A pair of new developments will bring a combined 800,000 square feet of new commercial and office space to SoMa, as well as a pair of sloping condo towers containing 960 units. One has already been approved, while the other awaits approval next week.
First off, Tishman Speyer's 598 Brannan Street is primarily a tech office complex with 711,136 square feet of office space, and another 65,322 square feet of light industrial and retail space. As the Chronicle reports, Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards called it "a model for projects," and he noted that it had plenty of community support. That stands in contrast to the more controversial 88 Bluxome Street development across the street, already majority-leased to Pinterest, which will sit on what's currently the San Francisco Tennis Club. (As Socketsite reported last year, the plan is to put the tennis courts completely underground.)
A large Central South of Market office complex won city approval on Thursday, ushering in a wave of development in the San Francisco neighborhood.https://t.co/nyvu9AVVaf
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) June 7, 2019
The development of the 4.5-acre site was done by Michael Maltzan Architecture, and it also reportedly includes land donated to the city for a future affordable housing development. That will help to offset Tishman Speyer's inclusionary requirement for another, primarily residential project at Fourth and Townsend streets.
Plans for pair of swoopy #CentralSoMa towers slated for approval #SoMa #planningSF https://t.co/zHQGDryfMF pic.twitter.com/XCAdwhLSqu
— SocketSite (@SocketSite) June 7, 2019
As Socketsite reports, this second project goes up for approval next week, and it includes 960 condo units in two towers that rise up to 425 feet, as well as 24,500 square feet of commercial space, and 18,500 feet of ground-floor retail wrapped around a central courtyard.
The dramatic, sloped design of these towers, by Adamson Associates along with the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), make them far more impactful on the skyline, and the stepped part of the structures are meant to be lined with greenery and terraces.
This being San Francisco, multiple groups are currently suing the city over the up-zoning of Central SoMa, which allows for buildings up to 400 feet in height. As the Chronicle notes, "Construction on Tishman Speyer’s project[s], which would replace smaller industrial buildings, along with major redevelopments of the Flower Mart, San Francisco Tennis Club and other sites, is unlikely to start until the lawsuits are resolved."
