This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Berkeley Lab Decision Pushed to 2012

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory officials had said they would aim to make their site selection for a proposed second campus before Thanksgiving.

In a surprise announcement Tuesday morning, Berkeley Lab officials said their decision about where to locate a proposed second campus to consolidate bio-science research operations throughout the East Bay, will have to wait until early 2012.

According to a time line Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released earlier this year, officials had planned to announce the winning site, from among six finalists, in late November. 

Albany's racetrack is one of these finalists. Racetrack developers have been working non-stop for months to come up with a winning proposal, as city officials and community members have attempted to find answers to a dizzying list of questions, and weigh what this change might mean for Albany's future.

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos said, in Tuesday's news release, that officials "need a bit more time to fully evaluate our options and to confer with stakeholders in order to arrive at the best possible decision" in light of "extremely thoughtful responses from the communities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond."

Lab officials have stated that one key consideration will be to locate the second campus in a welcoming community that wants the facility in its midst.

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Berkeleyside, which has been following this topic closely, lab spokesman Jon Weiner "said it was both the volume of information and the complexity of the decision" that led to new 2012 deadline.

Is Albany a good fit for the second campus? Tell us in the comments.

Read more about the process for selecting the proposed second campus of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Albany Patch here.

Want updates when we write about the second campus? Click the "Keep me posted" button below.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?