Transbay Blog

The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) manages about 1,800 residential units for very low-income tenants, and it is currently pursuing several new residential projects in the Tenderloin and nearby South of Market locations, in the form of both new construction and reuse of historical buildings. Among the new construction projects is a trio of buildings that will add almost 350 new homes to the block bounded by Ellis, Mason, Eddy, and Taylor Streets on the east side of the Tenderloin. Two of those three buildings fill a gap in the streetwall on the west side of Mason Street. Construction of 125 Mason (pictured at left), the offsite affordable housing for the Millennium Tower, was recently completed as a result of a partnership with Glide Economic Development Corporation; it adds137 units ranging from one to four bedrooms. The multi-bedroom units will provide much-needed housing for the dense concentration of families in the Tenderloin. 149 Mason, which will be an eight-story 56-studio building to house the homeless, is currently under construction on the parcel next to 125 Mason.

Eddy and Taylor; courtesy of David Baker + Partners.

The third building in this trio, 168-186 Eddy/238 Taylor, is planned for the northeast corner of Eddy & Taylor, where it would replace a 22,334 square foot surface parking lot. The building would be about 130 feet tall and mixed-use, potentially with a grocery store on the ground floor that would improve the neighborhood’s access to fresh food and produce. The Planning Department has issued a Preliminary Mitigated Negative Declaration (link to 8.2 MB PDF) explaining its determination that the project does not require an EIR to evaluate significant adverse effects to the environment. The analysis in that document assumes a building containing up to 178 units, and the project website contemplates 143 units (44 one-bedroom, 77 two-bedroom, and 22 three-bedroom) at a density of 280 units/acre. The project would provide the required bicycle parking, but would have zero off-street car parking, for both the residential and commercial components. The emphasis on multiple bedrooms indicates that, like 125 Mason, Eddy & Taylor is especially geared toward housing low-income and homeless families in the Tenderloin. The architect is David Baker + Partners, who also designed the 67-unit Curran House, another TNDC property just south of the Eddy & Taylor parcel. Additional renderings of the Eddy & Taylor project can be found at the project website.

Courtesy Central City Extra.

St. Anthony Foundation has been an institution in the Tenderloin for decades, providing shelter, daily meals, clothes, as well as medical and social services to San Francisco’s homeless since 1950. St. Anthony (headquartered on the southern side of Golden Gate Avenue, at Jones) will move many of its services into a new five-story building across the street (at 150 Golden Gate) that is set to be completed next month. The second phase of St. Anthony’s renewal aims to completely replace the current structure at 121 Golden Gate. The plan for the redone 121 Golden Gate originally included a new dining facility and just 17 permanent units of senior housing, along with 17 medical discharge units. But the latest proposal for 121 Golden Gate, to be carried out in conjunction with Mercy Housing, is a $66 million project that could include not only a more spacious dining facility, but is also planned to feature 90 studio and one-bedroom units in a 10-story building, with no parking. The building would rise to the full ten stories on the corner, stepping down to eight stories on the side to match the height of Boyd Hotel next door. The latest incarnation of 121 Golden Gate could join 990 Polk and 55 Laguna as another major project featuring construction of new housing units for seniors, and the project could be delivered as soon as 2011.

Filling in Taylor Street. The Business Times reports today that the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp. is taking on another fairly high-profile low-income housing project, having acquired the 22,000-square foot surface parking lot at the corner of Taylor and Eddy Streets. The TNDC plans to build a project very much in the mold of their project currently under construction at 125 Mason, one block away from the Taylor/Eddy site — that is, housing specifically designed to accommodate the Tenderloin’s high concentration of families. The building, which will include a play area for children, is planned to be roughly the same size as 125 Mason, with 130 units on 13 floors. The plan also includes a grocery store on the ground level to provide the neighborhood with immediate access to fresh food. The project will be designed by David Baker + Partners, who also designed the nearby Curran House.
[San Francisco Business Times]

Time for another construction update! The last construction progress post mainly focused on buildings that were recently completed or are very near completion, so this post will cover many large projects that are not as far along yet. As usual for these posts, you can click through each picture to see a larger version. The full-sized versions are hosted on my Flickr account.

631 Folsom, a.k.a. BLŪ, is a 21-story building in Rincon Hill with narrow floor plates — just half a dozen units on each floor, for a total of 120 units, along with ground floor retail. The image on the left is the rendering, and the image on the right depicts the current state of construction:

Left image courtesy Handel Architects.

One of the future shining beacons downtown (at least, until the Transbay Tower is built) is 301 Mission, better known as the Millennium Tower. The Millennium is a 645-foot condominium tower designed by Handel Architects, located at the northern end of the Transbay Terminal. Here are two images of this tower. The image on the left is a rendering, and on the right is a construction picture:

Left image courtesy Handel Architects.

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