The rapidly changing stretch of MidMarket will soon get another infusion of developer money and marketing materials: as The Chronicle reports, the owners of the Honda dealership at Market and South Van Ness are in contract to sell the site to the same Miami-based developer that brought us the controversial NEMA building down the street at 10th and Market.
The sale to developer Crescent Heights was confirmed by a spokesman for the Boas family, who have owned the Honda dealership since 1978. Although the deal has yet to close, The Chronicle's brokerage sources say the 50,000-square-foot site likely sold for more than $50 million.
The triangular plot is broken into two portions: the section along Market Street, zoned for a 120-foot mid-rise tower, and the a second section along South Van Ness, zoned for a 400-tower. This means any development will likely be about the same size as NEMA's 754-unit complex, which also features two towers and a rooftop terrace presumably populated by people out of a J. Crew catalog.
Construction on NEMA 2: Full Throttle (our unofficial name for it) won't begin for some time; however, per the deal terms, the Honda dealership will be allowed to continue operating at the location for another two years. The Boas family has said they plan to stay in the car business and move the dealership elsewhere. They also have two locations in the Marina and the Sunset.
As for what the building's official name will be, our eyes cannot roll back fast enough at the thought of what the condescending marketing team behind "New Market" will come up once they've gotten a closer look at 12th Street.
Until then, Socketsite has a review of high-rise plans that were submitted for the lot way back in 2007. Neighborhood blog Hoodline, meanwhile, has an excellent look back at when the space used to be Bill Graham's Fillmore West.
Previously: Concerned Tenant Responds To Awful NEMA Promotional Video
All NEMA coverage on SFist
[Chron]
[Hoodline]