1979 Mission Rendering: Mission Street Building

The formal environmental review for a proposed 331-unit development to rise up to ten stories on the northeast corner of Mission and 16th Streets, at the entrance to the 16th Street BART Station, is about to get underway.  And with it, we now have the latest renderings for the contentious Inner Mission development as designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill.

1979 Mission Rendering: 16th Street Building

As proposed, the existing Walgreens, Hwa Lei Market, City Club bar, Mission Hunan Restaurant and Burger King on the 1979 Mission Street parcel would be razed to make way for the development, a development which includes over 30,000 square feet of all-new ground-floor retail space fronting Mission, 16th, and a redesigned BART Plaza.

An underground garage for 158 bikes and 163 cars – including 4 spaces for car sharing and 22 spaces for the retailers – would be accessed by way of a single curb cut on Capp Street.

1979 Mission Rendering: Capp Street Building

In an attempt to win-over local opposition to the proposed project, the developer, Maximus Real Estate Partners, has offered to build new classrooms topped by an elevated 14,000-square-foot playground for the adjacent Marshall Elementary school, replacing the school’s existing playground which would be shadowed by the development.

The impact of the proposed development on the Spanish-immersion school’s existing playground and student body is a strong rallying cry for those opposed to the project.

Opposition to the development also includes those who are concerned about the ongoing gentrification of the Mission and advocates for the homeless who fear the development “will drive the down and out from their hangout at the BART station plaza.”

110 thoughts on “Scoop: New Designs For Big Development At Mission And 16th”
      1. obviously anything over 4 stories is a monstrosity! these foolish cities building 5 and 6 story buildings! what are they thinking?? let’s get rid of BART too and just keep everyone in nice 2 story buildings. fight the progress!

  1. Good news! Great project! Solid, modern design. Height and scale is appropriate.

    I hope this new influx will get rid of the druggies, homeless and thugs who hang out at this plaza.

    1. This is the worst thing the Mission I’ve ever seen. Bad design, does not benefit the real locals, closing small business’s and loss of jobs. Big shadow over Marshall School. We don’t want this here in our neighborhood.

      1. Reallocal, How is this project closing small businesses and costing jobs? This will create jobs, add much needed housing, raise tax revenue, provide the school a new playground, and and and…

        I live 1/2 of a block from this project and I have for eleven years. So, as someone who can sincerely claim this as much his neighborhood as anyone, please do not use “we” when speaking for the neighborhood. I do not recall electing you the mayor of the Mission.

  2. Every bleeding-heart cry baby will hate it. “where will all of the pimps, pushers, mental cases and bible thumpers go when the BART plaza gets cleaned up?” exactly. Clean it up, it’s an absolute disgrace

    1. That’s a terrible comment, and a terrible attitude towards humans. The point of adding capacity is to make room for all kinds of people. That includes people that you think are weird.
      Being a segregationist doesn’t help anybody, and it CERTAINLY doesn’t help the cause of getting things built.

      1. Enabling heroin use is inhumane. What SF allows to happen around that plaza is sad and a disgrace to a city that prides itself on progressiveness. Gentrification won’t solve the problems but is not as bad as letting it continue.

      2. you (people in general) have become so accustomed to the filth and travesty of that location that seeing beyond it is almost impossible….

  3. “who fear the development “will drive the down and out from their hangout at the BART station plaza.””

    um, yeah. well, thats the best thing about it.

    in all seriousness, great scale, great design, great location for density, and will make area much safer. before you know it, 3 yr olds will be riding their tricycles alone down mission.

    1. Hurray for human compassion and decency! As you say let’s “get rid” of the homeless (instead of say, giving them homes). Let’s get rid of everyone we don’t like and don’t want to have to encounter in public! Hitler would be proud!

      1. Hitler was a Socialist (Nazi is a contraction of National Socialist in German). He was for universal employment, medical coverage and promoted large state-owned enterprises (how do you like that VW van?). He was also more notoriously a huge fan of race-based policies, not unlike the ‘Calle 24’ and ‘Plaza 16’ crowd. Keep Germany Aryan and keep the Mission brown.

  4. ^^ Can you let us know how you really feel?

    I propose the adjacent school be renamed to Lycee Francais — Elle a fait beaucoup d’efforts pour améliorer son français.

    I need to improve my speaking skills before meeting distant relatives in Paris.

    1. When you’re there take good notes about what real cities look like! This building is pretty typical in height for Paris, especially for a building on a main thoroughfare like Mission. Everybody declaring that SF is a “European City” needs to go to Europe first.

      Here’s the typical scenery around a metro stop in Paris (Google Streetview):
      http://bit.ly/1CikYPJ

      1. Yup, I have been to Europe (Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern) many times though I have not lived there. I can truly appreciate how well the Tube and surface buses run in London or the ease of train travel between Amsterdam and Brussels. Europe, on the whole, is obviously much smaller than the U.S. but the different cultures really make the continent feel much bigger than it is.

        I am very surprised at how many people have not been to Europe. You don’t even need a big budget. Hostels were practically invented there so even Campos can afford to go.

        1. Obviously, you don’t know what it is like to be broke. In order to get to Europe, you need a plane ticket, which about one month of rent for some people. If you work an hourly gig, you don’t get paid time off. Reading the comments here has me very worried about things in SF.

          I am a transplant and a tech worker that has been here for 15 years. I moved here because the city had character and wasn’t vanilla like where I grew up, went to school and had my first job. Who want so see white kids riding tricycles down mission? I want to eat a f*cking real burrito and see real Latino people. I don’t want to see a bunch of Gap wearing, “I have been to Europe” mother f*ckers that travel but only experience culture the same way they do at home.

          1. Geez! Real Latino people. You want to see the natives in their native habitat? What garbage. Guess what? Neighborhoods change. Cities change. La Mission is in the process of changing and people better get on board or they’ll get knocked off. And if this project gets rid of (even some of) the bums who hang around the BART plaza it can’t happen soon enough.

          2. You can’t get a “real” burrito in the Mission! As much as the Mission thinks it’s burritos are good, they’re not. They pretty much suck.

            San Diego makes a mean burrito!!!

            Mission Street is a dump. Half of it needs to be torn down and rebuilt.

          3. what a joke. Of course you can. They’re called “Mission” burritos, and they’re famous worldwide. It’s a style. You don’t know what you’re talking about

          4. I want to live in a city where people don’t feel free to engage in reverse racism and think it’s OK, and don’t feel that using profanity is a sign of wit.

      2. Tell it! This should have been done when they built the BART station. I’m actually proud of our urban planning system on this one. Once people in the mission see how the sky doesn’t fall when you build vertically, maybe we can actually start putting up some mixed use market rate / affordable housing in that area. These kind of projects, with second story retail set aside for local businesses and nonprofits could transform mission street into a neighborhood for EVERYONE and take care of existing residents and generations of San Franciscans to come. Every mission resident who opposes new housing and vertical development needs to ask themselves, where are their kids going to live? Stockton?

      3. European have been living in five- to eight-story apartment buildings since Roman times. There are neighborhoods in Rome of buildings at the tall end of that range that date from the 1100s. And they weren’t even near BART stations…

        1. people have been living cheek to jowl for a long time, with and without indoor plumbing, with and without underground parking, or heliports. stack ’em as high as they can stand, just like cord wood.

      4. Simply marvelous. I love the facades of the old architecture and the street side cafes. I am mentally there today. Merci.

  5. I haven’t seen drawings of just how and where the school and the condos intersect, but possibly a colossal ramp might work well to connect the school’s lower level to the elevated playground: something like The Campidolio or the spiral ramp at NYC’s Guggenheim. A ramp would be more safe, and easier for kids and faculty to navigate, especially in the rain, etc. Plus, it might be a way to avoid awkward, dark, space between the two entities.

  6. I am puzzled as to why such a short building and so few units are being built next to one of the most transit rich parts of the city outside of downtown. BART can move over 1000 people, per train, every 2 or 3 minutes, and there are at least 3 Muni trunk lines at this location.

    1. Baby steps? A 10 story building may be relatively small and not take full advantage of the site, but it’s already equal to the Empire State Building, as far as many NIMBYs are concerned. And a 20 story building in that area would be Mount Everest. A 30 story building would be the apocalypse.

      So if you want to lower the chances that your project gets killed or shortened after ten years of environmental reviews and appeals, you just build short to begin with. It’s still a big improvement over what’s there.

      1. Exactly. It would be rational to build 20 stories right on top of all this mass transit. But then it would never get built. I’m happy with ten and hopeful that the next building on the corner will match it.

      2. the nimby name calling is so high school. Lets build this in your back yard. Lets take away your view and the sunlight. Lets throw in more cars to drive around your block everyday. Lets have a lot of wealthy folks move in and treat you with disgust. Lets also raise rents for your family and neighbors so that they could move and also for you local mom and pop business. So you should not complain because we are improving your neighborhood.

  7. 10 stories seems out of scale to me. How many buildings in the Mission are that tall? I get that it’s next to BART but I hope this gets loped off by 3-4 floors.

    1. These Victorian houses seem out of scale to me. The grass, dirt, tents, and small 1-2 story homes all around them are way shorter. I hope they get lopped off by a few floors.

      Sincerely,
      a San Franciscan from 1850.

    2. The US Bank Building at 22nd and Mission is about 10 stories. It’s the tallest building in the Mission, I believe. It doesn’t seem out of scale,, and shows that Mission street could accommodate a lot more density. Although it’s not the most beautiful building in the world by a long shot, it has a kind of mid-century/brutalist charm that could be significantly enhanced with a sensitive remodel (particularly at the ground level). At the very least it would be nice to see the paintball stains from a dot.com era protest removed…

    1. Didn’t you know? Homeless people (and drug dealers) are like magical leprechauns, and teleport back to Narnia once you displace them.

    2. No, they will be displaced into some unsuspecting nearby neighborhood that Bevan Dufty will then write off with a chuckle — while proposing a completely ridiculous intervention scheme that merely serves insult upon said injury. That said, they should build this because it is the right thing to do with this intersection — they should just make it even bigger but only with affordable – maybe up to 400 with the diff all affordable? And then build a methadone clinic across from Ed Lee’s house.

  8. Must say like the city to stay humble but sick of being afraid of that station. Too many drugs and crazy people hang out there. Just trouble.

  9. Gosh, they are concerned about the down and out homeless people. Well, they City spends upwards of $167 million on you useless people to get off the streets. Maybe they will be pushed all the way home to where they came from.

      1. So “compassion” requires keeping a prime transit spot in the middle of the city in a filthy, unsafe state?

        1. I don’t think “homeless” people can be pushed “all the way home”. That’s kind of the point: they don’t have homes. And, like it or not, many of them are actually from San Francisco (I know, I know, que the randian rant about how no-one has the “right” to be anywhere just because they “got their first”).

          Also, I think “you useless people” as you put it probably don’t spend much time reading Socketsite. If you really want to communicate with them you should just go down and talk to them. You could tell them they should go “home”…

          I don’t think that’s what she meant at all. Read the comment she was responding too. It’s pretty heartless.

    1. I don’t think “homeless” people can be pushed “all the way home”. That’s kind of the point: they don’t have homes. And, like it or not, many of them are actually from San Francisco (I know, I know, que the randian rant about how no-one has the “right” to be anywhere just because they “got their first”).

      Also, I think “you useless people” as you put it probably don’t spend much time reading Socketsite. If you really want to communicate with them you should just go down and talk to them. You could tell them they should go “home”…

      1. ^^ Maybe MIMG is a ginger. Where is Marnia? Is that the sister city of Narnia?

        I really have nothing more to say on this topic but wanted to try out my new “name.” Never got off at the 16th & Mission BART station but sure read enough about it. Sounds a lot like the outside of the Castro St. MUNI station.

    1. no one from the marina or anywhere on the northside of the city has any interest in living in the Mission. Its the lemming hipsters who are turning the mission into a sea of sameness

      1. Well this is totally not true. I don’t know where these kids are coming from now but they look nothing like people in the bars 15 years ago I Mission and don’t look anything like my definition of a hipster. They looks like a mix of tech workers and frat types to me.

        1. The hipsters were barely there 15 yrs ago, but it was the hotspot then for marina types, although maybe they didn’t live there. Hipsters are built on the idea of lemming sameness and they have taken over the mission like a swarm of killer bees

          1. your memories don’t square with mine either. 1999-2000 Marina types maybe went out to the Mission once every now and then, and to places like Skylark. Most certainly not deeper in the Mission. And anyway, there are tons of very cool spots with original thinkers imbibing in the Mission and surrounding still but I won’t be telling.

          2. every tom dick and harry partied in the mission during the dotcom boom. that was the place to be on the weekend. brunos and docks’ clocks was full of frat boys, as well as skylark as you say, blondies and every other bar on 16th between guerrero and mission, and every valencia bar between 16th and 22nd.

          3. naaah, not so much on Mission. I was there. I lived right by Kilowatt 96-99 and then right by what’s now Beretta from ’99-2002. And never deeper into the Mission like now, which was my point. It wasn’t the place to be for well heeled young ladies back then. It just wasn’t. And who likes to party where the well-heeled young ladies are? Sorry bud you’re wrong.

          4. i stand by my assertion as I was there too. Bruno’s and Doc’s Clocks were both bastions for yuppies. Especially Brunos. the entire Valnecia was that way too. I agree Kilowatt was a bit too edgy maybe. But the Mission on a friday and saturday night was as marina as it is now IMHO. Even for girls. Lots of girls there are the time. all the dotcomers hung out in the mission. The difference now with the mission is that it is loaded with hipsters , and the number of restaurants and condos has exploded. The hipsters have transformed the mission. I dont think the crime on valencia was much different than now. Mission st has changed for sure. I dont think you’re right and you don’t think im right. I spent every thurs, fri and sat night in the mission from about 96-2004. I do think 96-98 were different, but during the height of dotcom, 99-2001, it was a frat sh!tshow

    1. That is a disused SFUSD school site, now being remodelled to temporarily house homeless people. It will be a long time before it turns into affordable housing. Besides the one on Mission near 10th, are any affordable complexes set to open near the Mission in 2015?

      1. Building takes time. The Maximus project won’t be opening in 2015, either. The SFUSD site plan for all-affordable housing is being fast-tracked, according to the above link. There is also an all-affordable complex to be built at Shotwell and 26th.

  10. Those 163 new cars are going to tie up the 22, 33, 14, and 49 even more.
    Better hope they get the transit lanes in before the units are filled.

    1. You forgot the new 55 circling from 16th & Mission down to the new Mission Bay Hospitals. Scheduled for every fifteen minutes.

  11. I agree that a 163 car garage is big, but most of the traffic will come out Capp Street and then go to South Van Ness, not Mission. Locals know to leave Mission St to the buses, local traffic, and double parkers.

  12. Yes! Density right on top of a BART station – it doesn’t get better than this. Not displacing anything other than a Burger King. In fact, this will result in *less* displacement of existing residents – some of the techies who might otherwise be fighting for your Victorian will have an alternative.

    1. Look up “Comparative Market Analysis” in your Real Estate 101 textbook before you say that luxury condos next door don’t affect displacement. Higher property values encourage landlords to raise rents and/or evict. Whether you think this is a good or bad thing, this is what happens, and it’s why a simplistic “increase supply” solution doesn’t actually reduce displacement.

  13. “Good news! Great project! Solid, modern design. Height and scale is appropriate. I hope this new influx will get rid of the druggies, homeless and thugs who hang out at this plaza.”

    Yes Please!! I will take one of those!! About time they do something with that corner. I’d like to walk w/ my head up and hoping not step on poop. Or felt safe enough not having to look back every 15 sec to see who is following me….I really hope this will help the area feel safer and cleaner.

    1. Building a building won’t necessarily “clean up” the area. Something else is needed. I don’t know what, but it’s more than just a building.

      1. Of course it’s not just all building that “clean up” the area. But it will definitely help brighten up the area, better flow of foot traffic, more family friendly environment. Only time will tell. Let’s cross fingers to have clean shoes.

  14. How could anyone oppose this? That corner is awful and what a great improvement for the Spanish Immersion school across the street! This has nothing to do with black/white/brown and everything to do with drugs and loiterers who add nothing of value to the neighborhood. It has already been pointed out numerous times that this will be right on top of a Bart station…if we don’t develop here, then where?!?!

  15. If only they could incorporate that hideous elevator box to the BART concourse into the new building instead of leaving it out on the plaza.

  16. Opponents of this development are afraid people of a race different from their own will move into their neighborhood. It’s a disgusting stance.

  17. As many others have already stated; I think it’s great. Even for 10 stories… it looks fantastic and in a comfortable scale for the area. I love the small set back / height for the retail on the north side. And especially enjoy the brick, as a way to mirror the building just east and some of the others across the street. It feels more residential… I dig it. AND new BART plaza!? Bout it.

    The only thing I’d like to see different is more spaces allocated to car share and less for residential parking.

    Build now, please. Huge improvement.

    1. Whoa, whoa, whoa… No one said this place was a dump. I just think a few people would like to see under utilized space be aptly taken advantage of—for the benefit of everyone that lives here. Many parts of the city are beautiful and are perfectly fine how they are. Just not any of the BART stations.

  18. I’m all for increasing density over the BART station. The homeless will hustle along to the next hot spot, or they’ll hunker down in the doorways of this building. But, as is so common it pretty much looks like everything else being built in the area these days… kinda boring

  19. Its a dump. BART was extended into the mission with the intention that higher density redevelopment would soon follow. None of those proposals have materialized until now, 42 years after BARTs opening. 1-2 story formula retail over the best transportation in San Francisco is only justifiable by the knee jerk opposition to any change that exists in SF. I will never understand the idea of stasis just for the sake of stasis

  20. I would chuckle if Jack Spade moves into one of the retails locations. That would add some serious insult to injury to those who oppose all things for the sake of opposition and “preservation”

    Don’t listen to the vocal minority, BUILD IT! I would say once you’re done move on to the 24th Street BART Stations but I can’t wait that long.

  21. SFBARF is trying to organize people to support this project (and counter the angry opposition). If you want to voice your support they’d be a great organization to check out

  22. Boring cookie cutter trash and not tall enough to make a difference in our housing situation. Taller buildings & better architecture please.

  23. I would make a statement here

    Taller building than 10 stories, smaller units and zero parking spaces. Walk it like we talk it SF. This would make more affordable units by design

  24. smh. All of you being mean about the loiterers. Yeah that building should go up, 2x as tall would be better. AND once it’s finished, the public should be able to hang out in the plaza again.
    Nobody has to leave. There is room for everybody.

    1. Nobody is being forced out of the public plaza. That is BART property and is next door to the project.

      What this construction will do is hopefully put some shopkeepers with doors facing onto BART plaza that will have some security guards and incentive to call the police when they see drug dealing and violent folks. It will also increase foot traffic and generally force the city to pay a little more attention to the folks hanging out here.

      I also think that things will change a bit in 2016 anyway when the low-level drug sellers will end up being put out of work by legal marijuana. That will make the remaining sellers more attractive targets for the police.

      1. There was a news article today about how Mexico is expanding its land for production of heroin due to the explosion of use in the U.S. Congratulations U.S. for being a large consumer of heroin and pot.

  25. Build it! I’m sick of pee-stained, disgusting and scary plaza. I’ve lived 15 years in the Mission and I love all the new hustle and bustle.

  26. This has come a long way from the initial renderings – really, really good stuff; if this were the standard in new SF developments we’d have a superb City. Great job raising the bar without jumping through hoops or adding un-necessary moves

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