yes, encouraging news re: Seventh St! altho having both the freeway and the train tracks there reinforces the feeling of Seventh as a border (not to mention how wide the street itself is), it sure would be nice to soften the transition a bit with some development that might help to link MB with Showplace Square and even the foot of Potrero Hill. (side note: even tho rather unlikely, managing to sort things out in a way that would allow undergrounding of the tracks further south when - I optimistically say 'when' - high-speed rail comes through would help a lot there too; maybe then a BRT or streetcar line out Sixteenth even. we dream)
and, I'm OK with that rendering of the block 5 project, whichever way it finally gets built. has some nice height and either way does break up the streetscape a little. having it and block 13 East and block 2, which I think we have said previously is also coming along in the pipeline, all in place in the next couple of years will do a lot to frame the northern entrance to the residential heart of MB, link up lonely Strata, and get us toward critical mass needed for the retail on Fourth.
couple of updates, since it's been a while...
speaking of the northern gateway into MB, Long Bridge (the street running for a short distance along one side of the block 5 project) is getting its streetlights! here looking through the fence showing the extension of the stub that had already been done when Fourth Street was completed:
and here a clearer shot down the new street (block 5 will be on the left; block 13 on the right):
of course, eventually it will continue on through the building currently in its path, but as mentioned before, they seem to be putting in just the block 13 portion, plus the little bit by the future dog run that connects it with Channel to the north. here is the state of that part (looking southeast; block 13 on the left, future dog run under the pile of debris on the right, beyond it the future triangular children's park that is the rest of block 5. in the distance they were busy assembling the roof structure on the neurosciences building on Saturday):
and over at Radiance II, here's how things are looking (anyone find a webcam yet?).... seen from Fourth, the building is solidly peeking above the fencing, and it won't be too long before it blots out Radiance I:
looking at the southeast corner from the Commons:
and looking at the north side from Third. I'm not sure why they had the sidewalk partially torn out on the north side of the street:
and, almost forgot, here is what things look like in the northwest corner of MB. still pretty much dirt, but a lot of flat, orderly dirt just screaming for structure to be thrown on top of it. looking south:
not in the picture, the asphalt path noted in an earlier photo has now had fencing put around it, and seems to be a new temporary pedestrian path around the site, which might mean that where the old path is, nearer the creek, will be torn up soon.