Berkley, Michigan

Berkley, Michigan
City
Downtown Berkley Downtown Berkley
Location in the state of Michigan
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Oakland
Incorporated	1923 (village)
	1932 (city)
Government
• Manager	Jane Bais-Disessa
Area
• Total	2.6 sq mi (6.8 km2)
• Land	2.6 sq mi (6.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	686 ft (209 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	15,531
• Density	5,925.5/sq mi (2,288.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	48072
Area code	248
FIPS code	26-07660Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0621157Template:GR
Website	http://www.berkleymich.org

Berkley is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the total population was 15,531.

Berkley's downtown area stretches along 12 Mile Road between Greenfield Road and Coolidge Highway, and along Coolidge Highway between 12 Mile Road and 11 Mile Road. Berkley's town offices and public safety headquarters are located on 12 Mile Road just east of Coolidge Highway. The Berkley Parks and Recreation department is located on Catalpa Drive, just east of Anderson Middle School. This includes the tennis courts, ice arena, baseball diamonds, and a park.

Since Berkley's eastern border is formed by Woodward Avenue, the city is an active participant in the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, a popular classic car showcase in the Metro Detroit area.

There are many churches, of a variety of denominations, in Berkley. The largest is the Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of La Salette and the novitiate for the Chicago and Detroit provinces of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Loyola House, is located in Berkley as well.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 15,531 people, 6,678 households, and 4,020 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,925.5 per square mile (2,288.8/km²). There were 6,833 housing units at an average density of 2,607.0 per square mile (1,007.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.09% White, 0.70% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.

There were 6,678 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 38.2% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $57,620, and the median income for a family was $66,968. Males had a median income of $50,276 versus $36,624 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,504. About 2.5% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

The Berkley School District operates in all of Berkley, all of Huntington Woods, and the north section of Oak Park. The school district includes four elementary schools (Rogers, Burton, Pattengill, and Angell), one Kindergarten-8th grade school (Norup International), one middle school (Anderson), and one high school (Berkley High School). Norup became an International Baccalaureate Candidate school this year implementing the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) for all students. Norup International is working towards becoming an authorized IB World School in the 2008-2009 school year. Anderson is famous for its 2006 America Answers Quiz Bowl 1st place standing. The team continually places well in the competition, ranging from 4th to 1st in the nation. The team is coached by Nancy McEvoy and one of its more famous members is Kyle Schiller, who carried the team to its 1st place victory in 2006.

A former elementary school, Avery, was converted into the school district office and is now known as Avery Center.

There is also a Roman Catholic school named Our Lady of LaSalette. The school is a 3 year old preschool through 8th grade facility and has impressive sports teams. The Varsity A (mostly eighth grade) basketball team recently won the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) championship. Amazingly, 10 boys from the school were on the team, and there are only 22 kids total (including girls) in the entire eighth grade at LaSalette. The team also had two parishioners, or people that do not go to the school but are active members in the church parish. There are 200 kids in the school, including the two pre-school classes and kindergarten.

Community Information

Residents of Berkley enjoy the benefits of a small town community. The Library is brimming with over 70,000 books, 6,000 videotapes, 1,000 DVDs, 1,500 books on tape, 1500 CDs, Puppets and jigsaw puzzles, CD-ROMs, and subscriptions to over 200 magazines and newspapers . Other services include story time for children six months and older, additional programs for school age children & computers with Internet access.

For those residents who enjoy a stroll through the park or a good sporting event, the city has eight parks and recreational areas featuring: ball fields, tennis courts, outdoor basketball courts, horseshoe courts, multipurpose use turf areas, picnic areas & playground equipment.

Visit Our Downtown

Berkley's bustling downtown business district is what sets it apart and makes it unique. Freshly revitalized in 2002, it is pedestrian-friendly. Bricked crosswalks, newly constructed sidewalks and trees offer gentle shade. Planters, benches and banners make it appealing, clean and safe for families and visitors.

Berkley's downtown is also home to a number of Detroit's best. In 2008, readers of HOUR Detroit Magazine voted whimsical retailer Catching Fireflies BEST GIFT SHOP, Odd Fellows Antiques BEST ANTIQUES STORE, and The Berkley Front BEST BEER SELECTION . These recognized merchants are just the tip of the iceberg that is Berkley's growing downtown. Other hot spots include 24 Seconds Bar & Grill, Doll Hospital & Toy Soldier Shop, City Style shoe & accessories retailer, and Amici's Living Room.

Annually, Berkley's Chamber of Commerce hosts the Berkley Art Bash, a fun-filled day which brings artists from across the state to sell their wares, plus food, fun & live musical entertainment all day. The event is held the 2nd Saturday in June each year since 2001.

Cool City

In October of 2003, the City Council of the City of Berkley created a "Cool City" Ad Hoc Committee consisting of Mayor John Mark Mooney, City Manager Jane Bais-DiSessa, City Planner Amy Vansen, and most importantly, four enthusiastic members of our community: Amanda Bobrovetski, Martin Engel, David Cutler and Joel Morgan. Governor Jennifer Granholm asked the mayors of more than 250 cities to help her focus on ways to make Michigan 's cities more attractive for new jobs and new citizens.[1]

External links

• City of Berkley
• Berkley Downtown Development Authority
• Berkley School District
• Berkley Chamber of Commerce
• Berkley Home Improvement Expo
• Berkley Public Library
• Catching Fireflies Berkley