[flight_from_kamakura]

if you look at the grade-level floor plans on the aaa building, the renders are a little deceptive - there are two fairly large retail surfaces there, on either side of the lobby entrance on the van ness frontage. three things i love about this re-cladding:

1) that it's happening in the context of a rental structure, by a company with deep enough pockets to ensure it happens, and that that it'll require only a few permits and a couple minor variance requests;
2) that the cladding is straight up glass, which we've far too little of in the area, but which will create a nice line from the crescent rentals through 1 polk. once fox tower is re-clad, we'll have a gleaming little addendum to mid-market;
3) the grade level treatments are very nicely done, particularly in contrast with what's there currently. with some bulb-outs (and all the new residents), this could actually be quite an active stretch, that would serve as a gateway to re-development in all directions - up van ness with the other aaa building, down toward mid-market, down vanness toward market proper, and into the hayes valley.

literally, this may not be a calatrava or b.i.g. tower, but from the planning side, there's almost nothing to complain about. it's a really nice bit of neighborhood development.