The final colors haven’t been picked, but the latest renderings for Avant Housing’s proposed 900 Folsom/260 Fifth Street project have been uploaded to their project site.
The latest design features twenty-foot ceilings for the commercial ground floor…
…a publicly accessible “pocket park” off Folsom, and a Clementina alleyway that’s lined on both sides of the street with both townhomes and trees.
No word on how those Idol interiors are coming along.
UPDATE: Also worth noting, the proposed number of units in the development now stands at 448 (down from 466) while the number of proposed parking spaces is down to 323 (from 466 as well). That’s a lot of new neighbors in the neighborhood.
∙ 260 Fifth and 900 Folsom Design (pdf) [900folsom.com]
∙ The SocketSite Scoop On 900 Folsom/260 Fifth: Condo Idol Comes! [SocketSite]
∙ Pocket Park and Alleyway Townhomes in SoMa Grand Team’s Project [Curbed]
Bad location. Anything west of 4th is sketchy. I saw in the SF Chronicle, that some guy was killed this past weekend on Market & 7th by a homeless guy. Not the type of place I would want to move to.
These designs have a midcentury modern feel. Part of this must the resurgence of retro styling, but it seems there may also some core elements of construction that the early modern masters got right. Practical designs kept to a budget keep coming back to similar looks because of their performance.
The row of townhomes on Clementina is an elegant solution to complaints about shadows from the original taller proposal. I bet with this location those will command an enduring premium.
The way the massing along Folsom has been broken up is also sensitive to concerns raised earlier. This development would give a lot more life to the area than the existing parking lot.
Nice design. But again, questionable location.
Bad location. Anything west of 4th is sketchy. I saw in the SF Chronicle, that some guy was killed this past weekend on Market & 7th by a homeless guy. Not the type of place I would want to move to.
In 2009, there were more homicides east of 4th than west of (in SOMA):
http://www.sfgate.com/maps/sfhomicides/
While 5th and Folsom is certainly not as nice as a few blocks west, it’s certainly way better than 7th and Market. The homicide this past weekend should be more a concern to those at SOMA Grand, which is, according to realtors, in an up-and-coming neighborhood.
Regardless, the development of 900 Folsom would improve the area greatly. At least that particular block.
I don’t think the area’s THAT bad. You’ve got Saitowitz’s loft building just down the street, and this will definitely push the “sketchy” boder further west.
Actually, after looking at Mapjack I think this will be a real plus for the area and make the 3rd and 4th streets even more appealing.
I agree, the development can only help the area, and it should push the sketchy out a little, however, there would be no “buffer”. For me, I like to have the buffer, and I think this makes everything slightly better, however, I wonder where will the density of homeless, etc., go. They can not all keep going west. And isn’t there a mental health place on 6th? If it is, then having that be adjacent to what could really be a nice development would be a shame.
I usually think anything East of 2nd is nice (Oriental Warehouse, Brannan, Watermark, Infinity, Millennium, 200 Brannan etc) but for Folsom Blvd, this isn’t a bad location. Yerba Buena Lofts (Saitowitz’s building) is on this block. Lulu, Oola’s is across the street. Whole Foods/Pete’s, Yerba Buena Park is a block down with 1 of the best day care center in the city. Great park for dog, kids, and people watching. Plus you are mins away from Union Square, Metreon and the MOMA.
Further down between 3rd and 1st on Folsom is a traffic nightmare. This is where cars idle waiting to get onto the bridge and why I do not see the appeal with Blu. Getting stuck in traffic is no fun. Just ask residents at the Met or Blu how’s the living on Folsom.
All in all, most of SOMA is relatively safe.
The new design is a lot better than the previous.
What ever happened to this little ditty across the way???
https://socketsite.com/archives/2008/06/from_warehouse_to_squat_to_sweatshop_to_condos_935_fols.html
[Editor’s Note: Good question, tipsters?]
Isn’t there a SFR right on the corner of 5th and Folsom? I thought I remember a SS posting about it.
[Editor’s Note: That would be 299 5th Street (on the other side of the street).]
It is silly to make any assumptions about an SF location based on a random killing 0.7 mile away. It is 0.7 mile from the Western Addition’s projects to the heart of Pac Heights. It is 0.7 mile from the worst of the TL to the best of Nob Hill.
The worst of 6th St. is near Market St. There are a few sketchy places near 5th and Folsom (as well as very nice places like YBL and the Intercontinental Hotel), but if built, the several hundred new residents of this project will dominate the block with their numbers.
Also worth noting, the proposed number of units in the development is now at 448 (down from 466) while the number of proposed parking spaces is down to 323 (from 466 as well).
OK Broadway and Divisadero this isn’t. But the very act of putting 700 middle class homeowners here will forever change the neighborhood. I remember the day Nordstrom Mall at 5th and Market opened, the Chronicle opined how risky it was, because no middle class person had ever shopped south of Market, without realizing that putting those uses there changed the whole equation. This is merely the next logical step in the organic development of a successful city.
I agree, the development can only help the area, and it should push the sketchy out a little, however, there would be no “buffer”. For me, I like to have the buffer, and I think this makes everything slightly better
We’re talking about San Francisco here. It’s a very small city with many patchy neighborhoods. Most of us would love pleasant communities free of crime, griminess, and unpleasant behavior, but it ain’t gonna happen in SF. That’s why developers made gated communities out in the suburbs.
very interesting..
especially for any parents that get their kids into bessie carmichael ps.
most parents have given up fighting the lottery system in the district and just wait till they are placed and move accordingly. better housing near schools could really help facilitate this process.
“Anything west of 4th is sketchy”
“I saw in the SF Chronicle”
Live in fear much?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_fear