Members of the SF Housing Action Coalition recently joined a tour of the new mixed-use development at 2175 Market Street. The group was led by Allie Janos of Forest City, the developer, and Fred Pollack of Van Meter Williams Pollack, the architect.
The exciting project, formerly a gas station, offers the important amenities of housing and local retail in this vibrant neighborhood. Plans are in the works to create a storefront across the Market Street façade that opens onto the sidewalk and provides a “incubator retail marketplace” for local makers and artisans (bar, coffee shop, shave shop, etc.). The idea is likened to tech incubator spaces for start-ups, providing space for small, local operations to share rent and customers. This is a model the developers hope to replicate.
In keeping with the emphasis on local engagement, the interior artwork is by San Francisco artists. Images are painted directly onto the walls and elevator cab interiors that illustrate the neighborhood’s character and landmarks.
The neighborhood shares in the citywide affordable housing crisis. Almost 3,000 people applied for the building’s 18 below-market-rate (BMR) units (for people earning 40-60 percent of the area median income). Forest City pursued an 80/20 deal for the project, which far exceeds the standard inclusionary requirement. Market-rate units, meanwhile, rent at up to $5,600 for two-bedroom units.
We were struck by a number of intriguing design moves that were explained by the architects. The roll-up bike parking door allows bikers to remotely open the door and pedal into the bike parking room, much like cars use a garage. In lieu of a trash room, standard fire doors are provided in front of each waste chute door right off the corridor. The expectation is that people are less likely to leave debris in the open corridor than in a separate trash room. Bird repellant glass is used at the acute corner windows where there is no wall or other visible element between the opposing panes; Fred Pollack explained that this is a city requirement for windows with this kind of alignment. Open space on this challenging site is achieved in an internal courtyard and a large, programmed rooftop terrace.
Thank you to SFHAC, Allie Janos and Fred Pollack for the tour and post-event happy hour!
About the Author
Vanna Whitney is an Associate at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, an SFHAC Business Member. Thank you Vanna for your guest-blog contribution!
Tours of new developments like 2175 Market Street are free to all SFHAC members. Join today to get access for up to 20 tours annually.
