As we outlined last year, plans to redevelop the 5-story building on the northwest corner of Van Ness and Pacific Avenues were on the boards, plans which would have converted the building from a collective of office suites into 32 residential condos, with 4,250 square feet of ground floor restaurant/café space and off-street parking for 32 bikes but no cars.

Since refined to yield 30 residential units, either condos or rental units, with one (1) studio, 16 one-bedrooms and 13 twos, along with 1,600 square feet of common open space on the building’s roof and 4,250 square feet of ground floor restaurant/café space, a formal application to entitle the redevelopment is now in the hands of Planning.

All that being said, an application to proactively secure a permit for the redevelopment, assuming it’s entitled, has yet to be filed. And the existing building, which was on the market and positioned as a “future development opportunity” with a $13 million list price last year, doesn’t appear to have been acquired by a redeveloper, at least not yet, and the odds of entitlements being banked are on the rise.  We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.

7 thoughts on “Entitlement for Van Ness Redevelopment Sought, But…”
  1. Per a recent SFBT article SF condo prices are in “free fall”. That is a bit of hyperbole, but the median price is down 16% YOY in the greater downtown area. More than any other Bay Area condo sub-market.

    The chief factor is the ongoing abandonment of office space/exodus of jobs occurring throughout the City. SF’s chief economist has projected that in certain areas, like Mid-Market/Civic Center, office vacancy rates could exceed 40% in the next few years. Until the loss of jobs stops and reverses none of these projects, including the Hub towers are economically viable. As noted, this entitlement (when issued) will be banked.

    1. It’s not just condos nor “downtown,” despite misreports to the contrary. As we outlined last month and foreshadowed at the end of last year, the Price per Square Foot in San Francisco Keeps Dropping, which shouldn’t catch any plugged-in readers by surprise.

      At the same time, the Index for Bay Area Single-Family Home Values Has Dropped Nearly 12% and is about to turn negative, year-over-year, despite reports that it’s “still up” as well.

      1. i know case schiller has its faults and not suggesting it is “up to date”, as i know prices are down.
        Having said that, when do you expect to see the 1st YoY decline in the CS?

  2. The urban doom loop narrative here may be correct but it certainly calls into question the idea that there is a wave of inventory “fully-entitled, shovel ready!” about to be built that will swamp the market.

  3. That orange top piece was a structural brace to keep building from knocking itself together? What happened to the colors? Guess it’s another mausoleum building on van mess…. Will come down in the big one and then they will go up 40-80 stories like the hub…if only they really fixed transit vs allowing development to pave the way…

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