Recent permit activity has been spotted regarding a much-delayed proposal for 655 Folsom Street in SoMa, San Francisco. The application was initially filed in 2013 to replace the two-story Canton Dim Sum House restaurant with a 14-story apartment complex. The structure has remained six years after the previously announced 2019 groundbreaking by developer Pillar Capital Group.
The recent permit activity shows that the proposal has not altered since the last planning department update in early 2020. The application calls for a 14-story tower with 89 apartments, 2,300 square feet of ground-level commercial space, and a 36-car basement garage. Additional storage is included for 97 bicycles. Demolition will be required for the existing building.
655 Folsom Street, image via Google Street View
City records show the property last sold in 2013 for $11 million. The 0.16-acre rectangular parcel is located at the corner of Folsom Street and Hawthorne Street. The site is on the same block as the expansive SoMa Square Apartments, and directly across from the recently re-skinned office complex at 633 Folsom Street.
The lot is immediately adjacent to 120 Hawthorne Street, a roughly half-acre, irregularly-shaped lot with a similar story to 655 Folsom Street. Equity Residential received approval in 2017 for a 230-unit residential infill designed by Handel Architects. The project never started construction.
120 Hawthorne Street (outlined in white) wrapped around 655 Folsom Street (corner lot), image via Google Satellite
Arquitectonica has worked as the project architect. The previously-released renderings show a rectangular complex characterized by a checkered pattern of boxy bay windows and inset terraces. Additional open space is provided with a rooftop deck.
New building permits were issued in August 2019, with demolition permits issued in October 2023. The estimated cost and timeline for construction have not been provided. Pillar Capital Group has yet to reply to a request for comment.
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We desperately need many more of these throughout SoMa. Waiting for the day when cranes begin to dot the sky again!
Really? I thought most of the luxury condos emptied out when all of the tech bros decamped to Austin.
As someone who was in the rental market less than a month ago, the housing market in SF for both rentals and buying is back in high demand. Especially, with the RTO enforcement at some companies. JS Sullivan’s condo development in Russian Hill sold out in less than a year, and towers like Mira are getting filled again.
Don’t bother with this one. They believe any new housing is a sin and the world of supply and demand is imaginary.
Build this now, please. Or build something else. The derelict restaurant is a drag on the neighborhood.
I hope those white framing elements are concrete. Otherwise, this design will look hideous.
Build it anyway I guess. Better than what’s there now.
Having lived in so many other cities and countries, it’s insane how long it takes for anything to get built in this city!
Nothing is stopping them from building it other than their own greed.
And bureaucratic municipal dysfunction.
I’m never quite certain on some of these projects whether they are rentals or condos. I know in NY people refer to their homes as “apartments,” even though they may be condos or co-ops.