A new residential project has been proposed for development at 50 8th Street in South of Market (SoMa), San Francisco. The project proposal includes the conversion of a tourist hotel into group housing as a 100% affordable housing building. BEI is the existing hotel on the site.
Arcus Architecture + Planning is responsible for the designs.
50 8th Street Proposed 8th Floor Plan via Arcus
The project site is a parcel spanning an area of 36,343 square feet. The scope of work includes the conversion of 66 tourist hotel units to 66 group housing units as a 100% affordable housing project. The hotel is a 13 story building and rooms on the 8th and the 9th floor will be converted into housing. The converted units would be deed-restricted as affordable to 120% Area’s Median Income. The project is subject to the San Francisco Inclusionary Housing Program and will restrict the requisite units to lower AMI levels as required.
50 8th Street Proposed 9th Floor Plan via Arcus
The project will also take advantage of the State Density Bonus Law for a waiver to reduce the residential open space requirement. The units will have access to 15,181 square feet of usable open space, in excess of what would be required for the units, but the space will be shared with the existing hotel use. This waiver facilitates the creation of new housing and provides the new units with open space that substantially furthers the purposes of the Code.
A project application has been submitted, awaiting review and approval. The estimated construction timeline has not been announced yet.
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The amount of affordable housing in SF versus market rate is incredibly frustrating. But hopefully this means they’re cleaning up the drug marker on the sidewalk in front of this building? And hopefully the one in front of the proper hotel as well.
Agreed. One can only hope this helps clean up this block. Unfortunately, a lot of these larger affordable projects tend to do a subpar job keeping the sidewalks clear of “friendlies” and mess. Some hope with the fact that it sounds like it’s targeting 120% AMI.
Here’s to hoping the corner lot, with the vacant bank and parking lot, bubble back up and get redeveloped with some commercial/market-rate housing in the near future.
I’m always in favor of more housing, affordable or not, and the 120% of AMI does allow a lot more flexibility. I have to say I’m perplexed at the building owners doing this with only two floors of the hotel? It seems this would reduce the viability of the hotel itself (I know, I know, tourism is way down right now but not forever) and more importantly could ties their hands regarding other future uses of the rest of the existing building or the entire site. Will they be able to knock it down if they want to build a taller residential tower? Not clear from the article how the land is held.
It’s not “more housing.” It’s renting out hotel rooms at — checks notes — $3200 a month.
Jerry, the reality is that the US population isn’t growing very fast, especially relative to historical periods of high growth. Per the most recent Census estimate, the population grew only 0.5% between July 2022 and June 2023. And most of that was in the South, not other regions of the country. So the problem isn’t overall immigration into the US, it’s that there’s a mismatch of where jobs have been created and attracted lots of people to move in recent decades (like the Bay Area) and the unwillingness of those same places to create the housing needed to accommodate the additional residents, creating a supply crunch.
So…..apartments without kitchens.
“The hotel is a 13 story building and rooms on the 8th and the 9th floor will be converted into housing”
Only two floors will be converted to housing? What’s happening with the rest of building?
The amassing of government housing & social services in this one area is tipping the neighborhood beyond the potential for a vibrant mixed-income area. The balance of middle & market & govt is off.