As we first reported back in 2012 with respect to a Clement Street development which was quietly in the works at the time:
While the neighbors and neighborhood groups haven’t yet been notified, the owner of the single-story building at 3038 Clement Street is quietly working on plans to raze the “European Food” market and build a four-story, 40-foot tall building with six three-bedroom condos over ground floor retail and parking for six cars on the site between 31st and 32nd Avenues, from which San Francisco’s first Fresh & Easy is a fifty-foot walk.
With the design for the project having since been modified to include three two-bedrooms and three three-bedrooms along with parking for ten bikes (in addition to the six cars), this afternoon, San Francisco’s Planning Commission is slated to decide whether or not to approve the development as proposed:
The Planning Department, which recommends approval of the 3032-3038 Clement Street project, has received eight letters in support of the development and none opposed.
Too bad, I liked this store. Great sunflower seed fresh baked bread and awesome dry sausage from Poland that tastes just like in France. Try the smoked fish section too.
Why is it “too bad”? No one is saying the store will close, nor implying that. The owner can choose to do what they want.
The store can be relocated anywhere, including the new ground floor retail. Did you think of that?
It gets tiresome to hear complaints that have no bearing on reality.
[Editor’s Note: In reality, the existing commercial space is 3,940 square feet while the new retail space will be 914 and likely too small for the market, not to mention the two year downtime during construction.]
As the editor’s note points out, it is unlikely the market will be a tenant upon completion. Although it is not a large loss as there are countless more European grocery stores on Geary.
I get your points, but it’s somewhat disingenuous to imply that the market is simply closing. We don’t know that the owner could be thinking about moving it to a new location. Do we?
My point is the “too bad” comment without merit. It smacks of the all too common attitude here in SF that nothing should change. Great cities continually evolve and change.
IMO, there is nothing to bad about this new project.
Agree with Futurist (a first?). Could be taller though. Four stories seems to be massively underbuilding such a transit/pedestrian friendly location.
Now if only the ugly car repair place next door would close and be redeveloped into a nice 6-8 story building.
As for displacement it would be great to see the retail stretch here along Clement become more competitive. Recent turnover in the somewhat beleaguered strip across from F&E included losing a fishing tackle shop and picking up a martial arts studio. Sad if you fish, happy if you’re a ninja.
Will be interesting to see how new condo product does out this far in the (North Outer? South Lake District? Backside of Seacliff?). Not a lot of close comps for brand new units. I think the Julie Lee/Eric Mar extortion project on 26th is apartments, no?
FWIW, the property and euro market owner(s) appear to be the same per liquor license and prop tax records.
one kinda bad, or perhaps just less than optimal, is that the auto shop on the corner isn’t incorporated to make a bigger project.
Nice to see 3-bdrm condos and off-street parking.
I think Futurist was reading too much into lol’s comment. Lol never said he/she was opposed to change or the new construction, just lamenting over the closing of the store. Geesh!
The city is in desperate need of housing, be it market rate or affordable.
This gets quite delicious.
@ mark: Who said the store was closing? Maybe you know more than we know.
Lol was (apparently) making the all too quick and rush to judgment comment about the store closing. And my comments were essentially about getting new housing and the fact that the store may or may NOT close.
We don’t know that. Certainly it would be great if the owner chose to open the store in a new location.
futurist needs his daily fight.
Yeah, it might not close. But as long as we do not have this info, I’ll just make the comment I would miss it.
Case closed.
Thanks for clarifying your comment lol. Now it makes sense.
Nice to see a silly argument about retail spaces, instead of the usual silly argument about parking spaces.
Transit/pedestrian friendly location??? Are you kidding?
it is pedestrian friendly, but transit sucks here.
It’s all relative, but this location is 1 block North of the express buses downtown on Geary and 1 block South of the California lines. Pretty good connectivity as far as the Richmond goes…
Transit sucks here? This location is 40′ from a 1AX stop, which is the best Muni line in the city.
I lived a couple blocks from here about five years ago, and the transit is astoundingly better than what I’ve got now in Duboce Triangle. Sure, I’ve got “trains” now, but the 1AX is insanely FAST. Even outside of commute hours, the normal 1 provides better service than any of the Muni Metro lines, IMO. And yeah, there are a multitude of Geary lines as well (though those lines are roughly as reliable as the Muni Metro lines).
“Best Muni line in the City” not being that high of a bar… I’ve ridden the 1AX, and many of the other Richmond express lines (31AX, 31BX, 38L, 5L). A lurching, jostling crowded ride, at an average speed of about 10 m.p.h., hardly qualifies as “good connectivity” or “transit friendly”.
And the bus lanes on Geary will do squat, because the primary bottleneck is at and east of Van Ness, not the boulevard portion of Geary.
Whatever you say bro. I lived at almost this exact location for three years and my car was parked 99% of the time. I use my car MUCH more where I’m at now.
Are there bus lines in San Francisco that aren’t “lurching, jostling crowded ride[s], at an average speed of about 10 m.p.h?”
The nominal schedule for the 1AX is 40-45 minutes to travel about 5.5 miles (33rd Ave to/from Market), which is slower than 10 mph. Same for the 38. The BRT is supposed to cut the trip by about 15 percent. That would be about 10 mph.
So, for Muni a 10 mph urban bus is ‘rapid’.
I think the lurching and jostling of the NYC subway was the best prep I had for the 1989 earthquake.
i live in the richmond . the geary bus is absolutely horrible. horrible! HORRIBLE!! i ended up driving and wont let me wife go near that thing
Sorry, maybe I have different standards, but two slow, semi-reliable bus bus lines, providing for travel only to-from downtown, is not very transit friendly. And just because there are a lot of people walking does not make it pedestrian-friendly either. Everyone driving on Clement is circling around and around looking for parking and not paying the best attention to pedestrians. Geary is also one of the most un-friendly pedestrian streets in the City.
The nominal schedule for the 1AX is 40-45 minutes to travel about 5.5 miles (33rd Ave to/from Market), which is slower than 10 mph. Same for the 38. The BRT is supposed to cut the trip by about 15 percent. That would be about 10 mph.
Um, what? Here’s the schedule:
http://transit.511.org/schedules/index.aspx?#m1=S&m2=bus&routeid=43917&cid=SF
Which shows 28-35 minutes from Market to 33rd depending on time. In my experience, this is one of the only Muni routes to routinely beat the scheduled time. 20 minutes end-to-end is not uncommon. Certainly faster than in a car if you include parking time.
Now…go one street over and take the 38L and this 20 minutes turns into 65+ on the “fast” Geary bus.
Geary is also one of the most un-friendly pedestrian streets in the City.
Geary in the Richmond past Park Presidio is a great pedestrian street. If you think it’s bad, you have not walked on Pine, Bush, Gough, Franklin, Lombard, Van Ness, King, any street in SOMA, etc, etc.
Now, Geary between Van Ness and Park Presidio is terrible, I’ll grant you that.
anon, thanks for the correction on the 1AX schedule. At 33 minutes for that route it averages 10 mph. When I used to drive Geary at rush hour, I usually did 4-5 minutes per mile. So, this bus seems like a good alternative.
If the Geary bus is so much slower than why wouldn’t most able people walk a block to California?
^Shhh. Best-kept secret in town.
There are still a fair number of single-story businesses around. I expect they will be developed over time, the economics being what they are, and it seems likely that it will result in the amount of retail space being radically downsized or eliminated as the ground floors are repurposed for garages.
I’m in favor of development, and I believe we need it to keep housing costs in check, but it seems like it will end up eliminating one of the best parts of living in the city.
The muni lines around here aren’t as terrible as some suggest. I grew up near here, and the express/limited bus services on the 1 and 38 lines are pretty damn decent.
And it’s a fairly walkable neighborhood as well. Not to mention the excellent open space opportunities nearby (Lands End, China/Baker/Ocean Beach, Presidio, GG Park).
I remember when Lung Fung was located here, used to get cheap lunch specials back in the day.
Is a great location to be developed , you have a shopping center , and massive park , and golf course , and premier museum within walking distance , PLUS there are multiple bus lines within a 1 block radius making this one of the easiest places to commute from in the Outer Richmond , I expect that the corner property gets developed soon also
Alai: More and more shopping will be done on line. SF is probably over-retailed by a vast amount.
Heck, half the SF economy (the internet) is based on eliminating local businesses and replacing them with concentrated web-based businesses (that deliver). No more corner store…the Fed Ex Truck has replaced it. Who buys from local shops anymore? Even when you outlaw chain retail, people will just buy it cheaper on line!
Why even bother to get out of your condo anymore? Everything’s delivered straight to your fat ass now. Whether or not you decide to get that big ass out of your chair and to answer your door is still up to you, though. Thank GOD for personal choice.
UDPATE: Former European Food Market Razed For New Condos To Rise.