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San Francisco Development News

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
San Francisco Development News



Knapsack Hike 04 by Tom Hilton, on Flickr


===================================================================================================

I decided to carry this thread over from SkyscraperPage.com to give everyone a rundown of San Francisco's projects. Enjoy! :)

San Francisco Now:



Recently Completed

JP Morgan Chase Building

function: office
height: 433'
floors: 31
architect: Cesar Pelli Architects
completion: 2002

Rendering:




The Paramount

function: residential
height: 420'
floors: 43
architect: Elkus/ Manfredi Architects
completion: 2002

Rendering:





Four Seasons Hotel and Residences

function: residential, hotel
height: 398'
floors: 40
architect: Gary Edward Handel & Associates
completion: 2001

Rendering:




199 Fremont

function: office
height: 364'
floors: 27
architect: Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz
completion: 2000

Rendering:





101 Second

function: office
height: 354'
floors: 26
architect: Craig Hartman of SOM
completion: 2000

Renderings:





55 Second

function: office
height: 330'
floors: 25
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: 2002

Renderings:




150 California

function: office
height: 330'
floors: 23
architect: HOK
completion: 2000

Rendering:




W Hotel

function: hotel
height: 315'
floors: 31
architect: Hornsberger & Worstell
completion: 1999

Rendering:




Two Folsom (Gap Inc. Headquarters)

function: office
height: 275'
floors: 15
architect: Robert A.M. Stern
completion: 2000

Rendering:




Bridgeview Towers

function: residential
height: 250'
floors: 26
architect: HKS Inc.
completion: 2002

Rendering:




The Metropolitan I and The Metropolitan II

function: residential
height: 250' and 200'
floors: 27 and 22
architect: Heller-Manus Architects
completion: 2004

Renderings:



Avalon at Mission Bay I

function: residential
height: 160'
floors: 16
architect: Fisher Friedman Architects
completed: 2003

Images:




250 King Street also known as The Beacon

function: residential
height: ~160'
floors: 16
architect: SOM
completion: 2003

Rendering:


************************************************
Under Construction

St. Regis Museum Tower

function: residential, hotel, museum/ cultural institution
height: 484'
floors: 42
architect: SOM
completion: 2005

Renderings:




New Federal Building

function: office
height: 234'
floors: 18
architect: Thom Mayne and Morphosis
completion: 2005

Rendering:



Bryant Street Seawall I and II aka The Watermark

function: residential
height: 220'/ 135'
floors: 22/ 13
architect: Moore Ruble Yudell
completion: 2005

Rendering:



Avalon at Mission Bay II

function: residential
height: 160'
floors: 16
architect: GGLO architects
completion: 2007


UCSF Mission Bay Student Housing

function: residential
height: 155'
floors: 15
architect: SOM (?)
completion: 2005

Rendering:



199 New Montgomery

function: residential
height: 150'
floors: 16
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: 2005

Renderings:


*********************************************************************
Approved

These are the projects that are mostly likely to be constructed in the next few years.

301 Mission Street

function: residential, hotel
height: 625'
floors: 58
architect: Gary Handel + Associates
completion: 2007

Renderings:





555 Mission Street

function: office
height: 482'
floors: 34
architect: Heller-Manus Architects
completion: 2007/2008

Rendering:


*On hold due to high vacancy in Downtown San Francisco. Currently seeking anchor tenant. Barclays Global Investors has recently been listed as a possible tenant.


201 Folsom and 300 Spear Streets

function: residential
height: podium- 80'; 2 400' towers and 2 350' towers
floors: 40, 40, 35, 35
architect: Heller Manus Architects and Arquitectonica
completion: 2007-2009

Renderings:



* 300 Spear, which has been redesigned by the architecture firm, Arquitectonica, will be the first of the two projects to be built. As of April 2005, work has begun on the site.


InterContinental Hotel

function: hotel
height: 320'
floors: 31
architect: Patri Merker Architects
completion: 2007

Rendering:


(The rendering does not do the project justice!)

* The developer has lined up the financing for the project, and it should begin construction soon.


10th and Market

function: office, residential
height: the 14 story tower will rise to 150'; the 21 story tower will rise to 200'; and the 24 story tower will rise to 345'
floors: 3 separate towers rising to 24, 21, and 14 stories
architect: SOM
completion: 2006/2007

Rendering:
Poor rendering of the base of the 320' tower:



14 story tower:



* Office portion may be dropped, if city decides to purchase an existing building.


524 Howard Street

function: office
height: 310'
floors: 23
architect: Heller Manus and Robert Frank Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:


* 524 Howard is on hold as a result of the high office vacancy rate in downtown San Francisco. If entitlements are pulled, another project could move foward. Site is zoned for 450'- 400' (which means >500' with a crown and setbacks).


Exchange Place (350 Bush Street)

function: office
height: 250'
floors: 19
architect: Heller Manus
completion: 2007(?)

Rendering:



* Project is on hold. Project sponsor is currently looking for an anchor tenant. The current structures have been demolished on the site.


1146-1160 Mission Street

function: residential
height: 235'
floors: 24
architect: AGI Capital
completion: ?

Renderings:


* Project was approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 10, 2004.


48 Tahama Street

function: office/ residential
height: 216'
floors: 20
architect: Komorous-Towey Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:


* Approved September 2001.


325 Fremont Street

function: residential
height: 200'
floors: 20
architect: Baum Thornley Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:

available at http://www.btarchitects.com/indexf.html


Bovet Place

function: residential, retail
height: 200'
floors: 17
architect: Donald Macdonald Architects
completion: ?



*Project was approved in 2001, but no work has been done. In all likelyhood, entitlements have been (or will be) pulled and another project can move into site.

**************************************************************

Proposed

Harbor Village Resort

function: residential, commercial, open space
height: 3 towers: 650'
floors: 61 each
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings:

none

One Rincon Hill:

function: residential
height: 550' and 465'
floors: ?
architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates
completion: 2007 (?)

Renderings:





45 Lansing Street

function: residential
height: 400'
floors: ?
architect: ?
completion: ?


340-350 Fremont Street

function: residential
height: 400'
floors: ?
architect: ?
completion: ?


399 Fremont

function: residential
height: 350'
floors: 37 (5 below grade parking levels)
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings: none


375 Fremont

function: residential
height: 350'
floors: 33
architect: Beverly Prior Architects
completion: ?

Renderings: none

* This tower may be eliminated under the plan being proposed by the Planning Department (see bottom of post). Unfortunately, this tower would sit too close to other towers on Rincon Hill.


535 Mission Street

function: residential
height: ?
floors: 30
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings: none

* This tower is a replacement for an office proposal made in the 1990s.


690 Market Street
renovation

function: residential, hotel
height: 312'
floors: 24
architect: ?
completion: 2006

Renderings:




1177 Market I, II, III, IV, and V

function: residential, retail
height: 240' - 120'
floors: 24 - 12
architect: Arquitectonica
completion: ?

Renderings:




*Project is being redesigned by Arquitectonica.


631 Folsom Street

function: residential
height: ~200'
floors: 21
architect: ?
completion: 2007 (?)

Renderings:





Pavilion Mixed Use Project

function: hotel (conference), residential, retail
height: residential portion ~200'
floors: ?
architect: Michael Willis Architects
completion: 2007-2008

Rendering:




********************************************************

Never Built

The Hemisphere

function: residential
height: 475'
floors: 51
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: n/a

Rendering:



* Project was cancelled. The Board of Supervisors voted on September 28, 2004 to use their powers of eminent domain to take the parcel that the Hemisphere would have occupied. The parcel is apart of the ROW for the new Transbay Terminal.


Bloomingdale's Hotel

function: hotel
height: 400'
floors: 31
architect: Hornberger + Worstell
completion: n/a

Renderings:




535 Mission Street

function: office
height: ?
floors: 24
architect: HOK
completion: n/a

Renderings:


* Project was dropped after office market was flooded with excess space. Developer is now seeking to build a 30 story, 251 unit residential tower on the site.


Sofitel Hotel

function: hotel
height: 320' (?)
floors: ~30
architect: SOM
completion: n/a

Rendering:



* Project was dropped after the economy soured. Another 500 room hotel project is being proposed for the same site, but the design will be different.

Sofitel Hotel- Other Proposal in Design Competition

function: hotel
height: ?
floors: 33
completion: n/a
architect: Hornberger + Worstell

Renderings:




* Proposal lost to SOM's Sofitel Hotel proposal.


************************************************************************
In addition to all these proposed projects, San Francisco is also developing plans for its first two high-rise residential neighborhoods, the Transbay Terminal and Rincon Hill. One tower in the Transbay Plan may include a new tallest for San Francisco!

Where the two project sites are located:



Rincon Hill:



Transbay Terminal:





If built as planned:




Other Notable Projects

Westfield San Francisco Center

status: under construction
function: retail, office
height: ?
floors: 8 (above ground); 1 (underground)
architect: (?) developer: Forest City/ Westfield
completion: 2006

Renderings:





James R. Herman International Cruise Terminal and Bryant Street Park

status: under construction
function: residential, retail, open space, office, maritime (cruise terminal)
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: SOM
completion: Bryant Street Seawall Condo Tower: 2005; Bryant Street Pier: 2006; Cruise Terminal: 2008

Renderings:





* Facts on the new terminal:
-Terminal: 100,000 square feet
-Public Open Space: 215,000 square feet (more than 35 percent of the total site area), includes public plazas, waterfront walkways and terraces
-Retail: 180,000 square feet, including a grocery store, restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and other neighborhood-serving retail
-Office: 360,000 square feet
-Parking: 425 spaces
-Two berths: a 1,000 foot berth and an approximately 825 foot berth

de Young Museum

status: under construction
function: museum, cultural
height: tower portion: 144'
floors: n/a
architect: Herzog & de Meuron
completion: 2005

Renderings:




* As a result of its copper skin, the museum's exterior will eventually turn from its brownish reflective hue to a green to match the surrounding park.


The California Academy of Science

status: under construction
function: museum, cultural, educational
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: Renzo Piano
completion: 2008
cost: $370 million

Renderings:





* The Academy of Sciences is located across the concourse from the de Young museum (above).


Jewish Museum San Francisco

status: under construction (foundation is currently being laid)
function: cultural, museum
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: Daniel Libeskind
completion: Fall 2007

Old Renderings:





New Rendering:




Transbay Terminal

status: approved
function: retail, transportation
height: ~80'
floors: 4 (above ground) and 1 (below ground)
architect: n/a
completion: 2011
cost: $2 billion+

Conceptual Renderings:




* Project will link all of the major Bay Area transit providers in one location in downtown San Francisco. In addition, project will also feature an underground extension of the Caltrain commuter rail line as well as future high speed rail service to Los Angeles.

If you want to add more, please do!
 
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#135 ·
Guess What's Moving Into 601 Dolores?

by Sally Kuchar













Big news: 601 Dolores, the church across the street from Dolores Park, has found itself a buyer. But first, a history. The property, which needed massive seismic retrofitting before it was ready for occupancy, was placed on the market in 2007 with an asking price of $2,100,000. Curbed SF discovered that Siamak Akhavan, the owner of a seismic retrofit engineering company, then purchased the 17,000 square foot property and turned it into a 3-bed multimillion-dollar home. In early 2009 601 Dolores was placed back on the market with a very expensive price tag of $9,950,000. No bites, so it was delisted. In 2010 it showed up again, this time with a reduced asking price of $7,490,000. Now the property's in contract.

Marion Quinones, the Director of Development for Children's Day School confirms it: the buyer of 601 Dolores is Children's Day School. The property's now in contract with an accepted offer of $6,600,000.

The space will be used for the Children's Day School's middle school, plus a large gathering/performance space which it plans to make available to community groups, Quinones said. The school currently has a location at 330 Dolores. 601 Dolores will be the school's second location. Quinones also told us that the building will undergo interior renovations to build classrooms, complete additional seismic strengthening and make the building a legit school. Children's Day School will preserve the exterior and the historic integrity of the property. The school has "very happily worked" with Jensen Architects in the past for renovations to 333 Dolores, and hopes to continue that relationship with the renovations at 601 Dolores.
 
#136 ·
Castro District [SF]

The Castro District, commonly referenced as The Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco, California. It is widely considered America's first gay neighborhood, and is currently the largest and best-known. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood through the 1960s and 1970s, the Castro remains a symbol and source of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism and events.

Location

San Francisco's gay village is mostly concentrated in the business district that is located on Castro Street from Market Street to 19th Street. It extends down Market Street toward Church Street and on both sides of the Castro neighborhood from Church Street to Eureka Street. Although the greater gay community was, and is, concentrated in the Castro, many gay people live in the surrounding residential areas bordered by Corona Heights, the Mission District, Noe Valley, Twin Peaks, and Haight-Ashbury neighborhoods. Some consider it to include Duboce Triangle and Dolores Heights, which both have a strong GLBT presence.

Castro Street, which originates a few blocks north at the intersection of Divisadero and Waller Streets, runs south through Noe Valley, crossing the 24th Street business district and ending as a continuous street a few blocks farther south as it moves toward the Glen Park neighborhood. It reappears in several discontinuous sections before ultimately terminating at Chenery Street, in the heart of Glen Park.
 
#137 ·
San Francisco's Version of the Walk of Fame

by Sally Kuchar



San Francisco could soon have its own version of Hollywood's walk of fame. You see, a group of residents and merchants in the Castro have selected the first 20 names of the Rainbow Honor Walk, a proposed blocks-long collection of influential gays and lesbians whose names would appear on stars on the sidewalk. The group's proposed that the walk run along Market Street from Octavia Boulevard to Castro Street. Folks like Oscar Wilde, Frida Kahlo and Allen Ginsberg made the final cut. The group decided not to include Harvey Milk in the first round of name selection because they didn't want to "choose the person who already has two, three, four things named for him, let's honor people who haven't," said Isak Lindenauer, co-chair of the project. The plaques could be approved by the Civic Arts Commission in the coming months and could be installed by the end of the year.
 
#138 ·
Castro District could get gay walk of fame

Hollywood -- city that it is -- has a walk of fame filled with A-list celebrities: Julia Roberts, Paula Abdul and Herb Alpert, to name a few.

San Francisco -- city that it is -- wants to take that idea put its own spin on it.

A group of Castro District residents and merchants have, after much consternation, chosen the first 20 names of San Francisco's Rainbow Honor Walk, a proposed blocks-long collection of influential gays and lesbians whose names will be displayed in much the same way the stars of Hollywood are. However, one of the city's most famous residents failed to win a display this time around.

"Putting the names, in a public way, on the sidewalk, one after the other after the other, will show our culture is much more than that," said Isak Lindenauer, co-chair of the project.

The walk could run along Market Street from Octavia Boulevard to Castro Street and down Castro to 19th Street, and eventually feature hundreds of names, said David Perry, another chair.

After much debate, the committee narrowed the first 20 names to a pool of people who were openly gay but are now deceased. They include Allen Ginsberg, Frida Kahlo, Oscar Wilde and Sylvester James, a noted disco star.

But the list does not include Harvey Milk.

But Perry and Lindenauer say leaving Milk off the list was a conscious decision.

"If we can only do 20 to begin with, let's not choose the person who already has two, three, four things named for him, let's honor people who haven't," Lindenauer said, pointing to a list of things in San Francisco honoring Harvey Milk.

"This walk should focus on some of the unsung heroes," Perry said.

The plaques could be approved by the Civic Arts Commission in the coming months and could be installed by the end of the year, Perry said.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=82401#ixzz1MlSVT4wK
 
#139 ·
Chinatown Neighbourhood [SF]

San Francisco's Chinatown (Chinese: 唐人街; Mandarin Pinyin: tángrénjiē; Jyutping: tong4 jan4 gaai1) is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. Since its establishment in the 1840s, it has been highly important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants to the United States and North America. Chinatown is an active enclave that continues to retain its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. Popularly known as a "city-within-a-city", it has developed its own government, traditions, over 300 restaurants, and as many shops. There are two hospitals, numerous parks and squares, a post office, and other infrastructure. Visitors can easily become immersed in a microcosmic Asian world, filled with herbal shops, temples, pagoda roofs and dragon parades. In addition to it being a starting point and home for thousands of Chinese immigrants, it is also a major tourist attraction — drawing more visitors annually to the neighborhood than the Golden Gate Bridge.
 
#140 ·
Dig We Must: Mudslinging, This Time Over Low-Income Housing

by Philip Ferrato



Just a Reminder: The Central Subway Route

Opponents of the almost-legendary Central Subway are making new charges of cronyism plus some of the old quid pro quo at the Chinatown Community Development Center, which is getting an $8,000,000 grant to help subsidize new low-income housing. In addition to funds to relocate families whose homes lie in the path of construction, the new funding will help underwrite planned housing at Sansome & Broadway, and opponents of the subway claim the grant is payback for the CCDC's long-standing support of the project. Which makes perfect sense- don't you reward your allies? Sounds like a lesson plan for Civics 101. In case you've forgotten, 2019 is the target date for actual use by passengers. With a route from Caltrains/Fourth Street to Washington & Stockton, the subway's part a plan to connect Bayview (via the T-Third) to the Financial District and Chinatown, and maybe someday to Fisherman's Wharf.
 
#141 ·
Public Art for Central Subway Proves as Bitter a Pill as...The Central Subway

by Andrew Wietstock



The Central Subway has been a politically juiced project from the start. Despite the fact that the new line will create only 4,600 additional trips over existing bus service, and will cost an additional $4 million per year in operating expenditures over existing bus lines, utility relocation began in January, with completion scheduled for 2018

As if to soften the blow of this $1.6 billion behemoth, the SF Arts Commission is now soliciting feedback on public art proposals for the new Chinatown Station. Unsurprisingly, the submissions mostly play on the Chinese heritage of the community, telling the story of Chinese immigration, and highlighting various segments of Chinese culture. Also unsurprisingly, given the contentiousness of this project from the get-go, we are not impressed by what we have seen so far. As the SF Appeal makes clear, this is not a vote. Rather, the SFArts Commission wants your constructive criticism. So at the end of the day, much like the Central Subway itself, whether San Franciscans like the art or not, we're stuck with it.
 
#151 ·
by Andrew Wietstock



The Central Subway has been a politically juiced project from the start. Despite the fact that the new line will create only 4,600 additional trips over existing bus service, and will cost an additional $4 million per year in operating expenditures over existing bus lines, utility relocation began in January, with completion scheduled for 2018

As if to soften the blow of this $1.6 billion behemoth, the SF Arts Commission is now soliciting feedback on public art proposals for the new Chinatown Station. Unsurprisingly, the submissions mostly play on the Chinese heritage of the community, telling the story of Chinese immigration, and highlighting various segments of Chinese culture. Also unsurprisingly, given the contentiousness of this project from the get-go, we are not impressed by what we have seen so far. As the SF Appeal makes clear, this is not a vote. Rather, the SFArts Commission wants your constructive criticism. So at the end of the day, much like the Central Subway itself, whether San Franciscans like the art or not, we're stuck with it.
Interesting.....But..Hard to imagine that these days of belt-tightening, slashed budgets, lay-offs & reduced services everywhere, from the federal to the state to the local, including on the San Francisco & Bay Area's existing public transit services...

...That anyplace, even a place as beautiuful, special, & well-connected as San Francisco, would be STUCK with HAVING to spend $1.6 billion on such a questionable scheme.

Sounds a lot like something dreamed up in the Pentagon.
 
#142 ·
Marina District [SF]

The Marina District is a neighborhood located in San Francisco, California. The neighborhood sits on the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, staged after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to celebrate the reemergence of the city. Aside from the Palace of Fine Arts (POFA), all other buildings were demolished to make the current neighborhood.

Location

The area is bounded to the east by Van Ness Avenue and Fort Mason, on the west by Cow Hollow, Lyon Street and the Presidio National Park, on the south by Lombard St that bisects the southern edge of the Marina District. The northern half of the Marina is a shoreline to the San Francisco Bay, and features the Marina Green, a picturesque park adjacent to the municipal boat marina from which the neighborhood takes its name.

Much of the Marina is built on former landfill, and is susceptible to liquefaction during strong earthquakes. This caused extensive damage to the entire neighborhood during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
 
#143 ·
More Eateries Destined for Union Street

By Curbed SF



As we posted on Tuesday, Union Street has seen some culinary interest as of late. With local unemployment over 10.0% and retail storefronts boarding up all over the city, the Planning Commission seems to think that more restaurants are better than dark spaces. According to Supervisor Alioto-Pier's office, a walk down Union Street in 2009 would have turned up 17 vacant storefronts. However, after huge drops in asking rental rates, some businesses have occupied these spaces. Today, the same Union Street constitutional would only turn up 10 vacancies.

The Planning Commission officially lifted the ban Union Street Restaurant ban last year as vacancies hit record figures. Since then, Kasa, Brick Yard, and Jamba Juice have all opened in the area. Giordano Brothers, the North Beach staple, also attempted a Union Street location, but met heavy fire from the neighborhood due to their desire to incorporate an outdoor patio. Today, there are 29 restaurants along this popular Marina corridor, with cap space for three more. While some residents have expressed displeasure at the number of restaurants slated to open, it is true that vacancy on Union and the activity on Chestnut have caused some foot traffic to migrate four blocks north. At the end of the day, which do Marina residents prefer: more restaurants, or nothing at all?
 
#144 ·
French Breath of life for Union Street

by Andrew Wietstock



As those who live in the area know, the Union Street of fancy boutiques and restaurants has lately given way to vacant storefronts. Using the same logic underpinning restaurant and bar bans in Noe Valley and the Castro, the city shrunk away from planting more restaurants on the high-rent street. It appears that era has met its end.

After the April fall of the Noe restaurant ban, Union Street may get a Gallic shot in the arm. On Wednesday, the Planning Commission will consider the conversion of the long-vacant 1849 Union Street from retail to full service restaurant use. A proposed French eatery, to be rather unimaginatively named "Unique", hopes to occupy the full 1,730 square foot retail space, over three years after the previous tenant, Bianca Luna, left with neither a bang nor wimper. As neighborhood retail vacancy remains high, It will be interesting to see whether the rest of Union will follow suit, along with other hurting commercial corridors.
 
#145 ·
F-Market & Wharves Extension to Fort Mason Gets Put on Backburner



by Andy J. Wang

Plans were, and sort of are, to extend the F line beyond Fisherman's Wharf and westward to Fort Mason. But for now, the plan could be stopped in its tracks (see what we did there?) because district supe Michela Alioto-Pier thinks the whole thing has been poorly thought out. In her words, "The F-line project is kind of like a monster without a head right now." Specifically, Alioto-Pier has concerns that an extension to Fort Mason would be a big neon sign for Marin commuters to park their cars in the Marina Green lot and increase car congestion for everyone else. To put action to talk, she's requested that the county transpo authority "shelve" any further study of an F-line extension, and halt a $500k request from the SFMTA that the agency will need to finish an environmental impact report on the project. The project manager for the study? "Surprised and disappointed," but with a vow that the show must go on, someday, somehow.
 
#146 ·
Mission Shocker: Internet Porn Company is Model Corporate Citizen



by Curbed SF

It was probably only a matter of time, but Kink.com, the owner of the Mission's historic San Francisco Armory, has filed for permits to upgrade their vast indoor drill court (above) for public events. They're not fulfilling neighborhood nightmares of rave parties and porn-related depravity, however, they're talking indoor farmer's markets and film festivals, plus we think it's great that a hugely-successful internet porn company even owns something called a "drill court". Neighbors say the porn productions have been kept discreetly undercover, and Kink.com has funneled thousands of dollars towards projects supported by Mission community groups, thus employing a community-relations strategy almost as old as selling sex itself. Once upon a time, there was a decade of attempts to convert it into condos, with acrimonious exchanges between developers, planners, anti-condo locals and preservationists, along with a week of picketing when Kink.com eventually acquired it in 2007. As befits a successful Web-based company, they maintain an excellent (and totally SFW) site for the armory as an historic building and offer S&M-free tours of the building. Presumably their plans will get laid out before the Planning Commission and avoid getting spanked by a Discretionary Review.
 
#147 ·
Hi Animo,

Thanks for setting up an SF sub-forum! I've always wished there was a section like this here. So are these neighborhood threads the place for project discussions? For example, I took some shots of the new Chinatown/North Beach City College building the other day. Is this the place to post them? Or should they still go in the SF Developments thread? I'm not very familiar with SSC's organization outside the West Coast sub-forum.
 
#149 ·
I'm not sure any commuter would park their car then wait for an overcrowded streetcar that comes by every 10 to 15 minutes, when they could drive an extra 5 to 10 minutes to a downtown garage or lot. These are Marin residents we're talking about, 15 to 20 bucks or more in parking isn't that much. But hey she'll be termed out at some point and maybe she's worried her constituents either won't be able to get on the streetcars due to heavy Marin traffic or they'll lose out/continuing to lose out on parking garage/lot space to same commuters. Either way I doubt she sweats it by relying on Muni.
 
#152 ·
Parklets Begin Sprouting Up on Polk Street

by Bryan Goebel



The new parklet in front of Crepe House on Polk Street and Washington.

A parklet movement is springing to life along Polk Street. An installation completed last week in front of Crepe House near Washington has already been buzzing with activity while a second parklet began construction this week in front of Quetzal, a popular cafe with sidewalk seating on Polk Street between Sutter and Bush.

Although it’s surrounded by some of the densest neighborhoods on the West Coast, Polk Street lacks adequate public space. It’s also a major north-south bicycling corridor.

“I’ve been complaining all semester that there’s no place to sit down on the terrace. I’m ecstatic that this is here. I’ll be coming more,” said Claire Toussaint, who lives a block away from Crepe House, and was enjoying her lunch in the new parklet today with friends and fellow students from the Academy of Art.

“It’s great in any neighborhood,” said Lorris Williams, who was sitting alongside Toussaint. “Cars aren’t exactly beautiful on the side of a street. The less cars can park on the street is generally better for the street.”



The view of the Crepe House parklet from across the street.

“I think it’s exciting,” said Steve Black, the owner of Lush Lounge on lower Polk Street, who is trying to bring a farmer’s market to the alley adjacent to his bar where a new mural is going to be painted soon.

“When I first opened my business on the corner of Post and Polk and I saw somebody running down the street, they were running from somebody. Now, when I see somebody running it’s joggers and people enjoying the neighborhood,” said Black, who added that the parklets are long overdue and he would like to see more.



A new parklet begins construction in front of Quetzal on Polk Street.



A rendering of the Quetzal parklet.

Research conducted by interns for the Great Streets Project shows a demand for parklets on Polk Street. They spent some time talking to people on the stretch of Polk Street where Quetzal’s parklet is being installed:

Of the 31 people surveyed, 77 percent of people came to the area by foot. The majority of people (74 percent) lived nearby in the same or another neighborhood, but only 61 percent agreed the area has a strong positive community character. For a similar survey along Divisadero Street, 80 percent thought the area had a strong positive community character before a parklet was installed, and this increased to 90 percent after.

67 percent said they would come more often or much more often if the area had more public places to sit, 55 percent said they would come more often or much more often it it were easier to come and go by walking.

When asked what would make the street a better place to spend time, the majority of comments related to increasing police presence and addressing problems with drugs and homelessness. Other comments included more types of businesses, cleaner overall and street improvements such as fixed potholes, better crosswalks, and more places to sit.

District 3 Supervisor and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, who represents Polk Street, said he is happy to see the parklets being installed.

“New public spaces will make this vibrant street even more active. We also have the opportunity to create one of the first protected bike lanes in the city on Polk, and I’m actively working to help make it happen,” said Chiu.
 
#153 ·
Funds to Keep Bike Plan Projects Rolling Approved by Supes Committee

by Aaron Bialick



In post-bike injunction San Francisco, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is gearing up to install some of the final bicycle projects held up in the Bike Plan for several years.

The agency’s efforts will likely get another shot in the arm after a grant was approved today by the SF Board of Supervisors City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee. Although the SFMTA’s Bicycle Program would ultimately be better served by a system of dedicated revenue streams, it’s one more step towards catching up with improvements that should have begun rolling out five years ago.

“The landscape for bicycle projects is changing quite rapidly since the injunction’s been lifted,” said Oliver Gajda of the SFMTA’s Sustainable Streets Division, who pointed to downtown bike lanes on 2nd, 5th, Fremont, and Howard Streets as well as a cycle track on Innes Avenue near Hunter’s Point as some of the priority projects that could benefit from the grant.



Bosworth Street in Glen Park, where bike lanes were installed as part of the Bike Plan.

The funds come from the state’s Transportation Development Act, which allocates some money to pedestrian and bicycle projects. Once cleared by the full Board of Supervisors, $355,000 would go to the SFMTA for “various pedestrian and bicycle projects” along with $341,000 for the Department of Public Works to fix sidewalks and build wheelchair-accessible curb ramps.

The SFMTA Bicycle Program has compiled a schedule of completed and upcoming projects on their website. Work has begun on Portola Drive and the Alemany Boulevard cycle track, while streets next in line for improvements include Potrero Avenue from 25th to Cesar Chavez Streets, Sagamore Street and Sickles Avenue by the Daly City Border, and the notoriously harrowing Bayshore Boulevard.

By the end of the year, Golden Gate Park is set to receive the city’s first parking-protected cycle track. By summer’s end, the SFMTA expects to stripe bicycle lanes in nearly every part of the city from Phelan Avenue by the City College main campus to John Muir Drive by Lake Merced to Illinois Street along the eastern waterfront.

That should be welcome news to D11 Supervisor John Avalos, who said the city’s outer neighborhoods seem to be neglected when it comes to bike improvements.

“I often see that a great deal of the resources go in the center part of the city and fewer go out towards the Excelsior, Sunset, and [Visitacion] Valley,” said Avalos. “To the extent that we’re able to re-prioritize and make things happen out that way, I think we’d be hitting our goals of being a transit-first city.”
 
#154 ·
Parkmerced project worries rent-control backers

Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writer



The Parkmerced neighborhood is the site of a planned development that would include rent-controlled apartments to replace those that are razed.




Apartment buildings are seen at the Park Merced neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 10, 2010. Owners of the sprawling complex of houses and high-rise buildings plan to proceed with a $1.2 billion renovation project despite defaulting on their mortgage.

In 2007, a plan to replace 360 rent-controlled housing units at the Trinity Plaza complex at Eighth and Market streets was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors and cited as the gold standard for compromise between a developer and tenant advocates.

Four years later, the board is considering a similar, possibly even stronger, agreement to maintain rent-controlled housing at the sprawling Parkmerced development near Lake Merced. But unlike the Trinity Plaza debate, many say the Parkmerced plan is a political and legal question mark.

Years in the making, the $1.2 billion plan for Parkmerced calls for razing 1,500 aging rent-controlled, garden-court apartments, making way for a new, transit-oriented community. Of the nearly 9,000 units proposed to be built over the next 20 years, 3,200 would be rent-controlled.

Tenant advocates and some supervisors worry that the agreement between the city and the developers, Stellar Management and Fortress Investment Group, won't stand up in court, effectively eliminating the rent-control protections. But city officials and the developers say the development actually offers more protections than the popular Trinity Plaza agreement does to tenants in that building.

"I do think it is intensely hypocritical for a number of activists who supported Trinity Plaza to oppose Parkmerced," said PJ Johnston, spokesman for the developers.

The legal and political landscape has changed since the Trinity Plaza development agreement was approved in 2007, said Ted Gullicksen of the San Francisco Tenants Union.

Chris Daly, the supervisor who orchestrated the Trinity Plaza deal, said the Parkmerced agreement is similar but inferior to his Trinity Plaza agreement.

Court decisions have weakened rent-control protections, Gullicksen and Daly said. And instead of negotiating with one landlord, Angelo Sangiacomo, the owner of Trinity Plaza, the city is negotiating with a faceless corporation that may sell the project to stave off bankruptcy.

"With Trinity, we were all negotiating with a landlord who was in the rental business," Gullicksen said. "With Parkmerced, the people who are negotiating aren't the ones who will be implementing."

It doesn't matter who the city negotiates with, the development agreement is a binding contract, said Michael Yarne, an attorney with the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development who has negotiated the deal. Even if a mythical Evil Enterprises Inc. buys the development, he said, it would not be able to eliminate rent control without getting approval from the Board of Supervisors.

"It would be quite painful for them," he said. "It would be a lengthy, trying, public process."

If the developer sues to try to eliminate rent control, the agreement is void, he said. And if it fails to honor the agreement, the city can shut down the project.

"There's a lot of trip wires that will go off if they don't do what they are supposed to do," Yarne said.

But that's still not enough for Gullicksen and others, who worry that the developer's real goal is to eliminate rent control. More distanced observers say they don't see what all the fuss is about.

Joe Grubb, who served on the Rent Board until 2004 and has stayed close to tenant issues since then, said he is disappointed that politics is getting in the way of approving a development he believes would improve life for Parkmerced residents.

"The attorneys are just hedging their bets either way," he said. "It is a shame, because it seems like a good deal for the city."

E-mail Will Kane at wkane@sfchronicle.com.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/23/BA221JJSBJ.DTL#ixzz1NI4x9WDl
 
#161 ·


Apartment buildings are seen at the Park Merced neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 10, 2010. Owners of the sprawling complex of houses and high-rise buildings plan to proceed with a $1.2 billion renovation project despite defaulting on their mortgage.

In 2007, a plan to replace 360 rent-controlled housing units at the Trinity Plaza complex at Eighth and Market streets was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors and cited as the gold standard for compromise between a developer and tenant advocates.

Four years later, the board is considering a similar, possibly even stronger, agreement to maintain rent-controlled housing at the sprawling Parkmerced development near Lake Merced. But unlike the Trinity Plaza debate, many say the Parkmerced plan is a political and legal question mark.

Years in the making, the $1.2 billion plan for Parkmerced calls for razing 1,500 aging rent-controlled, garden-court apartments, making way for a new, transit-oriented community. Of the nearly 9,000 units proposed to be built over the next 20 years, 3,200 would be rent-controlled.
Sounds like an interesting project. There's certainly a critical need for more affordable housing.

However beware: whenver any offcial of this city says a project will take 20 years, better count on 40!
 
#155 ·
Parkmerced transformation wins approval

Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave the go-ahead Tuesday to a $1.2 billion plan to transform the sprawling Parkmerced area from a car-centric neighborhood to a state-of-the-art sustainable neighborhood.

In a 6-5 split, the board voted to replace 1,500 rent-controlled town homes with 7,200 new energy-efficient units over the next 20 to 30 years.

When the project, which currently houses about 8,000 residents, is completed in 2040, an additional 14,000 people will be living in the 152-acre neighborhood, originally built in the 1940s as a suburban outpost in San Francisco. Units where rents are currently controlled will stay that way, but new ones will be rented or sold at market rate. The rebuilt Parkmerced will have a maximum of 3,200 rent-controlled units, the same number it has today.

The new neighborhood will have a school, easy access to transit, and stores within walking distance of homes designed to save water and power, a dramatic change from the expansive lawns and wide streets now found in Parkmerced. All existing garden apartments will be demolished, while the 11 landmark towers will remain...
full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/25/MN0E1JKF34.DTL
 
#156 ·
Return of Old Mint building in SoMa delayed beyond 2012

A few renderings for the new San Francisco Museum at the old Mint (Fifth and Mission):

http://www.themintproject.org/


Source:www.inhabitat.com/


Source:www.inhabitat.com/

The grand reopening of the Old Mint building in SoMa will have to wait at least a few years longer than the initial 2012 goal.

The stone, iron and concrete edifice at Fifth and Mission streets, which in the late 1870s secured one-third of the nation’s gold, will continue to remain vacant indefinitely after plans to raise $95 million over the past three years to reinvent it as a Bay Area history museum were stalled by a rough economy.

Now organizers at the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, which has leased the building from The City, are saying they plan to launch a second fundraising campaign later in the year.

Society Chief Financial Officer Kurt Nystrom said that this time, a phased approach may be more realistic and less intimidating. Instead of trying to reopen the entire building, the society is planning to restore the vaults on the ground level and second floor first. Then they will work on securing funds for the third and fourth floors.

“On a nominal basis, if we were funded tomorrow we could open the first major part of the building in probably under three years,” Nystrom said.

Built in 1874, the classical structure stood firm during the 1906 earthquake and fires while the neighborhood around it burned and crumbled. Nicknamed the “Granite Lady,” it is recognized as historic both locally and at the state and national levels.

The ceilings are high and the rooms extravagant, providing a quiet oasis in the middle of the daily downtown noises with chandeliers painted gold to replicate the original flakes that covered them.

The venue is still rented out for posh parties such as a holiday event for rock band Metallica, said Jason Macario, who led a tour of it Wednesday.

“It dresses up really well,” Macario said.

And for the first time since the campaign launched, the society plans to offer tours for members of the public if they ask.

kkelkar@sfexaminer.com



Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/201...ilding-soma-delayed-beyond-2012#ixzz1NUku5knj
 
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