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

[Jerry of San Fran]

Many of you may remember the proposal made many years ago to develop the site at 600 Van Ness Avenue. It is the site of a McDonald's on the corner. McDonald's is now closed & the proposal to build a 13 story building with senior housing is again active. Looks like it going to happen this time. See Socket Site:
http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2015/...d-site-zoned-13-story-building-rise.html

[a very long weekend]

still quite a way off. there's no proposal for the site but i don't think they'd need to do an environmental impact review (neighborhood exemption) so we could see a construction start as "soon" as 2017.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by toxteth o'grady

I assume Rincon Hill is buried in there somewhere...

Rincon Hill was mostly carted off and buried in the Bay 140 years ago...

[viewguysf]

Originally Posted by timbad

Rincon Hill was mostly carted off and buried in the Bay 140 years ago...

The Bay Bridge is anchored into what's left of it, with One Rincon Hill North Tower (the original, taller one) sitting on top at about a 100' elevation.

[Jerry of San Fran]

A view of the skyline as seen by see with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on the left. It wont' be long before the west wall will be finished.

2915_1_24_MOMA

[a very long weekend]

great photo, jerry.

so this one at 832 sutter street (long a gravel parking lot) is now well into early stage excavation:



a beautiful piece of infill (speaking on the urbanism side of things) that'll come in at either 20 or 27 units, i can't tell which document i ought to believe. anyway, should be wrapped up inside of 18 months.

[Jerry of San Fran]

a very long weekend - A nice looking narrow building for the narrow lot. It respects it's neighboring architecture, except for the next door garage which is one of those quirky buildings in the neighborhood.

And how cool! My first real apartment was around the corner on Leavenworth Street up the hill, a one bedroom top 5th floor (not much of a view) furnished for $155 a month in 1969.
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Originally Posted by a very long weekend

great photo, jerry.

so this one at 832 sutter street (long a gravel parking lot) is now well into early stage excavation:



a beautiful piece of infill (speaking on the urbanism side of things) that'll come in at either 20 or 27 units, i can't tell which document i ought to believe. anyway, should be wrapped up inside of 18 months.

[BushMan]

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

great photo, jerry.

so this one at 832 sutter street (long a gravel parking lot) is now well into early stage excavation:



a beautiful piece of infill (speaking on the urbanism side of things) that'll come in at either 20 or 27 units, i can't tell which document i ought to believe. anyway, should be wrapped up inside of 18 months.

I live a couple of blocks from here and am very excited about it as well, hadn't noticed that work had begun!

We've been getting some nice infill in the neighborhood over the last few years, including Blanc down the street at 1080 Sutter (which this rendering looks very similar to in spite of being much "skinnier") and 723 Taylor to name a couple.

[simms3_redux]

I'm only saying this here because there is no community discussion forum as other cities have, yet there is a downside to all this new development:

In my neighborhood several institutions have closed, not the least of echo is Lombardi's Sports, which sold to condo developers. The only new retail that has opened in the last year? A suppppperrrrrrrrr overpriced Acai Hawaiian place, an expensive butcher, and an expensive gelato place that's actually not too bad price wise and totally yummy.

However, with all of the new condos and new renters in the neighborhood, where once before Cheese Plus was sort of the token expensive cornerstore where you could find expensive European ingredients and cheeses and $13/half pint ice cream and exotic beers for $20 for a 6 pack, now it's everywhere! I have followed this and posted this on my Facebook. Big Apple is now going to be The Market, which is the same high end grocer now open in the Twitter Building and soon to be Lumina. So cheapness has gone completely out the door...

Anyway, Real Food's owners no longer carried Odwalla as of a couple months ago due to something to do with some Odwalla juices being GMO or not 100% juice, etc. so now there is no benefit for me going to a grocer...juice at Real Food is just as expensive as the $10 12 oz juices at Project Juice across the street. Then it was the eggs...they kept one low brow name I never bought (I was into Judy's); so now the next cheapest level is $8.99/dozen eggs. Finally tonight I went in and saw that they are no longer carrying Three Twins I cream for "only $5.49" a pint (only $4.49/pt at WF for this brand). Instead where Three Twins was is now some super local brand for $13.49 a pint, which I suppose is still better than the $11.89/half pt at neighboring Cheese Plus, but still....

So I complained a bit to the poor cash register girl...she had no solutions which is natural, though she's still a medium between customer and store manager! Anyway, the snooty UGLY pale girl in line behind me with pizza face nonetheless waves me on as I pay and leave and says nothing short of "it's entirely nobody's fault but your own if you can't afford groceries; cya!"

So while I love all this new development; THIS is the product of that in THIS particular town. Surely others beside me notice this...there is definitely something out of whack. I make a solid 6 figured and WORK IN REAL ESTATE and this is still making me feel uncomfortable...

Anyway, rant over...oh and btw, I'm not in a the dominant neighborhood...I'm between cow hollow and Polk gulch. I can only imagine how it must be getting elsewhere like South beach the Mission or in other neighborhoods seeing even more development and gentrification by tech...sympathizing more and more with the locals here who are trying to curtail this. It's not normal and SF isn't that great where people can be that snobby and sore...we still haven't figured out growth, transit, affordability, homelessness, or other major issues plaguing this city. Food may be good but if it's all from around the block why does it have to be so expensive? And I'll take finance snobs any day over the creepy weird nerdy tech geek snobs that are taking over...ugh

[viewguysf]

Simms, I was just thinking much the same thing tonight on my way home after dropping my bff off at her place on Nob Hill. We are all becoming victims of this, and I say it as a comfortable rental property owner. San Francisco is getting more expensive in many subtle ways in addition to what has long been obvious.

[mt_climber13]

Interesting topic..
I lived in SF a little over a decade and in that time, your standard parking ticket, bridge tolls, gas, MUNI fare, all inflated by 100% or more.

This was in 2001, when, back then, SF was hella "expensive," but you guys should wish it was that expensive today (it was cheaper back then than Oakland is today). I remember renting a 2 bed @ Fulton/ Arguello for under $1400, and this was only in 2006. Today it would be well over $3,500.

Oh, and the food, it may be good in SF, but in Sac, it's much better, and fresher (literally off the farm and onto your table, since this is where all your food comes from). And I can walk away from the farmer's market with two heavy bags worth of fresh non- pesticide produce for under $15. In SF you can get a tin of jam for that price.

Leaving was actually the best decision I made (blessing in disguise). I almost landed a tech job and moved back, but didn't work out, and I'm happy, because I would have no expendable income moving back there. Now I can finally get a firm footing, save up, pay off debts, travel, buy a rad bike. Stress has lowered significantly. A studio apartment in the Midtown area can be had for about $600. 1 bedroom in a Victorian with vaulted ceilings, period details, dishwasher, stainless steel appliances, a garden, can be had for $1,000. Plus there's Tahoe right in your backyard, and snowy mountains all around. Oh yeah, and the city, via Amtrak or car. Maybe some of you should come out this way and try it out

And to speak of the entitlement, I do realize that when I go back, the drivers are a lot more aggressive and angry. Countless times I'd be waiting to make a left turn because a pedestrian is crossing (I refuse to cut off pedestrians) and some prick behind me will swerve around, cut me off, then speed past the pedestrian. Seems like a lot different place than 15 years ago. I still like going back. But I'd never move back unless I could buy outright my own place. My goal is to buy a high rise condo in the new Transbay area within the next decade.

[toxteth o'grady]

910 feet. Per Forbes:

Chinese Developer To Build San Francisco's 2nd Tallest Tower

[simms3_redux]

Originally Posted by toxteth o'grady

910 feet. Per Forbes:

Chinese Developer To Build San Francisco's 2nd Tallest Tower

Thanks, but we already have a thread for this...believe me, a development this big doesn't go "unnoticed".

SAN FRANCISCO | 50 First St | 910 & 605 FT | 85 & 60 FLOORS

Forbes is also probably the last place I'd go to get real time skyscraper information, lol.

[rriojas71]

Simms, really good post and topic and I agree with everything you are saying. I am in currently on a pre-move to my home state of Texas, wouldn't be my first choice, but my family is all here and I wanted to reconnect with them after being in SF since 1996. I chose to make the move because my current profession of being a Certified Massage & Bodywork Therapist is just not cutting it financially for many of the reasons you have mentioned.

I have loved practicing this in the city for the past 10 years and I have developed some awesome relationships with my clients and also helping others deal with stress and other muscular dysfunctions so that they can experience realief and enjoy their day-to-day activities. I felt that the experience gained from a city so open to holistic practices gave me a true sense of purpose, but I also felt like things were changing in ways I couldn't really quantify or comprehend. I was evicted along with other flatmates and with the the residents of the other units from an awesome Edwardian Building near Dolores Park because they are converting the building into Condo units. Fair enough. It's the owner's right to do so and I have no problem there.

The real problem came when I (we) started looking for other places to rent and that is where the reality of the situation came into clear focus. It is not only unaffordable, but also virtually unrealistic to think I can live in the city any longer without almost my entire income going into housing. I have been sensing the shift in my clientele over the past 5 years and I just feel like I no longer connect with the populace as I once did. I statered asking myself "Why am I still here?". I have learned and experienced all I can from SF and I love all the new development going on, being a skyscraper enthusiast, but I felt like nothing is really keeping me there so it was time for me to move on. Everything from the basic essentials, to food and services is on the upswing and if you're not making a comfortable 6 figure salary you better be prepared to live in a box, which I no longer see as a viable or sane option for me.

Yes I could move to a place like Sacramento, like Wakemesalad has suggested, but I feel that if I have to move someplace I may as well move closer to my family. California will always be there, well except after "The Big One" lol, but my family won't. I'm not sure where SF is headed, but my only hope is that it doesn't lose the essence of what has made it unique to so many for the sake of "progess" and prosperity for the few that will soon be the only ones able to occupy it's streets.

Sorry for the rant. I just wanted to post because it was brought up and this is a topic near and dear to me at this point in time.

[mt_climber13]

Perfect timing:

Psychology studies suggest rising wealth means more jerks in S.F.

"[Rich People] are more likely to… cut off pedestrians in crosswalks"

"Sebastiano Tevarotto, the 52-year-old CEO of a software company and a Noe Valley resident, said he wasn’t surprised by Piff’s findings. The native of Italy has lived in San Francisco for 15 years and said he has noticed the city move away from its hippie, free-love roots and toward being a crowded, aggressive, New York-like place."

[fflint]

I am also seriously considering a move out of San Francisco and perhaps the Bay Area as well. I don't make enough money to see a worthwhile future for myself here, and I'm not alone. In the last couple years, several of my close friends have moved to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Los Angeles, even New Orleans. And of the close friends remaining, fewer and fewer live and work in the city proper.

It would have been unreasonable to expect this city wouldn't change over the 20+ years I've lived here, but this town is turning upside down right now. The Dot Com boom was nothing like this. As I watch my old favorites close down, I don't see a lot of new favorites coming in--but then, that's a function of income. I cannot in good conscience afford the new restaurants and shops in my neighborhood, or any neighborhood for that matter. And while I've still got a couple of favorite watering holes left, overall the bar scene is so economically and socially ridiculous I don't bother anymore.

As every industry except tech and tourism treads water or contracts within the city, I feel economically insecure. I've been looking for a new job for quite a while, and it's hyper-competitive for even the bottom-rung positions in every industry. I no longer believe this is a city of opportunity, except for the mercenary tech bros who elected to move here for the money (we're the new Wall Street) and who don't see or care about the city outside their tinted Uber windows.

"Why stay here?" is a relevant question for myself as well as other forumers. San Francisco is beautiful--more beautiful than ever (if you can see it through the thick blanket of "winter" smog)--but is that the only payoff now?

[Folks3000]

I agree, SF was my dream city. I spent so long trying to move to it, but now I live in Midtown Sacramento. I visit the City once every two weeks, but I wish it was easier for an entry-level (non-tech) person to make it there. I don't think Sac (or any other city in California for that matter) is on the scale or comparable to SF, but I do like that middle class everyday people can make it here. That was one thing I always admired about Chicago, you had the super rich but also the dirt poor and everyone in the middle all in one metro area. SF doesn't feel like that kind of place, you're either rich or you're poor nowadays. It isn't like we can vote for SF to build more housing when we don't live there. It is unfortunate... A great city, but one that has pushed out so many. But I'll keep working and hope one day to move there.

[350Bush]

Keep a watch on the 350 and 500 pine street sites, more construction will be happening.

[fimiak]

Updates

[BushMan]

Just my two cents, I find the continuing vilification of tech workers extremely sad and disappointing.

I am NOT a tech worker, I'm actually a private MUSIC INSTRUCTOR of all things. I feel The City has improved IMMENSELY over the last few years with the recent boom. New construction on a scale not seen in years, some of SF's most beautiful older buildings refurbished by tech companies (Twitter Building, Yelp HQ, The Warfield Building, Zendesk's Eastern Outfitting Co. building to name some prominent examples), unemployment at 3.8% (unbelievable!) and formerly sketchy neighborhoods coming to life nearly overnight.

Then they start providing transportation for their employees (taking God knows how many cars off the roads and costing The City NOTHING) and they're vilified for that, too. Quite honestly it all just reeks of jealousy and envy.

Yes, there have been many ridiculously expensive grocers, restaurants and retailers opening up. I will never set foot inside most of these. Look around, there are still MANY excellent cheap places to eat here. Within a couple blocks of my place I've got Jasmin's Cafe, Estella's Sandwiches, City Chopsticks, Uncle Vito's, Cybelle's and tons of other options where my wife and I can eat well for around $20, plus a Trader Joe's just a few blocks away!

Just one man's opinion...