor brochure, a joint production from neighbors and co-op residents.

Many new tenants were also pleased with the changes.

"I think we have a new community and I think the neighbors are aware that we're a different group from the people who were here before," said tenant Galen Hancock.

But former House Manager Ian Latta lamented the end of the unique Le Chateau spirit.

"I think it was a really short-sighted decision," Latta said. "It destroyed a really great co-operative and replaced it with this more institutional, impersonal community."

The neighborhood association will hold a yard sale Sept. 11 in an attempt to bring student tenants and permanent residents together. The co-op association will hold an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the house Oct. 7.

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