2175 Market Street Rendering
A request to change the proposed use of the ground floor of the six-story mixed-use building rising at 2175 Market and 15th Streets from retail to restaurant/bar use has been filed, a move designed to permit Forest City to operate a “Market Square” food emporium in the 6,300 square foot space.

According to the Duboce Triangle Newsletter, “local merchants, such as a coffee store, a butcher, and a greengrocer, would each lease part of the larger retail space from Forest City, and provide to customers independent service from each with convenient access to all of them.”
A Conditional Use Authorization from Planning will be needed for Forest City to proceed with their Market Square concept which is not to be confused with Shorenstein’s Market Square nor the Mid-Market Market at 10th.

21 thoughts on “Food Emporium Proposed For Market And 15th Street Development”
  1. @bgelldawg This is second of three large condopodiums going up on at the intersection of Market, Fifteenth, and Sanchez Streets. The Century, which is nearing completion, is kitty corner to it across Market Street.

  2. I like this idea. Kind of a small ferry market, or more along the lines of Union market in DC. Ferry is too touristy and ridiculous on many levels for me, union market in DC was great however.

  3. Sounds nice, but – there’s all the empty restaurant spaces in the Castro, and this property’s so close to both Safeway and Whole Foods, yet they want to do a ‘food emporium’?

  4. I think we are seeing some solid, excellent designs being built now on Upper Market. This project and Century both have interesting, varied elevations, using visually elegant materials.
    The market hall idea is interesting. I think it may take off, if the right amount of variety of products are offered, and they are not just put together like a warehouse flea market. It’s got to have style and class and substance.

  5. Will die in this location. Should be the Church/Market intersection. Far more buzz. A few tiny condo devs don’t create critical mass. Consider large parcel where Blockbuster used to be or such. Love the Rockridge Market, like shared retail spaces; I believe this is wrong location.

  6. There is a small food emporium with independent vendors at 331 Cortland Marketplace. It doesn’t compete with Safeway or Good Life, but has been a good incubator for food (and cutlery) vendors and a place for specialty food producers (e.g. pickles, piroshki, empanadas, etc) to sell directly to customers. Ichi Sushi and Bernal Cutlery got their start there.

  7. I like this idea a lot.
    @Dan: you’re on the money with this one. I think it would be a great space for an incubator.
    @Invented: it’s just one block from Church/Market and has a more neighborhood appeal, yet still easily accessible by public transit.
    @Sam: are you thinking of Eastern Market near Capitol Hill? I used to go there every week when I lived on 17th/E. Capitol.

  8. @Invented: You could be right, but I think it has a better chance at this location than at Church & Market, which feels like a dead zone, what with the huge Safeway parking lot, boarded up former “Home” restaurant, closed former “Mecca” restaurant, empty Blockbuster building, and the large number of homeless people who mill around the intersection and on up to Church & Duboce.
    I live in the Castro, and Market and 15th is close enough to Castro Street that it feels like part of the neighborhood and should draw foot traffic from it.
    Anything beyond that intersection doesn’t feel like the Castro, even though I’ve seen references to areas as far away as Octavia and Market as “The Castro.”

  9. @bgelldawg
    Don’t you think that the new Whole Foods will cause the empty spaces – especially ex-Mecca – to fill up soon?

  10. @jlasf: That would be wonderful, but I don’t see how one helps the other. I wouldn’t think that most people combine grocery shopping with dining out.

  11. I don’t think it really has to do with “combining grocery shopping with dining out.”
    It’s about the new people moving into these new units, with higher disposable incomes (for one thing), and simply more street activity, density and the “critical mass” of more people shopping, eating and spending money.
    All of these new developments will have a + factor on the businesses in the Upper Market corridor and will fuel the desire to fill up empty store fronts.
    It’s a good thing.

  12. I think once the other condo projects are completed along Market St. the retail vacancies will decline. I would love to bulldoze the entire suburban Safeway compound and bring retail and some urban height back to this side of Market St.
    @bgelldawg: you’re right about the Church/Market intersection. Could use a good hose down.

  13. I live little more than a block from this location, so I’m pretty stoked about this proposal. The corner gets a reasonable amount of foot traffic… admittedly less than 14th & Market, but it’s a much more attractive shopping destination without the constant cadre of homeless and urine smell. This almost makes up for the fact that this building will contain an obscene 20% subsidized housing

  14. Its really not a bad idea since it allows 3 specialized shops to help generate traffic for each other.
    And if it as a Butcher shop that means fresh meat at the portion size you want for that day.

  15. Sounds like a good idea. It’s only now being proposed because they realized they could never rent one large space due to the new formula retail restrictions for the Upper Market/Castro area. The more important issue is what they plan to charge for these spaces.
    It’s all very well and good to want a “food incubator” (whatever that is supposed to mean). It’s another thing to find local butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers who can afford the rents. You have to sell an awful lot of meat to turn a profit considering that Whole Foods and Safeway will still have the upper hand and a good lock in that category alone.

  16. Anyone know the story or reasons behind why the CVS pharmacy got approved for Upper market and yet the Chipotle was turned down?

  17. The “neighborhood” restaraunt owners have more political influence than the “neighborhood” pharmacy/drug store owners. Same reason the Market St Starbucks got turned down.

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