For the last twelve days of 2024, SF YIMBY will look back on each month and reflect on the biggest stories we covered. We started January with an update on one of the biggest construction projects in the region, the multi-billion dollar expansion at the UCSF Parnassus Heights campus. Next to Telegraph Hill, plans increased for the much-discussed 955 Sansome Street apartment tower, and we broke the story about preliminary permits for the billionaire-backed tower at 1088 Sansome Street. N17 filed plans for two new skyscrapers overlooking the freeway in SoMa, and the first details were revealed for a 15-story affordable infill in Chinatown.
Demolition Underway for UC Parnassus Heights Hospital and Research Building
New Hospital Parnassus Heights view from along Parnassus Avenue, rendering by Herzog & de Meuron
January 1st: Demolition and excavation work is underway for two major projects in the UCSF Parnassus Heights campus in San Francisco. Crews finished removing the seven-story UC Hall, and only a corner of the four-story Mental Health Services building remains as of our visit. The sites are expected to be transformed into a research building and hospital, with both scheduled to finish by 2028 and 2030, respectively.
Permits to Convert Church to Housing at 554 Fillmore Street, Lower Haight, San Francisco
Sacred Heart Church aerial view, image by Google Satellite
January 3rd: Updated plans have been filed to convert a former church at 554 Fillmore Street into a mixed-use development with housing and an event space in San Francisco’s Lower Haight. The adaptive reuse expects to retain much of the former Sacred Heart Church’s exterior and nave while creating five floors for housing on the eastern end. The Pollard Group is sponsoring the project.
17-Story Tower Proposed for 1088 Sansome Street, San Francisco
1088 Sansome Street elevation over Sansome Street, illustration by MHA
January 5th: Preliminary plans have been filed for a 17-story mixed-use tower at 1088 Sansome Street in San Francisco’s Northern Waterfront neighborhood. The development is a block from 955 Sansome Street, where Aralon Properties recently submitted enlarged plans for a similarly-sized infill. The new project shows growing interest in dense housing close to the Financial District, Embarcadero, and Telegraph Hill. Mark Horton Architecture is responsible for the application.
Final EIR Review for SFMTA Potrero Yard Redevelopment
SFMTA Potrero Yard Redevelopment view from Bryant and Mariposa Street, rendering by Arcadis
January 8th: Plans are moving forward to build hundreds of affordable homes inside a new bus yard in San Francisco’s Mission District. This Thursday, the city’s Planning Commission is scheduled to review the Final Environmental Impact Report about the SFMTA Potrero Yards Modernization proposal. The project will replace the existing bus yard and build up to 513 units, with a refined project variant floated to build just 103 units. SFMTA and Plenary Group are joint developers.
34-Story Tower Proposed For 650 Harrison Street in SoMa, San Francisco
650 Harrison Street establishing view, rendering by BDE Architecture
January 10th: New plans have been filed for a 34-story residential tower at 650 Harrison Street in SoMa, San Francisco. The project applicant, N17, is the same developer from the Builder’s Remedy-assisted proposal to potentially create over a thousand homes at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park. The developer has also filed similar plans for a 31-story tower at 598 Bryant Street. Allrise Capital is the property owner.
Renderings Revealed for 31-Story Residential Tower at 598 Bryant Street, SoMa, San Francisco
598 Bryant Street pedestrian view, rendering by BDE Architecture
January 10th: New renderings have been published alongside permit filings for a 31-story residential tower at 598 Bryant Street in SoMa, San Francisco. The development could see a freeway-adjacent gas station and two small commercial buildings replaced with nearly four hundred homes. N17, the same firm responsible for the builder’s remedy-assisted Menlo Park tower proposal, is responsible for the application.
Office-to-Housing Conversion Proposed for Humboldt Bank Building, San Francisco
785 Market Street, illustration published by Gensler
January 19th: Project permits for the office-to-housing conversion of the 19-story Humboldt Bank Building along Market Street in San Francisco have been filed. The proposal will bring over a hundred homes to the 1907-built tower, where the narrow slab block makes it particularly well suited for apartments. Forge Development Partners is the developer.
Construction Tops Out for The Fay, Downtown San Jose
The Fay overlooking East Reed Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
January 22nd: Construction has topped out for the Fay at 600 South First Street in Downtown San Jose. The 23-story project rises over I-280 as a prominent southernmost tower in the urban core. Its over three hundred apartments are expected to open up in early 2025. Morro is the project developer.
Increased Proposal for 1101-1123 Sutter Street in San Francisco
1101-1123 Sutter Street, rendering by David Baker Architects
January 23rd: The previous proposal for 1101-1123 Sutter Street called for a 14-story residential infill with over two hundred homes in Lower Nob Hill, San Francisco. Now, new modified project plans have been shared for a 22-story complex, with more housing to match. Martin Building Company is the project developer.
Tower Grows In Face of Opposition on Telegraph Hill, San Francisco
955 Sansome Street pedestrian view along Vallejo Street, rendering by Handel Architects
January 24th: Some residents have never been happy with plans for 955 Sansome Street, starting with the preliminary seven-story application in 2021 for the corner lot by Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. Three iterations have gone through the planning department since then, steadily growing each time to ten floors, then sixteen, and now 24 floors tall. The project application states that the proposal “aspires to restore and revitalize an underutilized site while providing much needed higher density housing for the city.”
Approval Extension Requested for Renzo Piano-designed Tower in San Francisco
555 Howard Street aerial view, rendering by Steelblue
January 30th: While San Francisco’s hotel occupancy rates recover, one developer has filed plans to extend the approval period of the 35-story hotel right across from the Transbay Transit Center. The 2015-filed project would replace three low-slung commercial buildings at 555 Howard Street in SoMa with four hundred hotel rooms and a rooftop POPOS. The application is a joint venture between Pacific Eagle and SKS Partners.
15-Story Affordable Housing Proposed in Chinatown, San Francisco
758-772 Pacific Avenue, image by Google Satellite
January 31st: Updated plans have surfaced for a 15-story affordable housing tower to rise at 758 and 772 Pacific Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The city purchased the property in 2017 after a campaign by the late Rose Pak, an influential political activist for the neighborhood. While initial plans considered building between 50 and 80 units on the lot, this recent application has proposed constructing 175 apartments and a new banquet hall.
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