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

[BTinSF]

Fulton is not the best street in Hayes Valley, certainly, but the entire area is far from what I would call "blighted". The "heritage" housing stock there is excellent and the neighborhood is "hot". The downside is the proximity to various mid-century public housing projects and the criminal activity by their residents, but that really isn't a major problem for surrounding areas.

As many of you know, I live close by and the window of the room I'm typing from overlooks most of the neighborhood. When people say things like Hayes Valley being "blighted", as they often do on places like Socketsite, it makes me wonder where they live because there really aren't many SF neighborhoods hugely better--certainly not with better transportation options or housing stock or more centrally located. There just aren't many areas in SF that are clearly more attractive if you add everything up.

Anyway, this is market rate housing with the usual required "affordable" component and, if it is like the other buildings recently built in the area, it will be snapped up quickly.

[dr_strangelove]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

Fulton is not the best street in Hayes Valley, certainly, but the entire area is far from what I would call "blighted".

This specific area of "hayes valley" (it's more western addition than hayes valley) is pretty blighted, but not as bad as most other projects in the city. There is a large housing project directly across the street on Fulton. There is a large housing project across the street on Fulton and Laguna, in both directions. It starts improving at Grove, but Fulton is not desirable at all, which makes this project a good step in the right direction, but is still very depressing riding my bike or driving through with all of the metal gates and bars on windows with those horrid redevelopment buildings.

[BTinSF]

Originally Posted by dr_strangelove

This specific area of "hayes valley" (it's more western addition than hayes valley) is pretty blighted, but not as bad as most other projects in the city. There is a large housing project directly across the street on Fulton. There is a large housing project across the street on Fulton and Laguna, in both directions. It starts improving at Grove, but Fulton is not desirable at all, which makes this project a good step in the right direction, but is still very depressing riding my bike or driving through with all of the metal gates and bars on windows with those horrid redevelopment buildings.

The Western Addition Redevelopment Area border is the other side of Fulton:


Source: http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=F..._Redevelopment

But not everything in the redevelopment area by far is public housing. I haven't ridden down Fulton in a long while--much more commonly I use Turk and Golden Gate--but a lot of the fairly unattractive low-rise housing in the area was actually privately developed I've read. Anyway, I wouldn't favor a vacant "no man's land" around the redevelopment zone even if that were possible in San Francisco so something needs to be built across Fulton and this looks good to me. Furthermore, like I said, I think it will sell quickly just as other nearby projects have.

[BTinSF]

900 Folsom/260 Fifth Street: Approval This Week?



Avant Housing’s proposed 900 Folsom/260 Fifth Street project is back in front of San Francisco’s Planning Commission this Thursday for certification and with a preliminary recommendation to approve (with conditions).



Once again, 448 new residential units (68 BMR), 9,500 square feet of commercial space, and 323 parking spaces as proposed . . . .

Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2...this_week.html

Additional renderings:


Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2...d_emerges.html

[dr_strangelove]

Based on your map 555 Fulton is on the edge of the western addition redevelopment area, so it still is pretty much in the western addition because it sits on Fulton street. So we can say the Fulton facade is western addition and the Birch Alley facade is hayes valley.

[BTinSF]

At last some decent renderings of what's to replace Cala Foods at California & Hyde:

The old (and existing)


The new

Source all images: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2010/0...ds_era.php?o=4

Construction hoped for next year.

[northbay]

thanks for the info/pix bt. sure sf doesnt have any major skyscrapers being built now, but theres a sh-tload of smaller infill still being built. i almost like that better anyway.

btw bt, i cant imagine why some would tell u that (from ur sig), i always thought u were one of the more intelligent contributors. if someone pisses u off so much on this forum that u want them to die, then u shouldnt be here!

[pseudolus]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

At last some decent renderings of what's to replace Cala Foods at California & Hyde:

The old (and existing)


The new

Source all images: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2010/0...ds_era.php?o=4

Construction hoped for next year.

Hey, one of those renders doesn't have a cable car. What gives?

[BTinSF]

Artistic license I'm sure.

[Jerry of San Fran]

BT - thanks for the pics. I was quite startled at the rendering of the future of the Cala/Calf. corner. My first apartment in 1969 was in the neigborhood and I shopped there - abalone was $.35 a pound!

What a change coming for that site! It will be hard to get that ugly Cala building erased from my mind. :>}

[mahanakorn]

Originally Posted by northbay

btw bt, i cant imagine why some would tell u that (from ur sig), i always thought u were one of the more intelligent contributors. if someone pisses u off so much on this forum that u want them to die, then u shouldnt be here!

Please, no! I too very much look forward to your posts! Keep 'em coming.

[viewguysf]

Originally Posted by mahanakorn

Please, no! I too very much look forward to your posts! Keep 'em coming.

Geez BT, you are internationally renowned!

[peanut gallery]

We heard about this before. But now that the actual legislation is signed, something might actually happen soon. I found the quote about the potential $19M in savings from the consultant interesting. Is it enough to start construction right away? And how about Newsom signing it on the rooftop of ORH? Don't want to read too much into it, but we all now this is one of the main projects he had in mind when pushing for this.

Second Rincon Tower poised to finally be built
By: Erin Sherbert
Examiner Staff Writer
May 26, 2010

Construction of the long-delayed second Rincon Tower at Harrison and Fremont streets — part of a skyline-changing, upscale neighborhood near the proposed Transbay Transit Center — can start, after new legislation was signed Tuesday by Mayor Gavin Newsom.

....

The combined effect of the new legislation and a separate law on transfer fees could “bring $19 million in savings to Phase 2,” said Marc Babsin, who’s working as a consultant on the Rincon Tower project. “It will lower costs and make construction start that much earlier.”

Newsom said there are at least nine projects in San Francisco — including the second Rincon Tower — that are ready for construction, but they’re delayed by financial constraints due to the recession.

The deferral means more to San Francisco than just assisting developers. The legislation will employ 4,800 construction workers and generate $22 million in general-fund tax revenue, Newsom said after signing the legislation on top of the Rincon Tower.

Read the complete article at the San Francisco Examiner.

Here's a rendering to remind us what's (hopefully) in store:

Source.

[BTinSF]

I was going to look for the ORH thread to post this. Has it vaporized?

PS: I AM internationally renowned. There's a conductor with the same name as me--a friend brought me a concert poster from one of his performances in Paris.

[peanut gallery]

I found it in the completed buildings section. You can't post in it anymore though. I guess we'll need a new thread for tower 2 when the time comes.

[viewguysf]

Originally Posted by peanut gallery

I found it in the completed buildings section. You can't post in it anymore though. I guess we'll need a new thread for tower 2 when the time comes.

Oh let it be soon!!!

[peanut gallery]

Someone thinks it will be. On the KTVU news, they just presented the story like an announcement that construction is about to start.

But then, we're talking about accuracy in the news media here. For example, this doesn't look like the top of ORH to me, as reported in the Examiner:

Source: City and County of San Francisco website.

[Reminiscence]

This is fantastic news that just made my day. I sure hope to start seeing activity soon. That towers' been lonely for too long. I can see it while watching the ballgames at AT&T as it is the only thing that really sticks out.

Hopefully by then we can actually start scoring more runs to win games

[HarshLiving]

Originally Posted by Reminiscence

This is fantastic news that just made my day. I sure hope to start seeing activity soon. That towers' been lonely for too long. I can see it while watching the ballgames at AT&T as it is the only thing that really sticks out.

Hopefully by then we can actually start scoring more runs to win games

Unfortunately, the tower doesn't bring a bat with it But I'm happy to see this thing moving along. Really just came out of left field.

[BTinSF]

Let's not get too excited. I wouldn't expect any construction at this site for at least a year. Even if they decide to move forward in the next few months, they will have to hire a contractor, order materials and so on.