As promised, we’re hosting another gathering for plugged-in people next Wednesday (10/24). The topic of the evening: SoMa’s emerging midtown/mid-market neighborhood.
We’ll be moderating a panel discussion and Q&A (which will include Sarah Karlinsky of SPUR and Chip Conley of Joie de Vivre amongst others); SomaGrand will be providing the venue (as well as the cocktails and snacks); and you’re invited (to get the inside scoop on the neighborhood and network with other plugged-in people).
The gathering will be held from 6:00-7:30pm at the SomaGrand Sales and Marketing center in San Francisco (1085 Mission Street at Seventh Street). Attendance will be limited to the first 100 150 people to sign up: http://socketsite.wikispaces.com/Midtown102407. And no, this isn’t going to be a sales pitch.
We’ll see you on the 24th. And as always, thank you for plugging in.
UDPATE: Yes, the 100 spots have been filled but we’re negotiating for a bigger cocktail budget and will add some more spots (exact number TBD) first thing Monday (10/24) morning. And if you can’t make it on Wednesday or aren’t interested in the topic? Fret not, our next gathering is already in the works.
UPDATE (10/22): As of 6:30 AM another 50 spots have been added.
∙ Got Plans For Next Wednesday (10/22) Evening? Cancel Them Now. [SocketSite]
Of course, this has to happen on the same night as the Western SOMA Citizens Planning Task Force Town Hall meeting.
http://www.sfgov.org/site/westernsoma_index.asp
For people willing to walk down 7th, it’s a great evening to learn about the neighborhood. The two events only overlap by half an hour, so it’s possible to hit both of them.
I would love to make it, but last time I was in that neighborhood I was shot by 4 stray bullets, mugged twice, propositioned 9 times, and sold 12 ounces of crack (but I bought those before the muggings, so they were stolen).
[Editor’s Note: And not too ironically, it sounds as though you might benefit from the gathering (and discussion) the most…]
Oh come on … the south side of Market Street (barring 6th Street) isn’t THAT bad.
To Jamie, Ha…
My secretary saw a mutilated human being in this area a few weeks back.
Mutilated.
Not cool…I will be staying somewhere safer. Sorry Socketsite.
“Mutilated.”
Hey Halloween is coming up– maybe someone was trying out his outfit.
Do you have a link to the news story re: the mutilated body out in plain sight?
It will still be daylight when this thing starts– I wouldn’t worry too much about personal safety. (But don’t leave valuables in your car in plain sight.)
Suit yourself … I’ve been coming and going from the 7th and Market MUNI/Bart station quite often for over 2 years to visit a friend at 7th and Howard, and I’ve never been shot at, mugged, stabbed, etc… Sure, there are bad elements hanging around Carl’s Jr. on the north side of Market and the Paycheck Cashing joint and Donut joint on the south side of Market, but once you walk determinedly past those zombies, you’re pretty much home free. Would I be walking around there at Midnight? no.
Not sure about this “mutilated body” either. I’ve been walking through mid-market at all hours for the last couple years, to and from my apt. in Hayes Valley, and other than the occasionally overzealous homeless, I’ve never felt in danger.
I lost weight in that neighborhood. Running from muggers certainly helps keep the weight down.
I work at the new federal building at 7th & Mission. I see plenty of crazy stuff but I’ve never felt unsafe in that neighborhood. Not even when heading to Tu Lan on 6th.
“My secretary saw a mutilated human being in this area a few weeks back.”
That’s appalling. You must have post traumatic stress disorder. I’ve seen mutilated pigeons, mutilated street signs and the occasional mutilated SF Weekly dispenser, but never ever a mutilated human being.
If you’ll pardon me, I’ve got to send my secretary out to get some donuts. From Fallujah.
I’m willing to bet that the “mutilated person” was that guy who shows passersby a foot-long bloody scabbed-off scrape on his forearm, and panhandles them for $25 cabfare to the emergency room. I haven’t seen him in about 4 years, but, if this fits the description of your “mutilated” person, take it from me: Nobody on 7th Street mutilated him but himself. This reminds me of my other favorite panhandler, frequently seen on 8th Street bach when I lived near there: Looking sharp in a LOUD honking purple double-breasted permanent-press 2-piece suit, often with an animal-print tie, he asks folks for gas money because he’ll “be late for work” ’cause his car ran out. I always wanted to ask him: ~Where~ exactly do you have to drive to, looking like that? Silicon Valley?
It looks like the event sign up sheet was filled in around three hours or less? Congrats on the popularity, Socketsite! Sounds like there is strong demand for this kind of thing, possibly in larger formats as well.
Looked out my office’s window this morning to see the huge Soma Grand homes for sale sign hanging up on a very un-grand building. So I went to the building’s website and proceeded to laugh my rear off. Yes, I ended up on the ground laughing (mainly b/c I tripped but couldn’t stop laughing).
I lived at 4th & Harrison for many years as a young and early 20-something from 2001-2005. I rode through the “lean times” in the neighborhood when nothing was open past 3pm and it was largely a ghost town minus the homeless and dealers. The greatest day was when Aurora raised my rent $300, prompting me to move elsewhere in the city. Now, I live in Nob Hill and am so thankful I don’t deal with the crap in Soma any more. Tu Lan is still good. Arrow Bar, Club Six, and Anu were cool for about a year (they suck now). Market Street is a fricken mess. There’s nothing redeeming about the area. Sure, it’s depressed and there’s huge upside potential, but that’s all it is — potential.
People were talking about revitalizing in the area in 2001 and how great it will become in a few years with all of this new development. Well, six years later and nothing has changed. 6th Street will never improve for one simple reason, it’s a writeoff. The police will gladly writeoff that one small street where nobody goes and isolate the crime there. You win some, you lose some. That area is a loss and SF’s political climate does not allow for the wholesale regime change necessary to improve that neighborhood.
Good luck Soma Grand. You were supposed to start selling units in late 2006. Boy is that one year delay going to hurt you.
Once again, I hear the sentiment of a consumer who has no clue how to contribute to a better quality of life. Please don’t take it personally as it is hardly unique among Americans.
Jamie, do you mean to say that we “consumers” should choose to buy at the Soma Grand as a way of helping the neighborhood’s current situation? How about if the Soma “Grand” were to lower their prices and not pretend to be a “luxury” building in a “dynamic” (from their website) neighborhood.
It would be easy to keep trying to hype all of the up&coming neighborhoods, but with so many making that claim, where do I choose? Should I pin my hopes on the Transbay Terminal that MIGHT be finished in 2012 (that is the most optomistic projected timeline now, WITHOUT including high speed rail), or perhaps 6th street? I am now in my early 40’s and I don’t have 10 or 15 years to wait for a neighborhood to become “dynamic” so I will just continue to live in the boring Marina where I can walk in safety, jog along the Crissy Field waterfront, and the only noise I hear at night is the foghorns. I find it funny how many bash the Marina on this site, but I actually think it has more San Francisco atmosphere than a Soma stucco box ever will.
“I find it funny how many bash the Marina on this site, but I actually think it has more San Francisco atmosphere than a Soma stucco box ever will.”
That’s the problem with Soma. There’s nothing uniquely SF about it. Swap downtown Cincinnati with Soma? Nobody would notice. Soma is too much of a generic downtown-ish neighborhood to have a true identity.
“Swap downtown Cincinnati with Soma? Nobody would notice.”
I disagree. It would be cleaner, less dangerous, and have less drugged up addicts laying around.
Instead of consuming or just taking things, people should think about what they can contribute … what purpose they can serve beyond consuming only.
You see it at every sporting event …. piles of peanut shells, tobacco spit, food containers, and beer cups. Take this metaphor to your neighborhood … and ask how your actions contribute to improving, degrading, or not having an impact either way. That’s all I’m referencing in the quip above … Americans are great consumers.
That’s the problem with Soma. There’s nothing uniquely SF about it. Swap downtown Cincinnati with Soma?
Couldn’t agree more. The other day a friend was talking about various parts of SOMA and said “The area around the ball park feels like a real neighborhood.” And I responded, “Maybe, just not a neighborhood in San Francisco.” He agreed. If you look at real estate ads from cities around the country, you’ll see that every city has some “up-and-coming” area with nearly identical developments to those in SOMA. Usually, though, they’re much more budget-friendly.
Folks, come on…..Don’t bother attending this event if you have no interest in this part of the city, and please don’t bother posting here, your comments are adding nothing of interest.
Something just came up that will force me to miss tonight’s event. I am no. 123 on the list. I would hate for invite to go to waste. Sorry for the inconvience.