Crews are nearing the pinnacle of the 17-story affordable housing tower in San Francisco’s East Cut neighborhood. Transbay Block 2 East is now 14 floors above street-level, with only a few levels left before the family apartment tower will reach its peak at 230 Folsom Street. Mercy Housing is the project developer.
Transbay Block 2 East establishing view, rendering by Kennerly Architecture & Planning
Transbay Block 2 East corner view, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Full build-out of Transbay Block 2 East is expected to add 184 units designated as affordable to households earning between 20% and 80% of the area’s median income. Unit types will vary with roughly 16 studios, 75 one-bedrooms, 55 two-bedrooms, and 37 three-bedrooms. Of the 184 units, two will be designated for on-site property managers.
Residents will benefit from shared amenities on the sixth floor and rooftop deck. The complex will include a community room, outdoor barbecue, and three laundry rooms. Additional parking will be included for bicycles. Residents will benefit from an on-site childcare center and commercial space.
Kennerly Architecture & Planning is the executive architect for the family housing project, working with associate architect Y.A. Studio. The open concrete does reveal the overall massing for the mid-rise tower, along with some variation across the exterior. Illustrations show the tower will be articulated to appear like several narrow towers with a mix of colorful panels and floor-to-ceiling windows. Facade installation started late last week, though unfortunately not captured in these photos.
Transbay Block 2 East seen from Main Street and Clementina Street, rendering by Kennerly Architecture & Planning
Transbay Block 2 East seen from Main Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Transbay Block 2 East Family Building, rendering by Kennerly Architecture & Planning
Transbay Block 2 East from the future site of Transbay Block 3 park, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Transbay Block 2 East and West represent a 335-unit infill replacing a third of the city block, just under an acre, that once hosted the Transbay Temporary Terminal. Both buildings have been designed with a five-story townhouse-style wall along the future extension of Clementina Street that will divide Block 2 and the Block 3 public park.
On the opposite end of the former terminal, the future for Transbay Block 4 is back up in the air. Hines was pursuing plans to develop Block 4 with 683 units across three structures, including a 47-story skyscraper, a six-story townhouse annex, and a 16-story affordable housing mid-rise developed in partnership with Mercy Housing.
Transbay Block 2 option two preliminary floor-plan, design by Kennerly Architecture and Planning in collaboration with Mithun
Transbay Block 2 East facing north with MIRA in the background, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Hines stepped away from the block-wide project last summer, and now the OCII is publicly searching for a new developer to build between 300 and 325 affordable units for Transbay Block 4 West. Housing is still in the plans for Transbay Block 4 East, but further information has not been shared since Hines stepped away.
The project is still on track to finish by summer 2026.
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Awesome to see the construction progress!
Handsome building. Owen Kennerly does really nice work.
But are we still calling Rincon Hill the “East Cut?” Seriously, who says this?