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By Dan Greenman 

Daily Planet Staff 

A one-stop recycling “mall” where people can drop off or pick up used computers, old household appliances and scrap metal will soon be in full operation in southwest Berkeley. 

Urban Ore, a recyclable materials center, partially relocated one year ago from a site at Gilman and Sixth streets to a warehouse building at 900 Murray St. Its plans are to team up with similar businesses to create an Eco Industrial Park of “green” businesses. 

“The concept of an Eco Park is to bring together companies that are similar in that they recycle and reuse products,” said Ted Burton, economic development project coordinator for the city, who has helped Urban Ore set up the Eco Park. “When they are sharing space they can also share information and sell products to each other.” 

When the Eco Park is complete, a group of local businesses will operate out of the 47,000-square-foot building. Another building may be relocated to the two-acre site to create even more usable space. 

Earlier this year Urban Ore owner Dan Knapp established a seven-person design team of contractors and architects to draw up plans for the new location. Urban Ore then negotiated with the city for five months over architectural and seismic issues for the building. 

Urban Ore has moved only part of its operation to the site. In September it received permits to move the rest of its business as well as other businesses to Murray Street. 

“We had estimated it would take less time to get the permits at the start,” Knapp said. “We were surprised at the amount of changes that we went through.” 

The building still needs a seismic retrofit before Urban Ore can finish moving in. 

“Our first order of business is to get code work done on the main building so we can move the rest of our business there,” Knapp said. 

Burton said the seismic retrofit alone will cost about $800,000. 

While no leases have been signed yet to move other business into the building, a few have been named as possible partners. 

“There are other businesses that want to be a part of the Eco Park, and we want them to be in there,” Knapp said.  

Urban Ore is working on a permit that will allow the Computer Resource Center, an Alameda County nonprofit business that collects used computers, to relocate to the site. Berkeley Neighborhood Computers, a business that gives computers to low-income residents, is also planning to join the Eco Park. 

“We want to be part of that community of recyclers,” said Bill Mack, director of Berkeley Neighborhood Computers. “It’s great if people can bring used computers and other things to be reused to the same place at the same time.” 

Mack said Berkeley Neighborhood Computers should move to Murray Street from its current San Pablo Avenue location in a matter of months, but no specific date has been set. 

“We are hoping to move as soon as possible because it will be a much better location for us,” he said. 

Work on the main building will cost approximately $1.4 million, which Urban Ore will fund, Knapp said. The business already has a $200,000 contract with the state and Knapp said he expects the city and county to contribute money as well. 

Urban Ore signed a lease for the Murray Street location on Dec. 22, 1999 and started moving some of its business across town a week later. It finished moving two sections of the business (Building Materials Exchange and Salvage and Recycling, a scrap management section) to the new site in February.  

Urban Ore’s other three sections, which buy, sell and trade materials – The General Store, Arts and Media Exchange, and Hardware Exchange – are still located at 1333 Sixth St. Knapp said all of Urban Ore should be relocated by the end of next year.