Plans to level the single-story Susan’s Massage, Four Seasons restaurant and Excellent Dry Cleaners building at the corner of Larkin and Olive, which have been in the works since 2015, could be approved by San Francisco’s Planning Commission next month.
And as proposed by JS Sullivan Development and design, an eight-story building clad in precast concrete panels would rise up to 80 feet in height across the 719 Larkin Street site, with a total of 42 condos, sans parking, and a new restaurant space on the corner of Larkin and Olive.
Keep in mind that Larkin Street from McAllister to Geary is one of the nine “Action Zones” at the heart of the City’s “game changing” strategy for revitalizing the Tenderloin, Central Market and Sixth Street, with a specific strategy of “[enhancing] the visibility of Little Saigon as a Vietnamese-oriented cultural district, which includes providing ‘focused business retention services’ to Larkin Street businesses backed by the Little Saigon merchants association.”
Not the best idea to invite all of those “hiding places alone the front of the building. Seeing as this is the Tenderloin they will be used for peeing and drug use.
so, those windows on the apartment building next door are going to basically be covered up? ouch
I wonder if they create a light well or cover the windows entirely.
Excellent! Build it. I am sure if they were priced right, they would sell despite its location.
Don’t get it. Love that they dropped the parking, but they still plan to deactivate the Larkin Street side? Seems nuts, if anything, that should be the focus!
Also, apartments would be a lot better for this spot, condos is like an invitation to pointlessly divert police resources to this block answering calls about people yelling or sleeping instead of keeping them focused the hard core crime.
Otherwise, cool design and plan, build it!
On the contrary, getting some people with real skin in the game to move in is what will move the neighborhood in a positive direction.
Twentysomething short-timer renters tend to just look past neighborhood problems and don’t even get the police involved.
those ledges are great for pigeons too.
I’ve wanted something for this corner for so long. Both sides need to be redeveloped with ground floor retail on Olive. I was thinking something like a coffee shop, a bar and a 7-11 type convince store. That way there could be eyes on Olive 24 hrs a day. There is a lot of potential in the TL we just need some good planning. This is a start though, build it!
Maybe I’m just old but I don’t get the City’s new found penchant for encouraging segregation in zoning policy. The Civil Rights movement was all about integration. The world needs less discrimination – not more of it.
And while I think the proposal is an ok building, I’m lost as to how the City staff would find a modern concrete box ” enhances the visibility of Little Saigon as a Vietnamese-oriented cultural district”…
Alice in Wonderland planning process…
Seems like a pretty drab design. Would be nice to see a design more like 1900 Mission, the one that was sent back for the large windows being “too aggressive” and a statement of class and privilege. Somehow I don’t think these sad-looking inset windows would be proposed in the Mission. Still, cheers to more density.
Is Brutalism back in fashion all of a sudden?
Apparently that’s all that can pass the Central Committee of SF planning.
Geez, it looks like a prison. An expensive prison. Someone will buy it.
I walked through SOMA yesterday afternoon between 5th/7th and Mission/Folsom, looking at all the new development that has sprung up in the past year. Good God. Market rate housing yet the streetscape was filled with shopping carts, homeless, people doing drugs and loitering. Clearly, these folks are not the residents of these buildings. You can build all the market rate housing you want in this area, but it’s still a hole. Same for the Loin.
UPDATE: Proposed Little Saigon Development Completely Redesigned