Tenderloin Trio Takes Shape

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.