San Francisco Flower Mart 2014

Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos and former San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin will be joining a rally at the San Francisco Flower Mart this afternoon, organized by members of the market who are concerned that redevelopment plans for the Central SoMa site do not provide clear enough protections for the existing tenants.

As we first reported last year, plans to raze 46,000 square feet of the 135,000 square foot Flower Mart and build a pair of office buildings rising up to 160 feet at the corner of Sixth and Brannan have already been submitted to Planning.  Kilroy Realty has since agreed to purchase all the outstanding shares of the San Francisco Flowers Growers’ Association for $27 million, the only material asset of which is the western 1.9 acres of the Flower Mart site.

Kilroy is also believed to be in negotiations to acquire the eastern part of the site.

While the preliminary plans for redevelopment did not include any replacement space for the Flower Growers or the market, Kilroy has stated that it intends to “preserve the Flower Mart for the long term” by developing a mixed-used project with state-of-the-art replacement space for the floral industry.  But a number of the existing tenants, worried about soon to expire leases, displacement during development and rising rents, want guarantees.

And once again, while the Flower Mart site is currently only zoned for development up to 55 feet in height the site could soon be up-zoned as part of the City’s Central SoMa Plan, but San Francisco’s Planning Department is recommending that the height limits for the site be raised to no higher than 85 feet.

35 thoughts on “Flower Mart Redevelopment Foes Are Rallying”
  1. I was one of those expressing mixed feelings about the flower mart redevelopment, but this is G.D. ridiculous. Art Agnos needs to go find something useful to do, like scout out his burial plot. It’s private property and the owners can do what they want, within the bounds of the planning code. What’s next, Art, a proposition to preserve all of gritty SoMa as-is, as a museum piece to bad planning and NIMBYism?

    1. The plan redevelopment does not comply with the planning code. They seek to have the area re-zoned so they can proceed. Any other thoughts you would care to add without finding out the facts?

  2. If the developers want the city to upzone the property, it is reasonable to get a long term lease at reasonable rent for the Flower Mart in exchange. Win win.

      1. Or the city could bargain for something that’s more of a public amenity. Sounds like small business welfare to me. If they want to up zone the city should get something more than some lower rent for wholesale flower shops.

        1. Agreed. Wholesale flower markets mean nothing to me, why not bargain for something actually useful? Let the flower mart move to Stockton – that’s what we have trucks for, to move stuff around where needed.

  3. Art Agnos and Aaron Peskin are the biggest piece’s of political garbage in the city. Kilroy is obviously going to want to keep the Flower Mart because they are an awesome retail tenant.

    1. I have no opinion on your angry statement, but your inexplicable use of an apostrophe in “piece’s of garbage” is cringeworthy. It’s a plural. Pieces. Jeez.

      1. I haven’t seen any grammar/spelling nazi’s on here before. Pretty soon there are going to be “first” posts.

  4. time for these guys to leave SF. they are making it unaffordable by blocking new development all acrross the city.

    1. San Francisco would still be “unaffordable” if all of Telegraph Hill and its residents entered a trans-warp rift and disappeared.

      1. Yes it would still be expensive here, but it would be a bit more affordable than it is now if NIMBY types hadn’t been strangling housing development in the city for decades, via height limits, constant appeals of projects, etc, etc.

    2. How long have you lived here jill? You are quite opinionated, I wonder if you really understand the history behind your comments.

  5. I love the Flower Mart but it’s time for it to move to an industrial area of Bayview.

    Redevelopment will drive up rents and eventually force the smaller shops out of business. A wholesale move is the best thing for the collective and would be a win for the southern neighborhoods.

    1. I agree – the Produce market is already down there as well (and similarly moved for redevelopment of the northern waterfront in the 60’s). I’d welcome it over Lowe’s and Jack in the Box any day!

  6. Peskin and Agnos are a great team. Any developer must now get them on board to move ahead with almost anything. Wonder how much they could charge to support a project. They could be “consultants” as opposed to obstructionists.

  7. Agnos did quite enough damage when he was mayor, including firmly establishing San Francisco as the homeless center of the universe (camp Agnos, anyone?). While he partly redeemed himself through demo of the Embarcadero freeway, I consider him the worst mayor in recent memory.

  8. Increased rents, development plans and dissent among the flower market owners has been chipping away at this treasure for years. Kilroy may keep a flower market themed retail store on the site as a token of what was, but it is time for the growers to find more affordable space. It’s an losing battle to try to keep that space.

  9. go get em aaron and art. hope you can knock this one off after 8 washington. you have momentum, dont lose it. whats next? cheers..!!

    1. Nice to see that you support the obstruction of healthy growth, and thus support the transformation of SF into nothing more than a giant museum for tourists/a gated community for wealthy residents.

  10. Well we almost got to save the Flower Mart ,
    But it seems Art wants to kill that and instead have the entire complex replaced with Housing ,,

  11. There’s a story in the New Yorker today about this. It puts flower growers against tech, although no one knows what will go here

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