As we first reported back in 2016:

With the lease for the Shell station on the corner of Fifth and Folsom expiring [in early 2017], plans for a slender eight-story building to rise on the western quarter of the 300 Fifth Street site, which is officially its own parcel, have been drafted by Elevation Architects.

As proposed, the 905 Folsom Street building would rise to a height of 85 feet and includes nine condos (5 full-floor two-bedrooms and 4 half-floor one-bedrooms) over 1,300 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a roof deck for residents above.

And as the existing service station’s underground tanks lie under the eastern portion of the two-parcel site, it’s possible the ground could be broken for 905 Folsom Street while the rest of the 300 5th Street site, which remains zoned for development up to 85 feet in height per San Francisco’s [since approved] Central SoMa Plan, is undergoing its required remediation.

And with plans for the eastern portion of the site having since been supersized, the application to entitle the slender 8-story, 9-unit building to rise up to 85 feet in height on the 905 Folsom Street parcel could be approved by San Francisco’s Planning Commission this week, as newly rendered below:

11 thoughts on “Partial Infill of Another SoMa Gas Station Site Slated for Approval”
    1. Keep in my the sidewall facing the lot will be covered at some point, and the one facing the other way (right side) is mostly obstructed by the other buildings on Folsom.

      I suppose it could be nicer in some way, but I honestly don’t expect most people to notice…

  1. I never understood how one can build residential units on a plot currently used as a commercial building. Isn’t that what zoning is meant to prevent? Did they do spot rezone from commercial to residential?

    1. you don’t understand how zoning works, apparently. The “zone” assuredly allows a variety of uses (as do most commercial zones in San Francisco). The most restrictive zoning in any city is typically in single family residential districts and purely industrial areas, while the most permissive zoning (in terms of uses allowed) is typically in dense commercial districts.

    2. Fairly certain that many downtown plots are mixed-use general, which I believe means they can be used for commercial, residential, PDR, whatever. So no zoning change is needed when a new building is constructed. You can search by address on the city’s planning map for detailed info.

      What’s weirder to me is that you can have a single use/building over multiple parcels (like this gas station or the Safeway parking lot on Market St) without needing to formally merge the parcels into one.

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