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

[bossabreezes]

Thanks everyone for the input!

I will say that we didn't venture too much into the Haight and Castro. We went to Castro St, which was charming and the surrounding area seemed very nice. Completely missed out on going to The Mission due to time constraints, but it could be another contender.

Our biggest consideration is being away from the bigger drug use areas, as I don't want to consistently have to dodge needles. Thats why SoMa is probably not going to work. Second most important thing is walkability and transit/restaurant and grocery options.

Nob hill is just beautiful, but if it's very isolated, it might not be the best choice.

Anyway, this move is still a little over a year out so we've got time. I'll be back next spring for a conference and will definitely be looking more carefully at neighborhoods.

Thank you!

[superfishy]

Just cruising through this thread.

As someone from San Diego, we have a 500 foot limit due to the proximity of the airport. Are there any regulations that might keep SF from getting, say, a 1500 footer? Or is it just a matter of time?

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by superfishy

Just cruising through this thread.

As someone from San Diego, we have a 500 foot limit due to the proximity of the airport. Are there any regulations that might keep SF from getting, say, a 1500 footer? Or is it just a matter of time?

The only "regulations" are of local making and could be changed--that is, zoning height limits imposed by the Planning Department and Board of Supervisors. Here is what the General Plan dictates in the tallest part of downtown (TransBay Transit District):


http://generalplan.sfplanning.org/Transit_Center_District_Sub_Area_Plan.pdf

But the politics in SF are such that these limits aren't going to be changed in the foreseeable future. Ultimately, say in the Star Trk time frame, they probably will be.

[Pedestrian]

Hope this doesn't mean another high profile Union Square retail vacancy:

Barneys New York Inc. has hired restructuring advisers and is considering several options including a possible bankruptcy filing, as it seeks to renegotiate the lease on its Madison Avenue flagship and other locations, according to a person familiar with the situation.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-so-man...563710401?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2

[Pedestrian]

Progress @ 555 Golden Gate:

[iamfishhead]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

The only "regulations" are of local making and could be changed--that is, zoning height limits imposed by the Planning Department and Board of Supervisors. Here is what the General Plan dictates in the tallest part of downtown (TransBay Transit District):


But the politics in SF are such that these limits aren't going to be changed in the foreseeable future. Ultimately, say in the Star Trk time frame, they probably will be.

I mean, there are a few other ways. Planning can grant zoning variances, including ones for height. Essentially, the developer can just ask to be able to build taller. They don't do this often and it's mostly been for residential developments which (at least in SF) tend to be shorter than office developments.

[gillynova]

Some pics I took over the weekend





Mexican Museum + Condo Tower:





--
500 Folsom




--
Oceanwide Center

[AndrewK]

Story from Curbed about 2100 Market (at Church & 14th):
https://sf.curbed.com/2019/7/24/20708790/sonder-rental-sf-duboce-triangle-hotel-short-term
They were in the process of furnishing the units when I walked by today. They have recently replaced the sidewalk on the Market side and are preparing to do the same on the 14th side. Presumably they will finish the ground floor siding once that is complete.

[Pedestrian]

I don't know. I feel like maybe this belongs in the "if only" file but here it is anyway:

Big Hub District Plan and New Heights Closer to Reality
July 25, 2019

. . . San Francisco’s Planning Department has just finished drafting the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the City’s . . . Hub District Plan.

In addition to improving and activating the area’s streets, alleys and public realm, the the Hub Plan would allow for the development of “a taller, larger, denser, and more diverse array of buildings and heights” within the boundaries of the 84-acre Hub District, which is effectively centered around the intersection of Van Ness and Market, within the City’s Market and Octavia Plan Area.

Currently zoned for building up to a maximum of 400 feet in height, the proposed plan would increase height limits for 18 specific Hub District sites and allow for the development of up to six new towers, the tallest of which would now be allowed to reach up to 650 feet in height at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, cementing the intersection as the visual hub of the neighborhood.



If adopted and developed as envisioned, the plan would allow for up to 8,100 new residential units, with room(s) for around 15,700 new residents to rise within the boundaries of the Hub District, the current population of which now totals around 8,100, housed within 3,500 existing units.

. . . a public hearing for the Draft Impact Report is now slated to be held on August 29, after which comments will be collected, addressed and the report finalized. And once the report is finalized, adoption hearings could then follow, with a current target of having an approved plan in hand, and perhaps some ground ready to be broken, by the end of next year (2020).

https://socketsite.com/archives/2019/07/...n-and-new-heights-closer-to-reality.html

[gillynova]

I would LOVE to see more height around this area. Exciting news to see they are moving forward with this and may break ground in 2020

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by gillynova

I would LOVE to see more height around this area. Exciting news to see they are moving forward with this and may break ground in 2020

Well, as you probably know, 30 Otis, one of the buildings shown, is already well under construction (since January). When they say breaking ground in 2020, I assume they mean one of the taller couple of buildings like 1 or 10 S. Van Ness or 1 Oak. 1 Oak seems forever stalled and is the main reason for my earlier sarcasm. Probably it's 10 S. Van Ness that could get underway in the next 18 months.

[Pedestrian]

I posted this in the project thread but I'll put it here too: In an article on the shortage of office space in SF, the print edition of the SF Business Times this week reports "Salesforce has taken all of Oceanwide Center . . . "

[gillynova]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Well, as you probably know, 30 Otis, one of the buildings shown, is already well under construction (since January). When they say breaking ground in 2020, I assume they mean one of the taller couple of buildings like 1 or 10 S. Van Ness or 1 Oak. 1 Oak seems forever stalled and is the main reason for my earlier sarcasm. Probably it's 10 S. Van Ness that could get underway in the next 18 months.

Haha yes, I know 30 Otis is already under construction. 1 or 10 S Van Ness will be a VERY nice addition to the area is what I meant.

[fimiak]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I posted this in the project thread but I'll put it here too: In an article on the shortage of office space in SF, the print edition of the SF Business Times this week reports "Salesforce has taken all of Oceanwide Center . . . "

Wow how can they take SF Tower, Oceanwide, and Parcel F, not to mention their other properties? Or are they dropping plans for Parcel F because it will take so much longer to finish?

[timbad]

miscellaneous from this weekend...

the One that needs no introduction



still Showplace Square, CCA housing down the street



apparently 'Mason on Mariposa' (at Carolina, north slope Potrero Hill, or Potrero Flats), losing its shroud



looking back north up Carolina, towards CCA housing



the passageway through 'Mason'



Muni tracks on Fourth (north from King) for Central Subway



at Brannan



looking south from the same spot



looking back at the future Muni stop at Brannan



old and new curb for widened sidewalk on south side of Folsom



and a bus island(?) also on Folsom just west of 2nd (which I thought was outside the scope of the Folsom Streetscape project)



sometimes SF just looks like a pile of stuff (which I suppose in some senses, it is). this is the work on the Embarcadero Ferry terminal



I really like the way the little alley leading to/from 2nd and the Transit Center is shaping up. looking west with SFMOMA in the distance





looking back the other way. this approach to the terminal really needs a good mural like the one in the shot. I suppose this particular one will be covered or blocked by Parcel F or other buildings, but as this space evolves, I hope we get some spectacular art







still can't see much at the one on Market at Mason



the GG and Jones corner of 1066 Market



the Market side





the one where Fast Frame used to be, across from Flax





speaking of Flax site...







Market and Church again



the new sidewalk on the Market side recently mentioned



I'd forgotten about this one, but at least the demo has happened for it



the one on Sixth and Shipley



just to the south of that one, the former gas station hopefully is not long for this world



at the other end of Shipley, at 5th, the lot has been cleared, for ... this?



the little one on 7th near Mission



part of the Hastings School expansion I think

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by timbad

part of the Hastings School expansion I think

Yes.

Did you say hello to all the drug dealers around there for me? j/k

[Pedestrian]

Developers buy empty 6X6 mall in San Francisco’s Mid-Market
Roland Li and Shwanika Narayan Aug. 1, 2019

The empty 6X6 mall in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood, which has been unable to find tenants for the past three years, has been sold.

Developers Alexandria Real Estate Equities and TMG Partners bought the property at 945 Market St., which opened in 2016.

The 250,000-square-foot project’s inability to fill storefronts reflects both challenges in the retail sector and the area’s persistent crime and homelessness. Its only active business is its 167-space parking garage.

. . . the new owners’ plans for the building weren’t disclosed . . . .

https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Developers-buy-empty-6X6-mall-in-San-14274906.php

[Jerry of San Fran]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Developers-buy-empty-6X6-mall-in-San-14274906.php

I expressed my opinion on the Skyscraper forum that the mall was a big mistake from the beginning & I know nothing about retail except that I like to shop! I did not believe that downtown could support more retail.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by Jerry of San Fran

I expressed my opinion on the Skyscraper forum that the mall was a big mistake from the beginning & I know nothing about retail except that I like to shop! I did not believe that downtown could support more retail.

I actually testified at the Planning Commission in favor of it. That was several years before it was built and actually before online retail took off. At that time they had tentatively signed up Target for a large chunk of the space. But the delay in approval and then in construction eventually led Target to find an alternative site which turned out to be the Metreon (do they still call it that?).

Regardless of the amount of total retail in downtown, the southern Tenderloin, northern SOMA and mid-Market do not have the sort of retail that supports the people who live there. Sure there's plenty of high end retail in Union Square but 5-10 years ago where was there you could walk to from this area to buy basic groceries or inexpensive, basic clothing (the dept store outlets have also arrived since "Market Street Place", as it was called, was first conceived).

And that was the concept the developer put forward: That unlike, say San Francisco Center, this mall would have retail that served the mainly lower income community around it for basic goods such as one might find at, say, Walmart (which, unfortunately IMHO, would NOT be there) or Target (which would have) or Ross or TJ Max or other discounters (some of which have also moved further down Market St. since then). I still think that sort of retail would be useful in this location but something happened between the concept and the realization--something even more than Target going elsewhere (to a place that doesn't serve that neighborhood nearly as well).

[timbad]

here's the one getting a make-over on Folsom between Second and Third:



speaking of make-overs, here is Folsom St





and since we can't update the Avery thread any longer:



the difference in curbs



I was hoping the shroud would have been off the one at california and Powell by now, oh well



it was recently mentioned somewhere that people would actually finally start moving into the one at Laguna and Fulton this fall, after all the developer's shenanigans. still hoping they can find a new tenant for the grocery store space





the little alley seen in that second pic looked potentially inviting. it has black cobbles for texture, and the development appears to be making space for plantings





the affordable one also on Laguna, at Fell





I was surprised to see this one one had gotten underway, finally



another angle of the one at Market and Haight (Fast Frame)



this is on 10th I think, near Folsom, and I believe is a school





the ones on 12th near Harrison, adjacent to the future Eagle Plaza (seen in last pic)