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

[cv94117]

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

big news on the corner of market and van ness/svn http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/02/midmarket_honda_dealership_sold_to_become_new_housing.php

damn, crescent heights really get it done. it'll be years before this is entitled, but i bet this gang moves as fast as they can on it. it's a triangular lot with lane access, so hopefully there's a commercial wrap the length of svn coming down from market. makes me drool to imagine that intersection in 10 years.

Right - But as I commented on Curbed: Hopefully they hire a better architect for this one. NEMA is awful - aside from the blah design (I know others disagree) have you ever looked at the top from a few blocks away? All the mechanical equipment showing - really amateurish job. Looks like it's unfinished but unfortunately it is.

[fflint]

Let's not get our hopes up regarding the attractiveness of the eventual development at Market and Van Ness--between the city's meddling and the developer's value engineering, there is very little chance it will be any more attractive than the rest of SF's middling fare. That said, I'm really excited to see this moving forward! There is no better example of true transit-oriented development than residential towers at Market and Van Ness, and we're not sacrificing anything with highrises there.

Historically, this is yet another step forward and an example of the healing of the city's urban fabric. There was a time when San Francisco was in decline, and a great deal of real estate on Market Street was torn down and given over to automobile sales (@Van Ness, @Dolores, @ Valencia) and service (@Buchanan, @15th, @Sanchez, @Castro)--but now that the city is on the rise, those are no longer the highest uses for such desirable addresses. One after another, these autopian incursions are being erased. So few US cities have been able to claim this accomplishment in any meaningful sense--parts of New York, parts of Boston, parts of Philly. This is urban history in the making.

[Jerry of San Fran]

a very long weekend - thanks for the update. I was taken by surprise as the property was upgraded recently so I did not think there would be any changes there soon.

I've long know that BART turned under that corner but it never occurred to me that it would complicate a highrise build there. It will make it more expensive to build on that corner. If one goes to the corner of Colton & Colusa streets you can see an air shaft to the BART tunnel in a parking lot - note the barbed wire on the fence. Trains can be heard traveling though the tunnel there. See Google Earth or maps street view.

Just when I thought nothing more could be built within a block of my apartment building - another surprise!

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

big news on the corner of market and van ness/svn http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/02/midmarket_honda_dealership_sold_to_become_new_housing.php

from the earlier sfbt article:

The southern portion of the triangular property is zoned for a 400 foot tower and a shorter podium. Zoning along Market Street allows for a 120-foot midrise.
...
The development is complicated by the fact that the BART tunnel sits below the property. Boas said that the tube would probably necessitate a shorter building —with a shallower foundation —on a portion of the property, but “it gets pretty technical beyond that.” The property could probably accommodate between 500 and 700 housing units. In the current market, the site would probably sell for between $50 million and $70 million.

damn, crescent heights really get it done. it'll be years before this is entitled, but i bet this gang moves as fast as they can on it. it's a triangular lot with lane access, so hopefully there's a commercial wrap the length of svn coming down from market. makes me drool to imagine that intersection in 10 years.

[fimiak]

Van Ness and Market is turning into a new nucleus in the city. I really hope they can really improve the pedestrian experience. One Van Ness had better begin to move its processes forward now that the intersection is hot commodity. Meanwhile the twitter corridor on 10th had a soft opening yesterday and is really looking sharp. Good things are coming to mid-market!

[viewguysf]

Originally Posted by cv94117

Right - But as I commented on Curbed: Hopefully they hire a better architect for this one. NEMA is awful - aside from the blah design (I know others disagree) have you ever looked at the top from a few blocks away? All the mechanical equipment showing - really amateurish job. Looks like it's unfinished but unfortunately it is.

I posted a photo of that not too long ago--the galvanized mechincal equipment is really set off against the black building and looks horrible from further up Market Street when coming down from Castro and Dolores. The fins/crown pieces that stick up are inadequately small on the east and west sides of the tower and don't look well planned at all.

Handel Architects also designed the Four Seasons (blah), Millennium Tower (better), Blu (blah), the Metreon, 340 Fremont (let's hope it's decent), and the much fought over 706 Mission, among others.

[mt_climber13]

The mechanical equipment is visible from civic center and looks horrible. Couldn't they have put walls up around all sides of the roof instead of just two sides??

The building is pretty cool though. It looks like somewhere Batman would live.

[fflint]

There's an interesting Chronicle article about the recent history leading up to all the construction on Rincon Hill right now, how it was impacted by the recession, how it doesn't yet have good transit connections or retail, etc. Worth a read.

Anyway, here's a relevant snippet: the Chron reports a "total of 2,127 housing units are under construction on the hill, with towers rising at 399 Fremont St., 340 Fremont St., 333 Fremont St., 45 Lansing St., and 201 Spear St."

There are easily another couple thousand residential units u/c in the rest of the city--maybe more!

[Jerry of San Fran]

NEMA Speaking of Batman, two nights ago I saw some of my neighbors fly by my window at the Fox Plaza. I've seen bats before late at night.

I've warmed to NEMA, but my dislike of the base on Market St. has not changed. I only see the mechanical roof if I stand at my balcony, but agree it could have been done better. Trinity Place #1 is the winner for hiding the mechanical room - it looks like an apartment floor - few people realize what the top floor really is.

[simms3_redux]

Some random construction pics from last weekend, meant to get these up sooner.

1645 pacific replaces a former public parking garage with 39 units, 41 private basement parking spaces, and 3,200 SF of ground floor retail, all while keeping a 1907 auto body repair shop. Grosvenor Americas is the project sponsor, Nick Podell is the project developer, and BAR Architects (38 Dolores) is the architect on record.

This is near me so I'm finally ready for this to be done.



Can't decide if the reliefs are creepy or cool...







The back is like the side up above, wood paneling. The brick looks a little cheap, though is an interesting detail. The front facade does not look nearly as cheap as it could have and the overall design is interesting.

Amero - 27 units in 7 floors developed by Trumark Urban and marketed by the Mark Company





Its Van Ness neighbors:




That other new project going up on Marlow's block on Van Ness - does anyone have a render or information?





And Marlow (8 stories, 98 units and 4,900 SF retail) turned out to be one of the best looking new buildings I've ever seen anywhere:



Random area density shot:

[pseudolus]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

That other new project going up on Marlow's block on Van Ness - does anyone have a render or information?

I've always like the nutty windows on that building. *Almost* a shame to hide them.

[fflint]

I really like 1645 Pacific--it has a vague 'Barcelona' vibe to it.

[Jerry of San Fran]

Thanks for the updates simms3 redux - 1645 Pacific is one I had not seen before. I find it to be very strange, something I would expect to see in Miami, Florida, not in San Francisco. The stark white asks for too much attention. Yes, it does border on the creepy!

[peanut gallery]

1645 is a bit of an enigma to me. I like the detailing (reliefs, copper drainpipes, cornice decorations) and really like how they've incorporated the old garage by going industrial with the windows and brick above it. But looking at the whole…I don't know, something is just off for me. Not terrible, just not equal to the sum of its parts somehow.

On the other hand, I'm with you on Marlow, simms. It came out great.

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by fflint

There's an interesting Chronicle article about the recent history leading up to all the construction on Rincon Hill right now, how it was impacted by the recession, how it doesn't yet have good transit connections or retail, etc. Worth a read.

Anyway, here's a relevant snippet: the Chron reports a "total of 2,127 housing units are under construction on the hill, with towers rising at 399 Fremont St., 340 Fremont St., 333 Fremont St., 45 Lansing St., and 201 Spear St."

There are easily another couple thousand residential units u/c in the rest of the city--maybe more!

Thanks for posting that, fflint. I hadn't realized that JK Dineen moved over to the Chronicle (I noticed he was no longer writing for the SF Business Times, but didn't know where he went). It will be good having someone new writing about development at the Chronicle. I like much of King's writing, but he thinks every new proposal should be shorter.

[fimiak]

I like 1645 Pacific, people are judging too soon, its a building that will only get better and better as they finish more of it and install planters etc. Its also the type of building that will grow character with age, its really a gem.

On a side it would be amazing if future 3D printers ushers in a new art deco era in architecture in the 2020s. It is still the most expressive and optimistic era in modern architecture.

[a very long weekend]

a note that wasn't picked up in the sfbt article:

The sale allows San Francisco Honda to remain on site for two years, with sales and service continuing unaffected and uninterrupted. San Francisco Honda is one of the original 50 Honda dealerships in the United States.
http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2014/05/05/trading-in-cars-for-condos-at-market-and-van-ness/

that sounds about right for entitling this site. that choo creep should just sell his doughnuts-adjacent site and let the city move on.

[Jerry of San Fran]

Construction buildings have been put on the site across from 101 Polk. Workers hazardous material suits today are digging sand & rubble from the site - there are 2 very large vats or pipes they are digging out. I've tried to find out what was on the property before, but have not been able to get any information yet. It "MAY" be that the site has had minimal disturbances since the 1906 earthquake. There is lots of brick rubble and pipes in the ground. From the maps I have seen the Yerba Buena cemetery did not extend as far as this site. We have seen what we think are archaeologists on the site at night. As far as I can remember there has been a parking lot there since I moved into the Fox Plaza 43 years ago.

[peanut gallery]

Great update, Jerry. Thanks!

fimiak - good point about letting that building age, especially the point about the planters and things. Just having actual people living in it will add character. Hope I didn't sound like I was dumping on it. If so, that wasn't my intention. I too am a fan of Art Deco, and wouldn't mind seeing more of it. It's one of my favorite aspects of Miami Beach.

Edit: And this rendering I saw on Curbed really makes your point:

[peanut gallery]

This SF Business Times article on SFMOMA fundraising includes a few interesting tidbits on the expansion:

On the construction front, meanwhile, the back side of the existing Botta building has been taken off, sort of like removing the back of a dress, so it can be attached to the new structure. Two 500-ton cranes are on site to move heavy objects, 95,000 cubic feet of concrete has been poured to create a foundation 100-feet square and 10-feet thick, and as many as 150 construction workers are swarming on the site, a number expected to grow to 400 soon, Dykers said.

By the end of summer, the new building's framework will rise to full size, and a topping-off ceremony has been scheduled for Sept. 10. The Snøhetta-designed structure's skin should start taking shape by year-end, he said.

[simms3_redux]

^^^Good update. Walked by a couple weeks ago on New Montgomery and saw steel through the alleyway, so I think structural is rising.

This and 222 Second will rise fast and that area will be transformed virtually overnight. Looking forward to getting pics soon.