The vacant 700-square-foot shack at 4801 Third Street was built on what was to become Bayview’s Mendell Plaza back in 1974.
Muraled a few years ago in conjunction with a grassroots effort to transform the plaza, which is across the street from the newly renovated Bayview Opera House, from an open air market for drugs and violence into a community resource and gathering space, plans to raze the shack have now been drawn.
As envisioned, a modern 600-square-foot restaurant space designed by G7A for the Bishop family will be built in its place, glazed on all three sides of its primary corner to provide more transparency between Third Street and the plaza.
And if approved, Bishop’s Burgers could be open by the middle of 2017, with a walk-up window along Third Street opening early to serve coffee and breakfast to commuters prior to grilling up the namesake fare.
In addition to the Old Skool Cafe, this location is probably most noteworthy as the transfer point between the 24-Diviz & T-Third.
Opening up the sight lines with the glass walls will hopefully help reduce vagrancy and allow what is otherwise a beautiful plaza to be more accessible to the community.
an architect that chooses not to make use of that beautiful, brand-new mural is an architect that has lost the passion for their job. come on people. inspiration has to come from somewhere. this looks like the starbucks near where i grew up in phx az.
it would be nice to try and reuse the mural, but if you look up the history of the existing building on DBI’s website you’ll see it’s been suffering from years (decades?) of major issues. Probably safest to rebuild.
building safety is a legitimate concern. didn’t think of that. still very possible to retain an existing wall and make use of it aesthetically. happens all the time.
Wait. You’re an architect who didn’t think of building safety?
lol … structural integrity of existing walls is #notmyjob
Licensed architects are legally responsible for the “health, safety and welfare” of a building and occupants.
It can be re-muraled. The existing one doesn’t appear too meaningful.
you are “an architect”? A very strange architect who values a temporary (paint) fix on a decaying structure more highly than building something of quality that can last a generation.
A whole generation huh? High standards!
just because something can last a generation doesn’t mean it should. any architect can build something that lasts a generation. wal-mart distribution facilities can last a generation. doesn’t mean i want to live next to it.
what i DO want to live next to: community art. architects can either choose to provide or destroy the urban canvas for cultural expression. a ‘very strange architect’ is someone who would prefer to build a starbucks look-alike than to at least *attempt* an extension of neighborhood identity.
also dude, that thing will not be built to last. it’s gonna be a piece of crap. i bet you a drink.
Alleging to be “an architect”, your language and use of wording is way off. What architect says “dude” and calls something a “piece of crap”?
Quite frankly, from your recent comments you don’t sound nor talk like an architect. Anyone can make up any name here to comment.
we are all architects of our own worldviews
I said “generation” because I know how things are built these days, but I’d certainly prefer several generations…..
Often the early demise of a building isn’t caused by shoddy construction. It is economic growth.
Look at Apple for example. Their current HQ on Infinite Loop was built in the 1990s and replaced the former Motorola Phase IV buildings that were built in the 1970s. The Motorola buildings will built like a fortress yet they only lasted a generation.
Now Apple is building their new HQ on the site of the former HP Cupertino Campus that was built in the 1980s. Another perfectly good, solid set of buildings razed to create something bigger and better.
It is a challenge to find a Silicon Valley commercial building that has lasted two generations.
The entire building has a mural on it. I guess as a passionate architect you would just do nothing and keep it as is?
no way, i’m all for restoration and development — i suppose i’m just tired of the endless production of bland at the demise of something interesting. plenty of precedents where just a single wall was left standing with a modern and efficient structure built around. it’s this kind of approach that enriches our city.
The building is wedge shaped, retaining that wall severely limits the project. Saving the wall, if it’s even on a substrate worth saving, and moving it elsewhere in the plaza would make more sense.
Just repaint the mural on the new building. Or commission a new mural.
Seriously. Letting something new be commissioned means a job for an artist. Sounds like a win-win to me if you value street art and those who make it.
besides, if we do not keep that beautiful, brand-new mural where will the homeless people sit and pile up all their crap against (see google streetview)?
I’m with An Architect, while maybe this mural is not feasible to keep due to the existing structure, the proposed building is in no way contextual to the existing area or existing community. It is fine, but soulless.
Would be a great addition to the nearby favorites (Old Skool Cafe, Radio Africa & Kitchen, Auntie April’s, All Good Pizza, etc). The Bayview Opera House’s new outdoor stage and amphitheater is visible/audible from the plaza– you would be able to enjoy a show from the burger-shack’s outdoor seating. Also, did anyone notice that the three buildings on the southwest-corner of Palou are for sale…?
I haven’t been to Bay View in years. Last time I was there a fight broke outside the restaurant and pedestrians walked by as if business as usual. Has the area improved at all?
If it’s been years, then the answer is A LOT!
Murals are not somehow magically immortal, nor do they impart any such quality to structures.
That whole plaza is pretty divey. Keeping that mural and that funky shack there doesn’t help. By putting a modern, see through glass lunch spot there it may help to jump start that plaza into something nice.
Right now it’s a small version of 16/mission Bart plaza, i.e. serves as a plein air living room to the down trodden. Yeah, it a class thing, but 3rd st needs some help making it a more attractive walking/shopping street experience.
Nice comment war. Starbucks is coming also. I’m happy my house will go up in value, and sad that artists and blue collar residents will be pushed out by higher rents and prices. I am glad that with gentrification we may see less trash blowing down our streets tho. Sad that much of it will be branded with the Starbucks logo…
No one’s asked whether the new chairs are only for customers. If they’re available to anyone, like parklet seating, then expect even more homeless.
The homeless individuals who would actually be a problem aren’t the ones who follow rules, anyway, so it’s kind of moot. If there’s seating (of course, this includes the ground itself) it will be a homeless hangout.