Duboce Street's loss is Hayes Valley's gain, as the City and Caltrans laboriously rebuild the Central Expressway offramp one block over from where they laboriously tore it down, but leave Octavia to become a beautiful pedestrian-friendly street. And, in keeping with the beautification theme, the city has just announced a competition where architects are challenged to design innovative residential houses for Octavia Street.
Designs must conform to city codes and zoning regulations, and the plots of land in question are all different in orientation (yes, some are straight and some are gay), and they're hoping to encourage beautiful but liveable spaces in an open-minded up-and-coming neighborhood. The winner gets $40,000, though the city also notes that the last time they had a similar contest, for Union Square, the design of the architect who won was too avant-garde for the area and they ended up building on the designs of a runner-up.
Info on the contest is here. There's a briefing on March 19, and entries are due on June 1. All entries will be displayed in City Hall, and winners will be announced some time in mid-June.
