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

[BobbyMucho]

Originally Posted by homebucket

While I would agree that this doesn't look "good", I disagree with your initial assessment. Also keep in mind this is a 100% affordable housing.

Being affordable shouldn't have anything to do with its aesthetic qualities (even though, unfortunately, it can from time to time).

My take is that, like most other new builds, it'll eventually blend into the collage of mostly awkward but mildly charming structures of the early 21st century. This one, albeit more on the awkward side than some, does have some nicer finishes (namely the colored tile) and unique features (boxy window pattern and solar shades) that could help it age well IMO.

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by BobbyMucho

Being affordable shouldn't have anything to do with its aesthetic qualities (even though, unfortunately, it can from time to time).

My take is that, like most other new builds, it'll eventually blend into the collage of mostly awkward but mildly charming structures of the early 21st century. This one, albeit more on the awkward side than some, does have some nicer finishes (namely the colored tile) and unique features (boxy window pattern and solar shades) that could help it age well IMO.

Aesthetic qualities are generally more expensive though, both in terms of design and materials. High quality, unique design from higher end architecture firms typically comes at a premium. Cut and paste, generic designs are cheap.

But yes, I agree that it does have some nice touches, for example the window treatment and angled ledges on the 16th St side, to keep it from being completely bland and monotonous.

[38 Geary]

Changes coming to SF seawall in coming months
by: John Ferrannini
Posted: May 11, 2022 / 08:56 AM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The first portions of the new living seawall coming to San Francisco’s Embarcadero will be installed “most likely in September,” according to a scientist involved in the project.

The goal of the project, which is a joint venture between the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Port of San Francisco, is to create ecologically-friendly surfaces that encourage underwater habitats. These surfaces will be placed on the existing seawall, which is a barren concrete surface.

The project will be used “to help inform how to better design seawalls and other marine infrastructure as we move forward with our plans to adapt to sea level rise,” Randy Quezada, the communications director for the port, told KRON4.

Andrew Chang, an ecologist with the center, said that with the existing concrete seawall needing to be restored due to seismic reasons and projected, climate change-related sea level rise, the project is trying to “kill two birds with one stone.”

“It’s up to 100 years old,” Chang told KRON4. “While doing that, there is also a strong interest to create a better habitat for the ecological community around the seawall. That’s where we come in.”

The scientists are working on 90 one-foot square tiles, and six larger tiles, to be placed at the Pier 45 Breakwater on Fisherman’s Wharf, the Agricultural Building Seawall by the Ferry Building and the South Beach Harbor East Breakwater by Oracle Park.

The two-year pilot study will figure out which surfaces would be best for the biosphere of the San Francisco Bay.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/changes-coming-to-sf-seawall-in-coming-months/

[38 Geary]

An interesting history of the Embarcadero Seawall.

Embarcadero Seawall Program
The Evolution of San Francisco's Waterfront

Before the Gold Rush, San Francisco was a sleepy harbor with a northeastern shoreline near today's Salesforce Tower. As the waterfront expanded with industry, the Port of San Francisco oversaw the construction of the Embarcadero Seawall, a rock and concrete wall stretching three miles. The Seawall transformed the city, laying the foundation for the thriving waterfront we know and love today.

The Seawall is the backbone of the waterfront. It supports over $100 billion in assets and annual economic activity and supports many of the city's iconic destinations, parks, and local businesses, which attract more than 24 million people each year. The Seawall also supports key utility and transportation infrastructure including BART, Muni, and ferry networks, and serves as a critical emergency response and recovery area. Over 50 key emergency assets depend on the Seawall.



...

Threats to the Embarcadero Seawall: Earthquakes and Sea Level Rise
The Seawall is now in desperate need of repair, vulnerable to urgent seismic risks and increasing flood risks. The Seawall was built without today's seismic standards and atop "young bay mud," a soft, weak mud that can amplify earthquake shaking. The Bay Area has enjoyed a historically quiet period of seismic activity since 1906, but the U.S. Geological Survey estimates a 72% chance of a major earthquake happening between now and 2043.

Today, the Embarcadero Promenade floods intermittently. As sea levels continue to rise, there will be additional flooding risks to the BART Transbay Tube, Muni light rail, key utility infrastructure, and waterfront businesses and neighborhoods.

https://sfport.com/wrp/embarcadero-seawall-program

[38 Geary]

New thread: SAN FRANCISCO | Stonestown Development Project

[timbad]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Circling back to the MB discussion...

just a reminder to all that there is a Mission Bay thread...

[38 Geary]

^ Thanks. I copied some of the relevant discussion over there for curating purposes.

[38 Geary]

Approved. 70 units, 100% affordable.

Beleaguered 180 Jones site will rise as affordable housing for families
By Joe Kukura - Published on May 11, 2022.

We’ve published a number of news stories about the bedraggled Tenderloin vacant lot at 180 Jones Street, and none of them have been very uplifting. Early in the pandemic, the city-owned lot was surrounded by tents, yet people were gated off from camping there, and the city was inexplicably paying $6,000 a month for security while people shivered and starved in tents outside. It then became a sanctioned tent city, but with no food or services provided like at other sites.

The 180 Jones parcel also made national headlines as being the proposed site of a meth sobering center, and as you can imagine, the national coverage of that was not very flattering. (That plan has since moved to another site.)

But the ultimate outcome for 180 Jones is something to be proud of. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan to make 180 Jones a 70-unit affordable housing complex for low-income households and previously unhoused families.

“I am thrilled to support projects like this that provide permanent solutions for struggling San Franciscans and people experiencing homelessness,” said District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston before the vote. Preston is the Tenderloin’s new supervisor after a redistricting process.

https://hoodline.com/2022/05/beleaguered...rise-as-affordable-housing-for-families/

[Pedestrian]

[/b]Detailed Renderings For 925 Bryant Street In SoMa, San Francisco[/b]
BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON MAY 13, 2022

. . . The project will replace an existing non-descript warehouse with over two hundred group housing units, bicycle parking, and ground-level retail. Carmel Partners is responsible for the application.

BAR Architects is responsible for the design. Facing Bryant Street, the podium-style building will contrast dark grey cement plaster with vertical composite wood-look siding. At the rooftop corner of the project will sit an angular cap, providing a focal point from which the rest of the building recedes. The rest of the face along Langton Street will be a familiar pattern of cement plaster interspersed with some bay windows.

In a letter to the San Francisco Planning Department, Jim Brenza, a BAR associate, shared that the firm hired Studio O+A, a company based in the SoMa Pilipinas District, to assist with branding, marketing and the conceptual planning of the project amenity space. This will include a large multi-function outdoor patio with a fitness center, coworking space, cooking, and outdoor dining space.

Facade materials will include cement plaster, composite siding, metal screening, concrete columns, and metal louvers.

925 Bryant will include a long narrow rear yard between its neighbor and a landscaped rooftop deck with trees and planters between copious seats, tables, and outdoor furniture. The open space will be designed by JETT Landscape Architecture + Design.

The 75-foot tall structure will rise from less than half an acre to yield 128,230 square feet. The floor area will include 101,480 square feet for housing, 13,090 square feet for the 25-car garage, and 3,130 square feet for ground-level commercial space. Additional parking will be included in a sizeable ground-level room for 218 bicycles.

Of the 218 group housing units, there will be 35 units designated as affordable housing.

Urban Design Consulting Engineering is responsible for the project’s civil engineering.

. . . The project will require demolition permits for the existing 1963-built structure. Construction is expected to cost $44 million and last twenty months from groundbreaking to completion.





(Amenity space)

https://sfyimby.com/2022/05/detailed-renderings-for-925-bryant-street-in-soma-san-francisco.html

Love the amenity space--reminds me of a crowded old library.

[38 Geary]

^ Nice project and good connectivity. Only a 10 min walk to 4th/Brannan Station and under 15 min to Civic Center. Also serviced by 8 Bayshore, 19 Polk, 27 Bryant.

Specs:
- 75 FT | 7 FLOORS
- 218 units
- 35 of the units will be BMR
- 3,130 sq ft ground floor commercial
- 25 car garage and 218 spaces for bicycles in a ground level room

[obemearg]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Love the amenity space--reminds me of a crowded old library.

I do too, though the image used in the SFYIMBY article is of the lobby of a CitizenM hotel in NY. I wonder why?

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/9/18/17874496/bowery-citizen-m-hotel-museum-of-street-art-5-pointz

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by obemearg

I do too, though the image used in the SFYIMBY article is of the lobby of a CitizenM hotel in NY. I wonder why?

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/9/18/17874496/bowery-citizen-m-hotel-museum-of-street-art-5-pointz

Any of the mentioned architects or designers the same as those used on the NY project? They could be duplicating their work.

[38 Geary]

Could be a good opportunity for conversion to residential.


https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/180-182-Howard-St-San-Francisco-CA/17787641/

State Bar of California plans to sell San Francisco headquarters
Tessa McLean, SFGATE
May 18, 2022

It’s not only the tech giants that are shedding Bay Area office space.

The State Bar of California plans to sell its 250,000-square-foot San Francisco headquarters at 180 Howard St. as the organization transitions to a hybrid work model, as first reported by the San Francisco Business Times.

Employees will be able to work from home three days a week, according to a spokesperson, and the agency will seek space elsewhere in the Bay Area.

The arm of the California Supreme Court that licenses and regulates attorneys purchased the 13-story building in 1995 for $22.5 million, but no sale price has yet been released.

While the news is important when thinking about the future of San Francisco office space, the agency had reportedly been considering selling the building since 2014 and the pandemic sped up its plans. Office occupancy is currently just 35.5% of 2019 levels, data from real estate services firm JLL shared with the Business Times showed.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/State-Bar-selling-sf-hq-17179977.php

[38 Geary]

Historic space near Montgomery BART will become restaurant, bar, and private event space



By Wesley Severson - Published on May 19, 2022.

A historic pillar-lined bank building at the corner of Sutter and Sansome streets, near BART’s Montgomery Station in the Financial District, is about to start a new chapter in its long 112-year history. Barker Pacific Group owns the former bank building along with the 42-story tower attached behind it, which are collectively called One Sansome. The group is now planning to pump $20 million into renovations that will transform the elegant lobby-style space into a restaurant, bar, and private event venue that can hold 2,000 guests. It will be called Holbrook House which was the name of a former building that stood on the property before the tower portion was built.



Phil Spiegel, who is known for his work at the nearby Merchants Exchange Club and Julia Morgan Ballroom is leading the effort to create Holbrook House. He told the SF Chronicle that passing by the restaurant will be “like you’re looking at Gatsby’s mansion, and there’s a party going on and you’re wondering what’s happening. And you’re looking through, you’re seeing this beautiful space, and you’re seeing activity, and it’s fun, and it’s active.”



...

Things are also looking up for the tower as well. Barker Pacific Group purchased the building in 2010 while it was in foreclosure. By 2015, after $100 million in upgrades, the building was completely full of office-space tenants but that changed after the coronavirus outbreak. One example was Citibank, which remains the anchor tenant but vacated the five floors during the pandemic. Now, 88% of the building is said to be already filled up after six tenants signed lease deals this year alone. “We’ve had some rough times, and we’ve had some boom times. And I think the uptick is coming,” Michael Barker with Barker Pacific Group told the Chronicle.

https://hoodline.com/2022/05/historic-sp...-restaurant-bar-and-private-event-space/

[38 Geary]

There has been an update for 725 Harrison.

Modifications Proposed For 725 Harrison Street, SoMa, San Francisco

[38 Geary]

A small but not unsubstantial project.

Construction Topped Out For Balboa Park Upper Yard In The Outer Mission, San Francisco
BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON JUNE 2, 2022

Construction work has topped out on the Balboa Park Upper Yard affordable housing project at 2340 San Jose Avenue in San Francisco’s Outer Mission. The construction has replaced a surface parking lot and former rail yard across from a BART and Muni station with a 90-foot tall infill with over a hundred affordable housing units. Both the Mission Housing Development Corporation and Related Companies are responsible for the development.

The project has replaced the upper yard parcel, which closed in 2008 following the completion of the Muni Metro East facility. The design, by Mithun, will feature a pedestrian plaza and a new vehicle drop-off area to service the adjacent Balboa Park BART and Muni rail station. Facade materials will include cement plaster, painted metal, and masonry. The structure has been articulated to break up the massing and soften the building scale visually. Facade installation has started but is not yet visible due to scaffolding.

The 91-foot tall structure yields around 170,000 square feet from the 0.7-acre lot. The building will create 131 affordable homes. Additional programming will include a 6,000 square foot child development center, a 2,400 square foot non-profit office space, 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, a community room, courtyard, and bicycle parking. Though developers are hoping to find a cafe or local grocer, a tenant has not been announced.

Of the 131 total units to be built, 39 will be designated for existing HOPE SF residents who volunteer to relocate from the Sunnydale-Velasco public housing site. Apartment rents will be geared toward households earning between 40-110% of the area median income. Unit sizes will range from studios to three bedrooms.

https://sfyimby.com/2022/06/construction...-in-the-outer-mission-san-francisco.html

[38 Geary]

And the images.













More at:
https://sfyimby.com/2022/06/construction...-in-the-outer-mission-san-francisco.html

[unpermitted_variance]

I'm a big fan of this project - it's nothing particularly tall or architecturally groundbreaking, but it adds some major bulk and height for a part of town that is pretty low-rise. It's a super visible site as well. Plus some badly needed affordable housing.

[Pedestrian]

Construction starts on major S.F. office building for first time since 2020
Roland Li
June 3, 2022

For the first time in more than two years, a major San Francisco office building has started construction, a rare sign of activity in a market hit hard by the pandemic and remote work.

Local developer Urban Land Development began demolition this week at 531 Bryant St., where it is replacing an existing building with six stories of office space. The 50,000-square-foot project will include pandemic-friendly features like outside air circulation and outdoor terraces. Construction is expected to be completed in July 2023.

Susan Sagy, managing director at Urban Land Development . . . . [said] the building’s relatively small size makes it a good fit for a single tenant that wants total control over the building’s interior design and amenities . . . . There’s space for meetings, dining and leisure, such as a yoga room.

The city’s last major project to start construction was the San Francisco Giants and Tishman Speyer’s Mission Rock, whose first phase is nearing completion. Visa signed a lease for a new headquarters at the project before the pandemic in 2019.

Since then, San Francisco’s office vacancy rate has soared from around 6% to a record high of nearly 24%, according to real estate brokerage firm CBRE. A slew of major projects not far from 531 Bryant St. in the Central SoMa area have yet to start construction. Tech firm Pinterest paid $90 million to cancel a major lease at one of the unbuilt projects, 88 Bluxome St.

Sagy said the lack of new office supply will benefit 531 Bryant St. Urban Land Development is seeing an uptick in office demand, signing three recent leases at its 150 Post St. property near Union Square . . . .

The building includes two retail areas: one facing Zoe Street with two small micro-units suitable for entrepreneurs, and another on Bryant St. that could house a restaurant or cafe . . . .

https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/S-F-office-building-17216270.php#photo-22555129

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by unpermitted_variance

I'm a big fan of this project - it's nothing particularly tall or architecturally groundbreaking, but it adds some major bulk and height for a part of town that is pretty low-rise. It's a super visible site as well. Plus some badly needed affordable housing.

Yeah, we could definitely use more of these types of projects up and down our medium density transit oriented corridors.