A ‘plugged in’ tipster forwards a great photo of the “big pit” at 20th and Bryant, links to the big pit developer’s website, and an update.
You know that big pit at 20th and Bryant that’s been a 40 foot hole in the ground since around 2000 when it was going to become a dotcom office park? Well, in the last couple months, there has been a lot of activity around it. It’s now going to become residences.
Bryant Commons (2125 Bryant) will offer 76 “highly desirable urban family townhouses and flats,” while Coach House Lofts (2101 Bryant) will offer “23 highly-stylized lofts in a classic, historic building.” Both projects are “coming spring 2008.”
And while our Complete Inventory Index (Cii) is already tracking Bryant Commons, Coach House Lofts is a great new addition.
∙ Palisades Development Group: Bryant Commons (2125 Bryant) [Palisades]
∙ Palisades Development Group: Coach House Lofts (2101 Bryant) [Palisades]
∙ SocketSite’s Complete Inventory Index (CII): Q1 2007 [SocketSite]
Horrible renderings. I get a good feeling about the Bryant Commons though looking at the overall exterior design. Town homes have a very unique way of changing the flavor of a neighborhood. I hope they do a good job with this place.
I’m surprised the activists let this project see the light of day. After all, the northeast Mission, where it’s located, was ground zero for the dot com land use wars just a few years ago. I’d think that the same activists who were mortified at the prospect of the Armory being reused as condos would fight this one tooth and nail.
Townhomes would hopefully add a different flavor to SF. I’ve always admired the Brownstones on the east coast.
It’s amusing that these renderings make the streets appear spotless. SF streets, esp downtown and SOMA, are the filthiest on the west coast. Garbage everywhere.
@etslee : You seriously expect them to render the streets with garbage?
“You seriously expect them to render the streets with garbage?”
No, just commenting on the contrast between rendering and reality. They draw the streets like it’s glass or something.
If we have fewer holes in the ground, fewer surface parking lots, more owner-occupants, seems to follow that we’ll have a lot less trash.
The streets around 20th and Bryant aren’t particularly dirty.
With such a deep hole, how many parking spaces did they put in?
I used to live a block from this site and I remember when they ripped down the previous structure and dug the hole. I attended one of the city planning meetings in early 2000 when lots of activists appeared to protest.
Then the dot com bust quashed the mixed use plan. (Somehow the market just didn’t need high priced office space any more.)
One of the partners behind the project was failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon. Maybe that explains why the partners failed to “residentialize” their plan six years ago. They just couldn’t get over the political failure.
I could never figure it out. They’ve been sitting on a gold mine.
I’m glad to see that this brutal hole in the neighborhood is going to brought back to life.
I just posted some photos and a discussion on my blog:
http://leblog.exuberance.com/2007/03/2101_bryant_cla.html
Matt – was it the “developer stupidity” that “scarred” the neighborhood or the NIMBY-ism that resulted in the open pit and loss of people, income, and development?
“The building’s loss was a low point in the life of the neighborhood, as a battle played out over whether to erect a 14 story office building there. That knackered idea finally died a rightful death with the bursting of the dot-com bubble, and we’ve been stuck with an open pit grave ever since. No artists, no places for people to live, no income being generated, no people giving life to a homey neighborhood, no nothing. Just really bad city planning and developer stupidity, scarring a neighborhood that didn’t need any more scars, thank you very much.”
Reminds me of the Armory debacle. Great work on the part of the NIMBYs blocking the development of condos and ending up with porn.
i live in this neighborhood and remember the fight. yeah, it sucks that we ended up with an open pit for 8 years, but in the long run, we’ve got (i hope!) a good result. it’s much better overall to have residences here, rather than vacant offices. i also recall it being 7 stories, not 14. it’s going to liven up the place to be sure.
Bryant and 20th is not the Northeast Mission. It is smack in the middle of the central Mission. There are entirely different dynamics at play than at the Armory.