SAN FRANCISCO | Projects: Under Construction, Approved, and Proposed

[ElDuderino]

Sure, something like the Hearst Tower would be great. Especially if it was as green as the Hearst. But the project you posted is not really a tower at all, just a big box.


http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/image/Ametron-Hollywood1.jpg
archpaper.com (http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=4526)

[ElDuderino]

In other news...

San Francisco lawmakers approve Twitter tax break

Marcus Wohlsen, Associated Press – Tue Apr 5, 7:57 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – City lawmakers approved a tax break Tuesday to keep Twitter Inc. from fleeing San Francisco.

The measure that passed with an 8-3 vote by the Board of Supervisors exempts Twitter from a payroll tax on new hires if the micro-blogging service moves to the blighted Mid-Market area.

The exemption applies to any business in the neighborhood, but city officials called Twitter the big fish that could spur economic growth.

"We finally have a chance to put into place a policy that will bring economic development and jobs," said Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents the area. "This ordinance offers hope to revitalize a long neglected part of our city."

Twitter is already outgrowing its current San Francisco headquarters, and the company is poised to expand from a few hundred to a few thousand workers...

full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110405/ap_on_hi_te/us_twitter_tax_break

[peanut gallery]

For some reason, the board has to vote on it again next week before it goes to the Mayor for signature. I don't know why, but with an 8-3 tally I don't think there's much chance of the approval changing.

Also read today that the Burning Man Foundation is moving into the David Hewes Building at 6th and Market. Lot's of good news for Mid-Market today!

[ElDuderino]

Interesting video about workers rehearsing how they will fit the saddle atop the Bay Bridge's new single-anchor suspension tower next month

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_17790264?source=rss

[ElDuderino]

SFO Terminal 2 ready for takeoff

21:39 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The first plane to unload at San Francisco International Airport's sleekly remodeled Terminal 2 had stenciled on its fuselage: "My other ride is a spaceship."

This is the future of San Francisco air travel.

Virgin America Flight VX2001 and its star-studded passenger list christened the rebirth of San Francisco's vintage 1954 terminal Wednesday. The building underwent a $383 million upgrade designed to make it a model of sustainable development and relaxing travel.

Those are two concepts not often associated with U.S. airports, with their rigorous security screenings, drab waiting areas and overpriced chain food.

"We want to return the romance to travel, make it less stressful," airport spokesman Michael McCarron said. "This is an elegant place."

The refurbished terminal, which will open to commercial flights next Thursday, has waiting areas with white leather sofas, red banquettes and sci-fi-reminiscent "egg" chairs...


full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/07/MN9R1IRE7R.DTL

[ElDuderino]

Also read today that the Burning Man Foundation is moving into the David Hewes Building at 6th and Market. Lot's of good news for Mid-Market today!

related article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/07/BA3R1IRB9S.DTL

Burning Man to join influx to S.F.'s Mid-Market

Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer

The day after City Hall struck a deal to give Twitter and other businesses a tax break if they moved to San Francisco's Mid-Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods, city officials on Wednesday announced that Burning Man festival organizers will move their headquarters to Sixth and Market streets...

[CyberEric]

It will be interesting to see how these moves affect the Tenderloin.


I think the new bridge is starting to look pretty awesome!

[1977]

Great news and a sign of the times:

http://www.baycitizen.org/business/story/chronicle-buildings-transformation/

[peanut gallery]

Some time ago there was talk of replacing the old Chronicle building and I remember most were happy to see it go. Personally, I'm glad to hear it's being incorporated into plans for the area. I know it's not some architecturally significant building, but I'd miss it.

[1977]

More info about 1285 Sutter:

Portland Developer Completes First San Francisco Buy
Submitted April 14, 2011, 10:20 AM

A Portland, Ore.,-based developer has closed on the $9.25 million acquisition of 1285 Sutter St. in downtown San Francisco. Gerding Edlen Development Co. proposes a mixed-use project with 107 apartments including affordable units, parking and a 10,000 square foot Trader Joe's market.

Gerding Edlen expects to invest in excess of $67 million in the project, said Kelly Saito, the company's chief operating officer. That includes land cost and construction.

The company is in the process of arranging financing to cover 60 percent of the project's cost and plans to break ground next month. It expects to take two years to finish. The developer intends to seek a LEED Gold certification.

“We think San Francisco is a very vibrant city and is attractive to many people around the country because of both its natural and cultural beauty," Saito said. "These factors make it an attractive market for us to invest and build in.”

The company expects renters at the project to include both young working professionals and more mature adults, he said.

1285 Sutter was the previous home of the Galaxy Theatre. Oakland-based BayRock Residential had sought to build 107 condos and 15,000 square feet of retail on the site.

Gerding Edlen bought the property from Boston-based Rockpoint Group, a global real estate investment manager with San Francisco offices. Rockpoint is known as an opportunity investor and commingled fund manager who works on behalf of pension funds and other institutional investors.

While it continues to look in San Francisco, Gerding Edlen is now scouring other parts of the Bay Area for investment opportunity, too, including Oakland and Berkeley Saito said. The company favors urban settings and entertains developments that have an office component as well. It both develops new and buys existing assets.

Besides the San Francisco region, it also looks to invest in Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles. Since 1996, Gerding Edlen has developed more than 60 projects of all property types totaling nearly $5 billion in real estate value in a variety of West Coast markets.
Source: http://www.theregistrysf.com/RTRE_gerding_edlen_development_1285_sutter.html

[Jerry of San Fran]

More info about 1285 Sutter:


Source: http://www.theregistrysf.com/RTRE_gerding_edlen_development_1285_sutter.html
1977 - thanks for the updatae. It has been long in coming for that site. The boarded windows is an eyesore in neighborhood. A friend once described the Galaxy Theater as a pile of telephone booths (for us old enough to remember what one is)!

[NOPA]

Oh the ugly glass box building? Thank god! Whats the zoning on Van Ness? The city really just needs to re-zone the whole corridor to maybe 250 feet max cause there are a lot of nasty old buildings on that street that gots to go.

[northbay]

the fairmont condo tower is officially dead:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/17/BAT61J1S1M.DTL&tsp=1

[Gordo]

Oh the ugly glass box building? Thank god! Whats the zoning on Van Ness? The city really just needs to re-zone the whole corridor to maybe 250 feet max cause there are a lot of nasty old buildings on that street that gots to go.

The Van Ness Plan was completed in the mid-90's, I believe, and can be found here:

http://www.sf-planning.org/ftp/general_plan/Van_Ness_Ave.htm

Nowhere on Van Ness is anything approaching 250' allowed, except for the corner of Market & Van Ness, which is a part of a separate plan (Market-Octavia Plan adopted a few years ago). That corner is slotted for 400' towers.

Most of Van Ness is set up to allow buildings with 4-8 story podiums with a max height of 12-14 stories, some areas less. There are also significant numbers of buildings that must be kept for one reason or another (see the bottom third of that link above). There are some outliers from the plan, including the planned 265' CPMC hospital to take the place of the Cathedral Hill Hotel: http://rebuildcpmc.org/pdf/VNG_Fact_Sheet_2010_revisedNov10.pdf

[NOPA]

Oh cool! Thanks for the info, I didn't know there were plans to get rid of the Cathedral Hill Hotel (one of those buildings I was talking about). AND its above 250'! ;) Considering the need to accomodate growth, and that the plan is already almost two decades old. I think they should revise it and add some greather density/height.

[peanut gallery]

BT started a thread for the new hospital awhile back. It looks like all the links to renderings are broken, but there's other good info there. I'll try to find and add some new renderings to that thread, plus I expect a lot more news about it since I think the EIR should be up for approval soon.

[CyberEric]

Can you provide a link to that project? I am interested in learning more about it.

[peanut gallery]

Oops, sorry, meant to do that in the first place. Here's the thread on that project:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=173688

I added some renderings and an update on the status (as much as I could find, anyway).

[ElDuderino]

S.F. Planning Commission gets Treasure Island plan

Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, April 21, 2011

Today San Francisco leaders could approve a huge, $1.5 billion development on Treasure Island that would create a from-scratch neighborhood of 19,000 people on the 403-acre rectangle in the middle of the bay.

The new community, dotted with high-rises and buffered by open space, would be one of the biggest developments in decades.

"I've got an extra box I am taking with me (today)," Planning Commissioner Ron Miguel said Wednesday. "There is a lot to absorb."

The development has been in the works since 1997 when the Navy closed the base. The plans include 8,000 residential units, a 450-foot high-rise, robust transit and a vibrant shopping area, developers say. If the Planning Commission approves the proposal, it heads to the Board of Supervisors...


full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/21/BA1S1J4Q53.DTL&type=newsbayarea

[San Frangelino]

The plans include 8,000 residential units, a 450-foot high-rise, robust transit and a vibrant shopping area, developers say.

It's too bad that the main tower has been reduced to 450 ft to keep the Bay Bridge East Tower the tallest on the bay. Not much else in the plan seems to have changed. If built, it will be another nice little cluster of high rises.

Here are the documents for the project that include images:
http://www.sftreasureisland.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=644

[peanut gallery]

Twitter officially moving to Mid-Market:

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/04/22/bu-twitter23_bui_0503258096.jpg

Twitter signs lease for headquarters in Mid-Market
Benny Evangelista, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, April 23, 2011

Twitter Inc. has made it official and signed a lease Friday to move its headquarters from Folsom Street to the historic Market Square building on Market Street.

The microblogging service signed the lease with landlord Shorenstein Properties just three days after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a plan that gives Twitter and other companies moving into the Central Market and Tenderloin areas a six-year break on payroll taxes on new employees.

Twitter, which has plans to increase its workforce from the current 400 to as many as 3,000 by 2013, had threatened to move from the city to the Peninsula if it didn't get the controversial tax break.

...

Read more: SFGate (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/23/BUAF1J63D4.DTL)

[Jerry of San Fran]

A picture I took a couple of days ago of Trinity Plaza's building on Mission Street being demolised to make way for Phase II of Trinity Place. I had not realized that the old motel building was built so well till the demolition started.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5228/5655517698_2646324d40_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/antinous/5655517698/)
Trinity Plaza_April 2010, San Francisco (http://www.flickr.com/photos/antinous/5655517698/) by Apollo's Light (http://www.flickr.com/people/antinous/), on Flickr

[ElDuderino]

The makeover of the Metreon breaks ground today. The expansion and relocation of the Metreon’s food court which will overlook Yerba Buena Gardens should be done by the end of the year while San Francisco’s first Target remains on target for a spring 2012 opening.

http://socketsite.com/

[peanut gallery]

^I'm most excited about the plan to open retail spaces onto Mission and 4th, and moving the food court to overlook YB Gardens. Those two things alone should create a marked improvement.

[peanut gallery]

I had completely forgotten about this:

http://www.socketsite.com/SFJAZZ%20Center%20exterior.jpg

SFJAZZ Center Set For Ceremonial Ground Breaking This Afternoon

With $45 million of its $60 million construction budget raised, San Francisco’s soon to be new SFJAZZ Center at 205 Franklin ceremonially breaks ground this afternoon with an opening targeted for Fall 2012 (as opposed to the Target opening that Spring).

As the corner of Franklin and Fell currently appears in it's less jazzy state:

http://www.socketsite.com/Corner%20Franklin%20and%20Fell.jpg

Source: SocketSite (http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/05/sfjazz_center_set_for_ceremonial_ground_breaking_this_a.html).

It's designed by Mark Cavagnero. More info at the SFJAZZ website (http://www.sfjazz.org/sfjazz-center).

[CyberEric]

That looks really nice, thanks for update.

[peanut gallery]

Glass is going onto the PUC Building:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/5694051483_a7013b05e7_b.jpg

You might get a better sense of the tint in the sunlight:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3400/5694054459_dc0eecf9fe_b.jpg

I think it may have topped out, but can't say for sure:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5148/5694617364_3f2e58f307_b.jpg

The previous shot is looking east on Golden Gate. This one is looking northwest from Polk:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5261/5694619180_02fc26d565_b.jpg

I'm really liking how it flairs out at the bottom:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5149/5694625622_cbf49e2ab8_b.jpg

A closer look at the vertical column on Golden Gate:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/5694052549_277ca728dc_b.jpg

You can already tell this is going to be a great looking building.

[1977]

Thanks for the photos peanut gallery! I'm loving the glass.

It seems like there's been a lot of news today so I thought I'd contribute some more:

From www.socketsite.com:

Pier 27 Rendered And Ready For Fiscal Feasibility Vote

With Supervisor Kim casting the sole dissenting vote in the Budget and Finance Sub-Committee, on Tuesday San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors will review the Finding of Fiscal Feasibility for the Port’s Cruise Terminal Project at Pier 27.

The estimated project cost for the terminal is $90,308,846 with the Port having identified $78,393,200 in "various potential funding sources, leaving a shortfall of $11,915,646." The potential funding sources include $15,500,000 in Port Revenue Bonds, $9,122,943 in General Obligation Bonds, and a $6,500,000 contribution from the City’s General Fund.

As proposed the Pier 27 Cruise Ship Terminal Project would be constructed in two phases to accommodate the use of Pier 27 for the 34th America’s Cup from January 2013 to April 2014. The new cruise terminal would open November 2014.

http://www.socketsite.com/Pier%2027%20Rendering%20Detail.jpg
Source: www.socketsite.com

http://www.socketsite.com/Pier%2027%20Rendering.jpg
Source: www.socketsite.com

[peanut gallery]

You're welcome, and thanks for the Pier 27 news. I found some additional renderings on the SF Port website (http://www.sfport.com/index.aspx?page=282):

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/5695233378_89712d0252_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3662/5695231970_efd0a74b22_b.jpg

I really like it: clean, open, accessible. There are more at the link above.

[Reminiscence]

Great update on the PUC Building. We need more buildings with the design and façade this building will have.

[1977]

Since we're on the topic...

A new rendering of the PUC building:

http://www.readthehook.com/files/images/field_images/onarch-puc-livingmachine.JPG
Source: http://www.readthehook.com/89654/wet-zero-worrells-wastewater-gadget-cleans-sf

[WildCowboy]

Is that the world's largest lava lamp at the cruise terminal? Can't decide whether I love it or if it's the most absurd thing I've ever seen...maybe both.

[1977]

I'm sure this project is still a ways off but I found a website and a few renderings for the new San Francisco Museum at the old Mint (Fifth and Mission):

http://www.themintproject.org/

http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2010/07/ceiling-mint.jpg
Source:www.inhabitat.com/

http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2010/07/mint03.jpg
Source:www.inhabitat.com/


WildCowboy-

Can't decide whether I love it or if it's the most absurd thing I've ever seen...maybe both.

Haha, I feel the same way.

[NOPA]

Wow that's awesome. The glass roof reminds of me the British Museum (in London). I was wondering what was going on with the old Mint. Does anybody know what type of museum?

[ElDuderino]

Wow that's awesome. The glass roof reminds of me the British Museum (in London). I was wondering what was going on with the old Mint. Does anybody know what type of museum?

I think it is going to be the permanent home of the Museum of the City of San Francisco

[timbad]

... since I was in the neighborhood, thought I would post a couple shots of the projects mentioned.

first, 178 Townsend. it's a little hard to tell in the pic, but a lot of its innards have been torn out:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5173963777_168e505f7a_b.jpg

and, there is not too much to see yet over on 2nd behind MoMo's (which is on the left. even further left, home of your champion San Francisco Giants):

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/5174568130_922e0cc392_b.jpg

just wanted to give a quick update on these two projects since that previous post in Nov 2010...

178 Townsend:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5024/5722683667_d48ab28a0f_b.jpg

and 2nd St behind Momo's:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5251/5723235272_9e11fb9efb_b.jpg

[CyberEric]

Awesome, thanks for the updates!

Does anyone know anything about the crane near Market and Octavia in that empty lot?
I noticed it the other day and haven't heard anything about what is going on there...

[peanut gallery]

You're probably talking about 1844 Market. It's suppsed to be 114 rental units:
http://www.socketsite.com/1844%20Market%20Design.jpg
Source: SocketSite (http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/05/1844_market_watch_movement_on_113_fabulous_units_and_re.html).

Last I read (http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2010/10/cassidys_1844_market_street_holding_company_files_for_c.html), the development is in foreclosure.

[CyberEric]

Ah, that must be it. That's too bad about it being in foreclosure.
Thanks for the info.

[peanut gallery]

Snøhetta's preliminary designs for SFMOMA expansion were unveiled today. Keep in mind, these are just conceptual; they haven't even picked out materials for the skin yet. Craig Dykers of Snøhetta calls it "a preview of a preview."

From the Chonicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/25/BA2A1JKEQ6.DTL):

From above:
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/05/25/ba-sfmoma26_0503518264.jpg

View from YB:
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/05/25/ba-sfmoma26_0503518268.jpg

Looking from across Howard:
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/05/25/ba-sfmoma26_0503518262.jpg

The W can kiss goodbye views to the east from lower floors:
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/05/25/ba-sfmoma26_0503518256.jpg

Design unveiled for SFMOMA addition
John King, Chronicle Urban Design Critic
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The details are sketchy, but the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has released its design concept for a new wing that would double the size of the institution - a concept that aims to slide a block-long building into the landscape without causing a fuss.

The expansion would stretch from Howard Street north to Minna Street behind the museum's existing home, a length of 335 feet. The top height of 195 feet along Howard compares with the 163-foot peak of SFMOMA's distinctive granite-rimmed skylight.

But instead of a solid block, the architects envision something more like a weathered cliff that folds in on all sides to lessen the impact on views and not shade the museum's popular sculpture garden.

Read more at SFGate (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/25/BA2A1JKEQ6.DTL#ixzz1NQOIaYWY).

[SFView]

:previous:Further information on the SFMOMA Expansion can be found here:

http://www.sfmoma.org/pages/expansion_design

[peanut gallery]

Thanks, SFView. Good to see you posting! I like the public spaces they are creating: the public gallery on Howard, the extension of alleys behind the building, and the public elevated terrace. I'm very curious as to what materials they plan to use and if the color will actually be white or something else.

[SFView]

Yes peanut, I have been laying low, but still lurking. Actually, I have been more busy with work and family, plus there has been a great reduction of development news.

I like the sculptural forms of the schematic proposal. I especially like the public roof spaces. The topmost roof almost looks like Starship Enterprise shuttle craft could land and dock there. It also, looks like a great place to film music videos, do model shoots, hold stylish private special events, etc. If the client, public reaction and formal reviews favor the design as much as I (we) do, we may see this project built more like these renderings.

[peanut gallery]

Ah, that must be it. That's too bad about it being in foreclosure.

Well, 1844 Market is in foreclosure no more. MacFarlane bought the note. From the SF Business Times (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2011/05/27/macfarlane-makes-55m-bet-on-upper.html):

MacFarlane makes $55M bet on Upper Market
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen
Date: Friday, May 27, 2011, 3:00am PDT

MacFarlane Partners is jumping back into San Francisco with its first post-recession development deal, a $55 million apartment project on upper Market Street that will transform a muddy pit into 113 housing units.

The San Francisco-based investment adviser bought a non-performing note on 1844 Market St., a project that builder Joe Cassidy had started and then mothballed after his construction loan fell through. The fully entitled residential building just above Octavia Boulevard will have 113 rental apartments (99 market-rate and 14 affordable units), 5,500 square feet of street-level retail and underground parking for 81 cars.

Socketsite notes that construction should restart soon and they are aiming for a summer 2013 opening now.

[Gordo]

^That's great news. That hole in the ground has gotten to be pretty nasty, with standing water and not-too-pleasant smells much of the time.

Has anyone ever seen renderings of what the back of the project will look like? One of the Socketsite commenters brought it up, and I'm curious about it too, but I couldn't see anywhere where that is shown.

[CyberEric]

Really great news! Thanks PG for the update.

[peanut gallery]

My pleasure. That's a good question, Gordo. I agree with that commenter: that stretch of Waller is really nice and I hope they make that side fit with the neighborhood. I can't find anything that explains the plan for Waller, but I have to believe the ingress for parking will be on it. Hopefully, it won't just be a large garage door and blank walls.

[SFView]

From:http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/05/new-politics-dense-development
The new politics of dense development in San Francisco

By: Dan Schreiber 05/29/11 4:00 AM
Examiner Staff Writer

Keeping San Francisco from becoming a forest of skyscrapers once dominated conversations about development in The City. Opposition to such “Manhattanization” was a platform that environmentalists, neighborhood groups and outright foes of development used to block construction projects.

But times have changed.

The onset of global climate change and the automobile-dependent sprawl that helped create it have forced developers, planners, urbanists and even environmentalists to rethink the future of a city facing significant population increases but almost no room left for horizontal expansion.

Past rejection of density propelled the growth of suburbs and the carbon emissions of longer car commutes. But today’s dominant paradigm favors dense, transit-oriented infill developments that encourage walkable access to schools, stores and services.

The transformation of the South of Market neighborhood and the creation of Mission Bay are two prominent examples of such development. More recently, even bigger projects have begun moving through The City’s approval pipeline.

In Hunters Point, developers will soon begin construction on a small part of their proposal to build 10,000 new homes. Meanwhile, on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors narrowly approved a plan to build 5,700 more homes at Parkmerced. The board is set to consider a separate vote on about 8,000 new housing units at Treasure Island on June 7.

Politics aside, growth in San Francisco depends, above all, on the sheer demand for housing.

By 2035, the Bay Area is expected to be home to about 2 million more people and 902,000 more homes, with almost all that growth concentrated in existing urban areas. This daunting 29 percent population increase has prompted regional planners to urge local governments to reduce their per-resident carbon emissions by 15 percent.

That’s the crux of the “Initial Vision Scenario for 2035,” which was released in March by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments. The report envisions that while the Bay Area’s population grows from 7 million to 9 million people, San Francisco will add roughly 90,000 households, pushing its population to around 1 million.

Predictions such as these are encouraging Bay Area cities to greenlight dense transit-oriented housing to help curb car and truck emissions and buck the suburban development trend that has reigned since World War II.

Environmentalists will keep fighting developments that involve the addition of traffic, but don’t expect the same kinds of fights over greater density in San Francisco.

“People understand if you just say ‘no’ in San Francisco, there’s going to be a million more people living in Modesto, and that’s a horrible carbon footprint,” said Jason Henderson, an assistant professor of human geography at San Francisco State University. “The City is willing to absorb its share of growth.”

But Henderson also said such growth will require an investment in transit.

“We’d have to buy a lot of new buses and a lot of new trains,” he said.

For instance, although the Sierra Club dislikes the parking plan at Parkmerced, developers linked construction of new housing units to a Muni light-rail extension, and the group did not oppose the project.

Instead, the opposition to Parkmerced rested with tenants who love the character of their postwar townhouses. Gabriel Metcalf, the executive director of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, regards such housing as an anachronism.

“Parkmerced was from an era when people were fleeing cities to places with green lawns and easy car access, removed from the problems of the inner city,” Metcalf said. “What we’ve learned since then is that more-traditional city forms give more options to people. We need to say no to development that is car-oriented and yes to development that is transit- and pedestrian-oriented.”

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ approval, in a 6-5 vote, of the massive Parkmerced redevelopment seems to suggest an emerging political consensus in favor of Metcalf’s viewpoint.

The fight over Treasure Island, which would bring 16,000 more people to the middle of San Francisco Bay and presumably add to the already snarled state of Bay Bridge traffic, is different.

Despite planners’ efforts to beef up ferry and bus services and include amenities that would reduce off-island trips, detractors still can’t see how the project won’t involve more cars. John Rizzo, the political chairman of the Sierra Club’s San Francisco Bay chapter, said his organization supports infill development, but Treasure Island doesn’t fit that bill.

“To say people are always going to take the ferry or do everything they need on the island is just kind of crazy,” Rizzo said. “If you densify an area and it doesn’t have any transit, it’s just going to clog everything up.”

dschreiber@sfexaminer.com

No sure bets when it comes to housing

Months of political tip-toeing before Tuesday’s approval of a massive housing redevelopment at Parkmerced should demonstrate a simple lesson: There is no exact formula for predicting whether development plans become reality in San Francisco.

Parkmerced has most things The City’s fractious development intelligentsia are now seeking — dense housing in an existing urban space with access to San Francisco’s mass-transit system. From 1975 until the early ’90s, political leaders faced opposition for approving large buildings even when they were located close to transit nodes.

That was underscored, San Francisco State University political science professor Richard DeLeon said, by the 1986 approval of Proposition M, which put caps on high-rises, among other limits.

By 1992, when DeLeon’s book “Left Coast City” was published, the local pro-growth movement had been hampered by increased political clout of neighborhood organizations seeking to preserve San Francisco’s special character. But with the rise of the movement known as “urbanism,” the rules of the game have changed.

“Now there is more of a shift to extract as much as possible in community interests and strike hard bargains,” DeLeon said. “The most radical force on Earth is capitalism. ... There’s something to be said for politically mobilized forces that challenge these market forces to eventually produce a deal that has popular legitimacy.”

In Hunters Point, developers proposing to build 10,000 new homes also promise to maintain affordable units in a city that badly needs such housing.

That was the deal hashed out by progressive former Supervisor Chris Daly in 2007, when he helped facilitate 360 rent-controlled units in South of Market’s Trinity Plaza. Daly also pushed for developers to pay into a community-stabilization fund for residents and businesses that would be affected by a Rincon Hill high-rise development in 2005.

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, whose district includes Parkmerced, said the more recent development includes more affordable-housing options than Trinity Plaza, which passed unanimously.

“The general concept of smart growth, development on transit lines, is starting to spread across the political spectrum,” Elsbernd said. “But development issues in San Francisco are never black and white. There are always other interests.” — Dan Schreiber

Treasure Island

2,800 Current residents

16,000 Projected population increase

8,000 New homes

2,000 Affordable housing units

2032 Projected completion

Transit options

Increased bus and ferry services are aimed at reducing car trips on and off the island, which is in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Planners want a ferry to downtown every 15 minutes and a Muni express bus every seven minutes in the morning and five minutes in the afternoon. A tentative plan would require drivers to pay a $5 fee to drive off the island on weekdays.


Source: Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Parkmerced

7,300 Current residents

13,000 Projected population increase

5,700 New homes (8,900 total)

3,200 Rent-controlled housing units

2031-41 Projected completion

Source: Stellar Management

Transit options

A realignment of Muni’s M-Oceanview line will take riders further into the redeveloped neighborhood, with a zero-to-low emissions shuttle bus that brings less-connected residents directly to the Muni stop. The M line runs northeast to downtown.


Source: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

[CyberEric]

As I was reading that, I was thinking "yes, yes! YES!" I regards to the new urbanism.

Thanks for posting.

[Gordo]

I came across this SF Planning report today on Socketsite:

http://www.sf-planning.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8501

It's titled "San Francisco Neighborhoods Socio-Economic Profiles" using ACS data from 2005-2009 and is just about the most fascinating thing that I've wasted an hour looking through.

The commute shares by neighborhood and median building age by neighborhood are particularly interesting to me.

[CyberEric]

^Wow, that is fascinating. Thanks for posting, you just killed my productivity for the day. :)

[pseudolus]

Surprised to see they're going ahead with this four-floor addition.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/5837601242_43df131cde.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837601242/) IMG00575 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837601242/) by pseudolus1 (http://www.flickr.com/people/34525041@N05/), on Flickr

Found this image on Google from SF Business Times of the end product.

http://tomposer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/120-Howard-Proposed-620x270.jpg

[pseudolus]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/5837613320_0380398a5e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837613320/) IMG00581 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837613320/) by pseudolus1 (http://www.flickr.com/people/34525041@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/5837056503_76b01281f4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837056503/) IMG00582 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837056503/) by pseudolus1 (http://www.flickr.com/people/34525041@N05/), on Flickr

[peanut gallery]

Surprised to see they're going ahead with this four-floor addition.

Found this image on Google from SF Business Times of the end product.

Good find on that rendering. I'm sure whoever occupies the top floors of 180 Howard are really excited about this. ;)

Thanks for the updated photos of the City College building. It has its own thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=159669) if you wouldn't mind posting your shots there too.

[CyberEric]

Surprised to see they're going ahead with this four-floor addition.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/5837601242_43df131cde.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837601242/) IMG00575 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34525041@N05/5837601242/) by pseudolus1 (http://www.flickr.com/people/34525041@N05/), on Flickr

Found this image on Google from SF Business Times of the end product.

http://tomposer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/120-Howard-Proposed-620x270.jpg

Hmmm, that's interesting. What will the floor count be after completion?

[peanut gallery]

It's 8 floors now, so looks like 12.

[San Frangelino]

This was in today's SF Business Times http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/morning_call/2011/06/new-san-francisco-towers-on-the-horizon.html

Sorry to say, I can't post the whole article.

New San Francisco towers on the horizon


San Francisco Business Times
Date: Friday, June 17, 2011, 7:15am PDT

It's a concept that would have seemed laughable just a year ago: During the next 12 months, the steel of a new office tower could start rising in downtown San Francisco.

Just three years after a spectacular economic collapse left millions of square feet vacant, the market has shored up to the point where developers are out talking to tenants and contractors again. Tishman Speyer is shopping 222 Second St., Wilson Meany Sullivan is talking to tenants about the final Foundry Square site at 505 Howard St., and GLL Partners is looking for a commitment on 350 Mission St.

[CyberEric]

^What a tease! Well, the start of the article sounds like great news.

[peanut gallery]

Dear skyscraper god in skyscraper heaven, please let 535 Mission be one of the first!

PS: 350 would be fine too.

[cityjogger]

City College building in Chinatown - finally started removing the big blue plywood sheets from the top floor yesterday.

[CyberEric]

City College building in Chinatown - finally started removing the big blue plywood sheets from the top floor yesterday.

Anyone have pictures yet?

Also, this project seems to be moving forward in Potrero.

http://www.dbarchitect.com/project_detail/99/Daggett%20%20Place.html

[CyberEric]

A couple small projects in the Mission and Hayes Valley as reported by socketsite:

The Mission:
http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/07/399_fremont_from_condos_to_rentals_and_delaying_another.html#comments

Hayes Valley:
http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/07/399_fremont_from_condos_to_rentals_and_delaying_another.html#comments

[1977]

A short video showing what to expect (at least externally) from the revitalization of the Metreon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLsjkAVWJUE&feature=player_embedded

[peanut gallery]

Eric - your Mission and Hayes links both lead to 399 Fremont, which I'll mention is extending their window to build another year. And Daggett Place looks interesting.

Cool video, 1977. I have high hopes for the revamped Metreon.

[edwards]

Ignore.....

[edwards]

From http://www.costar.com/News/Article/San-Francisco-Restarts-Effort-to-Find-Developer-for-Transbay-Project/130265?ref=/News/Article/San-Francisco-Restarts-Effort-to-Find-Developer-for-Transbay-Project/130265:

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency is seeking proposals from developers to buy two parcels near the site of the future Transbay Transit Center and master develop a high-density residential project with ground-floor retail and a child care center.

The site is two blocks south of the transit center, a planned $4 billion development scheduled to open in 2017 that is one of the largest public/private projects in the U.S. In addition to replacing the Transbay Terminal, the development calls for development of up to 13 high-rise buildings that will dramatically reshape San Francisco’s famous skyline.

The two parcels, on Folsom Street between Fremont and Beale Streets, border the Financial District and are close to the Ferry Building, Yerba Buena Gardens, AT&T Ballpark and Mission Bay, according to the request for proposals (RFP). The project calls for about 345 units of market rate rental housing in a 30-story tower and 100 to 150 family affordable rental units in multiple building ranging from three to eight stories.

The two blocks are part of the Transbay redevelopment project area, a 40-acre redevelopment district at the foot of Rincon Hill. The redevelopment agency will accept proposals from developers through Oct. 5 before entering into exclusive negotiations with the selected development team with the goal of executing a development and disposition agreement and issuing all project approvals.

The agency is seeking a private for-profit developer to head the market-rate project and a non-profit housing developer for the affordable portion, along with architects to design both properties and a property manager for the affordable portion.

City officials put out a request for bids on the parcels last December. But uncertainty over Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to abolish redevelopment agencies statewide to channel more revenue into state coffers caused the agency to put the RFP on hold.

It now seems that the agencies will continue as going concerns, although the new bidding guidelines stipulate that the properties will revert to ownership by the city and county of San Francisco if the redevelopment agency ceases to exist.

[peanut gallery]

^For anyone who doesn't already know, this currently single plot will be divided by a new street that will continue all the way to Spear and is zoned for 85' to the north of the new street and 300' to the south. The last time they put one of these properties out to bid, the results were not as good as hoped for. Hopefully the timing is better this time around.

[CyberEric]

Eric - your Mission and Hayes links both lead to 399 Fremont, which I'll mention is extending their window to build another year. And Daggett Place looks interesting.

Cool video, 1977. I have high hopes for the revamped Metreon.

Whoops, here is the link for the Mission project: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/07/thank_planning_for_encouraging_development_at_1501_15th.html

And Hayes Valley: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/07/401_grove_street_the_revised_design_and_renderings.html

^For anyone who doesn't already know, this currently single plot will be divided by a new street that will continue all the way to Spear and is zoned for 85' to the north of the new street and 300' to the south. The last time they put one of these properties out to bid, the results were not as good as hoped for. Hopefully the timing is better this time around.

Agreed, I think they may have better luck this time. I am a little disappointed by the relatively low heights, but the other tower projects around should (someday) make up for that.

[1977]

I found a webcam for the new PUC building. I know there was some discussion about it's current progress over in the CCSF Chinatown Campus thread.

http://earthcam.com/clients/sfwater/

[viewguysf]

Whoops, here is the link for the Mission project: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/07/thank_planning_for_encouraging_development_at_1501_15th.html

And Hayes Valley: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/07/401_grove_street_the_revised_design_and_renderings.html

I love the boldness of the Mission project and dislike the blandness of the Hayes Valley project since it's more of the same and doesn't contrast well with the existing buildings on Gough Street.

[peanut gallery]

Thanks 1977. They are making steady (albeit somewhat slow) progress. Understandable given the unconventional nature of the facade.

Kind of OT, but the webcam page has a local weather widget that says it's currently 93 degrees and feels like 109 degrees! Is their sensor on someone's engine block or something? ;)

[kpexpress]

hey I min San fracisco for five days and I want to know the just see places (tourist or non-tourist) and must see buildings (new or old). Help.

[San Frangelino]

I posted this in the Hunter's Point (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=5375962#post5375962) thread, but thought it was worth mentioning here as well.



Here's a rendering of the Executive Park Redevelopment Plan, just around the corner from Hunter's Point.

From: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/08/10/candlestickadjacent_new_zoning_comes_to_those_who_wait.php

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6125/6031876887_3ed6e9f9d8_z.jpg

[CyberEric]

Cool, thanks for the update!

[peanut gallery]

Didn't realize this was happening, but the CPMC medical building (part of the new hospital proposal) on Van Ness underwent design changes based on input from the Planning Commission.

From the SF Business Times (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2011/08/california-pacific-medical-center.html):



California Pacific Medical Center revamps MOB plans at Cathedral Hill
San Francisco Business Times - by Chris Rauber
Monday, August 15, 2011

California Pacific Medical Center , under fire from several quarters for its plans for a $1.7 billion Cathedral Hill hospital and medical office complex near downtown San Francisco, is altering the design of its nine-story, 496,000-square-foot medical office building there.

...

CPMC made the design changes in response to concerns at the San Francisco Planning Commission about the original “design and scale,” according to an Aug. 11 memo to Planning Commissioners from Elizabeth Watty of the department’s staff. Commissioners wanted the MOB to be more compatible with historic buildings along Van Ness Avenue, “more contextual” and related architecturally to nearby buildings, and smaller in scale.

...

Among other changes, Watty’s memo noted, CPMC agreed to:

-Replace the structure’s proposed “glass skin” with a concrete cladding with an infilled building grid and "large glass openings” to more closely match neighboring structures.
-Replace the original asymmetrical design with a symmetrical one.
-Put the entry in the center of the structure, rather than the corner.
-Lower the podium to align with other structures nearby, setting back the upper portion from the Van Ness podium facade “to reinforce this structure at the street.”
-Add a “contemporary cornice” at the top to link with other buildings in the vicinity with “strong cornices along the street.”
-Replace large expanses of glass with GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete), “which has a heavier quality and is more similar to the materials of the historic buildings along Van Ness Avenue.”
-“Break up the bulk” of the proposed MOB by using a variety of materials, such as stone, GFRC and glass, and more variation in depth on the building’s facade.

[peanut gallery]

I've tried several times to post the rendering but it just won't work. So go here to check it out:
http://assets.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/Cathedral%20Hill%20MOB*900.jpg?v=1

And I forgot that we have a thread for this, so please go here (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=173688) to comment. Boy, you'd think this was a Monday.

[pseudolus]

delete delete

[Cory]

Some images I found of the u/c Ocean Avenue mixed use project adjacent to City College on Ocean Avenue.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/5692/picture2zw.png
http://www.pyatok.com/portfolio/ocean.html

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/3586/picture3rb.png
http://www.pyatok.com/portfolio/ocean.html

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/1892/picture4si.png
http://www.pyatok.com/portfolio/ocean.html

Interesting design for the only Whole Foods on the south side of the city considering the higher car ownership on that side of town, but I wouldn't expect anything different considering how transit rich Ocean Avenue is. Just another reason why I love SF.

[pseudolus]

Some images I found of the u/c Ocean Avenue mixed use project adjacent to City College on Ocean Avenue.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/5692/picture2zw.png
http://www.pyatok.com/portfolio/ocean.html

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/3586/picture3rb.png
http://www.pyatok.com/portfolio/ocean.html

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/1892/picture4si.png
http://www.pyatok.com/portfolio/ocean.html

Interesting design for the only Whole Foods on the south side of the city considering the higher car ownership on that side of town, but I wouldn't expect anything different considering how transit rich Ocean Avenue is. Just another reason why I love SF.

I walked by last weekend, so can give a status report. For the building on the left, wood framing was just starting on the top floor. For the Whole Foods building on the right, they were finishing up the concrete podium first floor.

There will be underground parking for both buildings.

I was disappointed to see that the buildings extend beyond the street wall of the buildings to the west. (The new library does too.) I hope it doesn't result in a too narrow sidewalk for an area that is likely to see a lot of foot traffic.

[peanut gallery]

Thanks for the update, guys. I wasn't aware of this one and honestly am not very familiar with that part of town. I was checking what I believe to be the project area on Google maps. Is this the lot between the bus turnaround and the library? If so, what was that building it replaced?

Also, is there any news on developing the Balboa reservoirs? The latest info I can find calls for the western reservoir to be a mixed-use neighborhood to match the surrounding grid -- in fact this Whole Foods development seems to be the beginning of that effort (assuming that's Brighton extending north of Ocean in the renderings) -- and the western reservoir to be transfered to City College for campus expansion. From what I've read, that's all in various stages of negotiation and approval. But everything I found was from April or earlier. Just curious if there's anything more recent. Thanks!

[Gordo]

^pg, the area where the Whole Foods and housing is being built used to be a Kragen Auto Parts and a big parking lot. It is part of the overall plan to redevelop the reservoirs, but I haven't seen or heard anything new recently on the rest of the project.

[pseudolus]

It is indeed the lot between the library and the bus turnaround ("Phelan Loop"). There's also a PUC easement between the lot and the library. The lot used to be Kragen auto parts store, surrounded by a large parking lot. Previously, I believe, it was a Safeway supermarket.

As to the resevoir, it was previously split into north and south halves. The PUC and CCSF did a swap so it's now split east and west. CCSF has built one building on its half. There was a bond issue that included money to build a second buillding, a performing arts center, but CCSF has a way of making bond money disappear, so that appears dead for the meanwhile.

There was a proposal to develop the PUC's half, either as residential or as playing fields, but I believe the PUC wasn't interested.

The next project in the neighborhood is to develop the Phelan Loop as transitional housing for foster kids and to relocate the loop around the fire station.

This is all part of the Balboa Station Area Better Neighborhoods plan that was finally approved after more than a decade of process. The other large development in the plan was to be in the "Upper Yard" next to the BART station. Muni has shot that down and plans to expand its light rail storage there.

[peanut gallery]

^Too bad the PUC didn't go for extending the neighborhood into their half. That sounded like a good idea to me. Thanks for mentioning the Balboa plan. I now know about the Geneva Carbarn & Powerhouse (http://www.genevacarbarn.org/index.html), which I'm glad to see will have a new life to go with its really interesting history. I look forward to reading more about the neighborhood plan.

And thanks to both of you for answering my questions.

Geneva Carbarn & Powerhouse:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/5798372563_4cedb69bc9_b.jpg
Source: Flickr user Freeze Time Digital (http://www.flickr.com/photos/freezetimedigital/5798372563/).

[Cory]

^^


I was standing in front of that building the other day this week, catching the M, wondering were there any plans for it and how long such a beautiful building (such different architecture compared to the rest of the neighborhood) has been ignored.

[ElDuderino]

Saitowitz Rising On The Blighted Corner Of Divisadero And Ellis

http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/8495/divisaderoandellisrende.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/847/divisaderoandellisrende.jpg/)

While the long vacant lot on which a 76 Station once stood was tagged with a notice of blight a few months ago, a plugged-in tipster reports that construction has commenced on the first of two Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architect designed condominium buildings that are rising on the corner of Divisadero and Ellis Streets.

The first building consists of 12 units and the second building of 21 units. Principal exterior materials will be similar to Saitowitz’s award winning Beth Shalom Temple at 15th and Clement. The first building is scheduled for completion summer 2012, the second in 2013.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
http://socketsite.com/

[peanut gallery]

Wow. That building doesn't just ignore the sidewalk, it seems to actively detest it (unless of course, those colored squares are some kind of flat-screen pedestrian orgasmatron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgasmatron)). I generally like Saitowitz's work, but not this one.

[ElDuderino]

and another one

August 24, 2011
1285 Sutter Approved For Imminent Demolition And Reconstruction

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/9994/1285sutterrendering2011.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/845/1285sutterrendering2011.jpg/)
Permits to demolish the long shuttered Galaxy Theater at 1285 Sutter Street and erect a 13-story building with 107 condominiums over 10,000 square feet of retail (Trader Joe’s the last we heard) and four basements for 127 parking spaces were approved last week.

As a plugged-in tipster reports, the site which was purchased by Portland, Oregon based developer Gerding Edlen for $9.25 million (versus an $18 million ask in 2008) has since been fenced off and demolition is imminent.

If all goes as currenlty scheduled, the new building should be construction complete and ready for occupany and retailing in early 2013. As always, we'll keep you plugged-in.
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2923/1285sutterstreetrenderi.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/37/1285sutterstreetrenderi.jpg/)

http://socketsite.com/
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[peanut gallery]

The theater will finally bite the dust. I remember well when it was first built. The replacement is rather meh, but at least that space will be used again. These couple of blocks of Van Ness are in for some big changes in the coming years (new CPMC hospital and office building the next block over).

[CyberEric]

Are they tearing down the building that has what look to be stacked glass blocks on the corner of VN and Sutter?

I actually prefer that building to this snoozer. Hopefully it looks better in person, because the renderings are sad and uninspired.

[Gordo]

^Yep, that's the one. It used to be a theater - closed maybe four years ago?

I don't mind this building. Nothing special, but most buildings are nothing special. Adding a hundred more households and a Trader Joe's to the area is a gigantic improvement.

[northbay]

^ agreed. 'acceptable' infill

[viewguysf]

Are they tearing down the building that has what look to be stacked glass blocks on the corner of VN and Sutter?

I actually prefer that building to this snoozer. Hopefully it looks better in person, because the renderings are sad and uninspired.

I agree and actually like the theater building and also remember it being built. Why would Trader Joe's still go into this new structure when they are moving into the current Cala at Hyde and California?

[peanut gallery]

^That's a good question. I'm not sure Trader Joe's is actually going in here. Someone may have just added that to the rendering or maybe it was once the plan. TJ's at the Cala site I think has been officially announced.

[Gordo]

TJ's officially announced the Van Ness location about three years ago, but then the project was indefinitely put on hold. Then they announced the California/Hyde location a few weeks ago, then this project was taken off hold.

So...I assume that this project no longer has a TJ's attached to it, which is a shame. This is a much, much better location for it, and really I'd rather see the other place sit vacant for a year or two if it keeps open the possibility of redeveloping it sooner.

[viewguysf]

TJ's officially announced the Van Ness location about three years ago, but then the project was indefinitely put on hold. Then they announced the California/Hyde location a few weeks ago, then this project was taken off hold.

So...I assume that this project no longer has a TJ's attached to it, which is a shame. This is a much, much better location for it, and really I'd rather see the other place sit vacant for a year or two if it keeps open the possibility of redeveloping it sooner.

I know a number of people in the Nob Hill neighborhood who are thrilled to have TJ's going into the Cala site versus the new Van Ness development. Maybe the building can have a restored retro look. ;<)

[Gordo]

I know a number of people in the Nob Hill neighborhood who are thrilled to have TJ's going into the Cala site versus the new Van Ness development. Maybe the building can have a restored retro look. ;<)

I definitely have mixed feelings. The Cala site is a ten block walk from where I live, and it's a walk that I would definitely make fairly often. But that building and parking lot are gross. Maybe TJ's can come in and clean it up, but the complete resurfacing and painting of the parking lot a few years ago didn't help it all. I think a lot of it is the placement of the dumpsters below the opening to the store - there is just always this terrible smell right when you're walking in or out (and when it was a Cala, inside also, near the produce, which was over the dumpster area).

Oh, and plus, I'd love to get rid of the parking lot just for the sake of surface lots being really ugly :)

[CyberEric]

^If Whole Foods can make the store on Haight and Stanyan look good, I imagine TJs can make that Cala store look good.

[peanut gallery]

It's a real shame the proposal to redevelop the Cala site died. That would have eliminated the ugly parking lot yet retained the grocery store. But at least a new store is going in for that neighborhood. Eric's right, they can make the building look a lot better. The parking lot? Not so much.

[1977]

It's a real shame the proposal to redevelop the Cala site died. That would have eliminated the ugly parking lot yet retained the grocery store. But at least a new store is going in for that neighborhood. Eric's right, they can make the building look a lot better. The parking lot? Not so much.

Maybe with right amount of trees/foliage and some interesting lighting, but yeah...lipstick on a pig. :(

[viewguysf]

I definitely have mixed feelings. The Cala site is a ten block walk from where I live, and it's a walk that I would definitely make fairly often. But that building and parking lot are gross. Maybe TJ's can come in and clean it up, but the complete resurfacing and painting of the parking lot a few years ago didn't help it all. I think a lot of it is the placement of the dumpsters below the opening to the store - there is just always this terrible smell right when you're walking in or out (and when it was a Cala, inside also, near the produce, which was over the dumpster area).

Oh, and plus, I'd love to get rid of the parking lot just for the sake of surface lots being really ugly :)

Can't say I disagree with you either Gordo! At least I don't live in the neighborhood, so it doesn't affect me one way or the other. The Van Ness structure will be another in a string of semi-schlock to grace our City, particularly along this corridor. Our modern architecture, with some notable exceptions, is boring.