Getting anything built in the Mission District is very challenging! For evidence of that, here's a fun example from last year, or the story of some more recent but long-delayed movement on the 380-unit project near 16th Street BART (dubbed, charmingly, the "Monster on Mission.")
And yet, here comes the latest attempt, news of which is brought to us by the Business Times: A five-story, 50-unit residential building proposed for 235 Valencia, which is between Duboce and 14th. DDG is the developer, a firm working in San Francisco, Florida, and New York. Here, they're responsible for a slew of condo developments in Hayes Valley, and a preliminary application of theirs for the Mission spot was just filed.
That would require the demolition of an existing, extremely vacant industrial building that measures 9,000 square feet. It dates to 1924 and last housed a Volvo dealership, but at one point was a "motorcycle dealership by Loren 'Hap' Jones, publisher of the Motorcycle Blue Book and a prominent figure in West Coast motorcycle history." That smells, ever so faintly, like a historic resource, and will likely be considered as such during environmental impact review.
The proposed development, for which there are no renderings yet publicly available, would be 31,848 square feet. Naturally the big issue in the neighborhood will be the number of affordable housing units: That isn't finalized, DDG tells the Business Times, but at minimum, if they're on site at least, there would be 12 or 13 to make up the percentage, 25, now mandated thanks to the passage of Prop C this month. Still, don't be surprised if this earns some new nickname like the Villain on Valencia or something.
