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The City needs to have a qualified engineer—one who works on historic masonry buildings—look at the ruin before it's swept away with no proper review. It should be noted that it's a prime development site WITH THE RUINS, because it's an existing approved building envelope - probably no EIR and all that to encumber a reconstruction. Maybe the local business folks would like a quick reconstruction process rather than a slow new-project one. Financing for housing projects is practically nil theses days................of course UC could buy the site. 

From Berkeleyside: 

"While principally a traumatic experience for the building’s residents, the fire is also a blow to the Telegraph Avenue business owners who have been campaigning to have the vacant lot opposite the Sequoia building cleaned up and potentially developed. The site, which is owned by Ken Sarachan, has been vacant since the early 1990, has been overrun by rats and is seen as a blight on the neighborhood. Local merchants now face the prospect of two vacant lots facing each other on Telegraph at Haste."