Construction is now underway for a seven-story residential infill at 159 Fell Street in San Francisco’s Civic Center neighborhood. Crews have surpassed the second floor as the building takes shape close to the busy Van Ness Avenue and Market Street intersection. Baumann Associates is responsible for the application on behalf of the property owner, SAK Design & Build.
159 Fell Street pedestrian perspective, rendering by Winder Gibson Architects
159 Fell Street front view, image by author
Winder Gibson Architects is responsible for the design. The 85-foot-tall structure is expected to yield around 22,600 square feet, including 25 dwelling units and no ground-floor commercial space. Previous plans called for a small ground-floor retail space. Apartment sizes will vary with two studios, 12 one-bedrooms, and 11 two-bedrooms. Parking will be included for 27 bicycles and no vehicles.
The narrow parcel is located along Fell Street between Franklin Street and Van Ness Avenue. The property is half a block from the unfinished foundation of 30 Van Ness Avenue. Looking towards the city’s pipeline, the project is rising in the shadow of several unbuilt towers once buoyed by the Market & Octavia Area Plan Amendment, formerly known as The Hub.
159 Fell Street aerial view, rendering by Winder Gibson Architects
Pre-demolition image of 159 Fell Street, image via Google Street View
With construction now underway, the structure is likely to top out later this year, with occupation expected 18 months after groundbreaking.
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Single story commercial building > housing for 40 people. San Francisco could do this for at least 100 years straight, there are that many lots available like this.
These automotive uses are in particular trouble. Uber/Lyft. Waymo. Zoox. E-bikes. E-scooters. Electric cars as personal vehicles. MUNI (not going anywhere). The demand for a personal gas vehicle, and all of the maintenance it requires, has never been lower.
& yet there are large (& busy) one-story auto shops everywhere — several huge deep ones in NOPA. (I live Alamo Sq.). Perhaps development sites in future.
Several media outlets have covered the struggle of auto body shops over the last couple years. There was a pandemic boom in body work because of the pandemic crime spree, but also seems to be a drop off overall in bay area automotive maintenance needs. They interviewed multiple body shop owners who said they are seeing way lower business than before the pandemic and may have to close. They won’t all disappear, but if some turn into housing that seems like a win for everyone.
Indeed. Lots of big, juicy lots. On Divis alone:
– Precision Auto Repair (next to 4505 Meats)
– 1355 Fulton (recently converted to a parking garage)
– 650 Divis (will happen in this next boom)
– 999 Divis (Sung’s)
– 1660 McAlister (former Auto body shop, current church)
I hope the new residents of this building are ok with the noise from Rickshaw Stop next door.
If the past is any record, they will shut it down.
I live near here, was excited to see this going up, and I’m now super excited after reading 7 stories!
Curious how that is possible though? I thought 7 stories would hit the (silly) dual-staircase requirement, which doesn’t fit in a building with narrow frontage like this.
I wondered the same thing(7 stories? But the renderings make me wonder if that mezzanine floor counts as a full-floor since it’s open to the lobby entrance floor? Just wondering if there’s some trick of design that gives you a free floor?
This is great and should be legal anywhere in the city.
Silly thing to say. Can you imagine how crowded, polluted, and stressed this city would be if there was one of these on every lot? Our infrastructure barely functions as it is.
Minimum height in San Francisco should be 7 stories.
What a dull, sterile, flavorless city you YIMBYs have been brainwashed to want.
Of course it makes sense to build a building like this in this location, but does it make sense to build it on Alamo Square? In the Presidio, on a quiet residential street in The Excelsior?
I dare you to take a drive or bike ride through the residential streets of the outer sunset or outer Richmond any day of the week after 5 pm. That will give you a taste of how dull and sterile life can be. I also grew up in newly built east coast suburbs and it was equally boring and sterile. There are plenty of reasons to argue about how dense every neighborhood should be but equating density with dull and sterile seems like an odd argument to start with.
We have the space, and the need, for about 10,000 more of these throughout the City.
Why? Leaving aside the question of destroying what makes San Francisco, San Francisco, the population of San Francisco, the state of California, and the USA as a whole is shrinking. Once the boomers pass on into the sunset, there is going to be a massive surplus of housing, especially if the Republicans stay in power and continue to cut off immigration.
Yep. San Francisco at about double the population would be an absolute dream. It would be Brooklyn levels of density, basically 3-4 stories on average. The single family homes aren’t likely to be demolished for a long time, we we need lots of these 7-10 story buildings. Safer due to more foot traffic. MUNI working better due to double the population using it. Twice the property taxes collected to put into parks, schools, etc. More lighting and landscaping instead of empty lots. More successful businesses.