Emphasizing that the one of the specific objectives of San Francisco’s pending Central SoMa plan “is to encourage mode shift away from private automobile use,” San Francisco’s Planning Department isn’t too thrilled about plans to convert 340 Townsend Street’s private garage into a 188-space public parking facility, but that’s exactly what’s being proposed.
The garage, which actually fronts Bluxome Street, across from the SF Tennis Club site, is attached to the 50,000 square foot office building at 340 Townsend, which the CIM Group purchased from iHeartMedia at the end of last year. And while the garage is currently designated as accessory parking for the tenants of the building, it isn’t required per code.
In addition, neither the current zoning nor the proposed zoning for the parcel per the Central SoMa Plan would prohibit a commercial parking garage upon the site. But a Conditional Use Authorization would need to be approved by San Francisco’s Planning Commission.
And keep in mind that while currently only zoned for up to 85 feet in height, and only 65 feet along Bluxome, the 340 Townsend Street parcel is likely to be up-zoned for development up to 130 feet in height per the aforementioned area plan.
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Probably will be a gold mine once the largely parking free – but hey it’s conveniently located! – Chase Center opens nearby…well, sort of nearby, anyway.
Until then I guess city’s utopian transit dreams will just have to do battle with market realities mostly during the day.
The adjacent 330 Townsend Street office building has/had? a deeded right-to-park in 31 parking stalls within this 340 Townsend Street garage. And. that may have been required by code. However, since CIM earlier also bought that building they might eliminate this restriction upon redevelopment.
Given the glacial pace of public transit improvements in SOMA, it seems a wise idea to make better use of the existing transport resources in the neighborhood. But it is sadly not surprising that the City has other ideas.
All the developers of the massive buildings in the Central SoMa pipeline keep touting the Central Subway as the main driver of development in the area…uhh…so everyone can commute from Chinatown to SoMa! That’s the big problem we had to solve!
Call me a cynic but If there are revenue carrying trains on the Central Subway in 2019 I will be as shocked as Captain Renault finding gambling in Ricks cafe….
this should be approved immediately. the lack of parking is causing mass gridlock in that area and obviously worse on game days and events.
we should move more sports teams to the city, then complain about gridlock
This is not enough, as parking on the street continues to be eliminated everywhere!