Shuttered in 2012, plans to raze and redevelop the former Caesar’s Restaurant parcel on the southwest corner of Bay and Powell were approved at the end of 2015 with the project team positioning to break ground on the 4-story, 17-unit building with a ground floor commercial space the very next year.

While a demolition permit was, in fact, requested and approved in mid-2016, the permit was subsequently cancelled and the approved plans for the site and parcel hit the market last year with a $5.5 million price tag.

But a buyer never materialized, the ground remains unbroken and a bigger set of plans for the site have since been drafted by Ian Birchall and Associates.

And if approved, the new set of plans would yield a six-story building, with 24 condos (4 one-bedrooms, 19 twos and 1 three) over 1,700 square feet of ground floor retail space and off-street parking for a total of six (6) cars and 25 bikes, leveraging California’s Density Bonus Law for its proposed 60 feet in height (versus the 40 as approved and zoned).

We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.

14 thoughts on “Bigger Plans for Shuttered North Beach Site”
  1. Is that a good place for living? Today there was a robbery and pepper spray attack on that block, within half a year a shooting, every Fri/Sat 100 of drunk people from Carbon club and car break ins everywhere. Total winner.

    1. The people who are already living there seem to be surviving. No one will force you to live there. Other people, though, may think that living 3 blocks from Embarcadero is pretty cool.

    2. You know, it’d probably be less sketchy if they allowed single story buildings that haven’t had their decor updated since 80s to be converted into good housing.

    3. You just described the situation of most neighborhoods in SF and any other major city. Carbon (under other names) has been shut down a few times over recent years and I can bet it will happen again. Besides that, I can make a huge list of advantages and benefits of living in that area.

      I’ve been living in that area for over 12 years and I really like it. Short walk to Little Italy, Pier 39, guirardelli. Walkable commute or easy public transit to downtown, FiDI, SOMA, Marina, Polk. I have never had a safety issue, I see car windows broken same as many other areas of the city, parks, green areas, great views of the bay, library, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, other services in the north point shopping center… the list goes on.

        1. Type in “Little Italy” on Google maps and it will point you to the middle of North Beach. North Beach is the name of the neighborhood while “Little Italy” is the name of the community within North Beach. Same reason we have a Chinatown while other cities also call their Chinese communities “Chinatown”.

    4. Is anywhere a “good place” for living? Even in some of the statistically safest cities in the country, they have multiple robberies a year. It is funny, but people have lived in the neighborhood for several generations and seem to be doing just fine. Hugo, go troll elsewhere. Or, better yet find something productive to do–you will ultimately be happier.

  2. The ground floor is awfully squat. Doesn’t the city give a 5-foot bonus for making the ceiling there a bit higher? IMO, that’s absolutely crucial for both looks and function.

  3. It’s likely this is even less financially viable than it was when approved plans hit the market and it failed to sell. Sure there are more units proposed but condo prices are falling and will continue to do so while construction costs, already the highest in the world, continue to climb. Maybe the idea is to try to sell the rights again – just with the sweetener of a larger entitled project.

    1. What exactly does that do other than kicking the can down the road? It makes no sense whatsoever as an actionable development strategy.

      1. it’s the hold and hope strategy. Which does not work in a prolonged down market as could be unfolding in SF.

        1. A “hold and hope” strategy would involve not listing the property, but rather waiting until the next housing cycle to secure construction financing.

    1. It just looks like a non-controversial rough sketch for a typical modern condo building. What would be a “non-soul-deading” building,” which would be reasonably affordable to build and NOT historical pastiche? If you can answer that question, then instead of posting laments, start a career in architectural design or become a real estate developer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *