A rendering of the new proposal for a tower at 360 Fifth St. in San Francisco calls for an increase to 25 stories tall.
Handel Architects
A long-stalled residential complex in San Francisco’s South of Market that became notable for its abandoned foundation full of dirty water, is about to get supersized.
One of many projects around the city that are attempting to go taller and denser in an effort to become financially viable, the new plan for 360 Fifth St. calls for a 25 story tower with 272 units.
A previous plan for an eight-story, 127-unit building was approved in 2018 but was abandoned during the pandemic after the builder excavated the foundation. That led City Attorney David Chiu to sue the owner, charging that the property had become a blighted water-filled hole in the heart of the South of Market area marred by “graffiti, garbage, mosquito infestations, and standing water.” Some neighbors dubbed the property “Lake SoMa.”
Article continues below this ad
A new developer, Thompson Builders, acquired the site and is also buying an adjacent property at 214 Clara St., a 2,000 square-foot parcel with a vacant single family home on it.
The plan calls for the 1,700 square-foot home on Clara to be knocked down, which requires that the project get a conditional use approval from the Planning Commission, according to Planning Department Chief of Staff Dan Sider.
San Francisco Chronicle Logo
Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.
Add Preferred Source
“The project has a great deal of potential not just to address this blighted site, but to continue activating the corridor while creating hundreds of new homes,” said Sider. “How that potential is ultimately realized will be a function of the city’s collaboration with the development team along with the Planning Commission’s decision-making process.”
The blighted, undeveloped lot at 360 5th St. in San Francisco’s SoMa district has prompted the city to sue the property’s developer for health and building violations.
J.K. Dineen / The Chronicle
Thompson Builders filled in the water-filled hole and erected a new fence after acquiring the property.
Article continues below this ad
The plan calls for a 257-foot tower fronting 5th Street with two three story “wings” along Shipley and Clara street. The project is using the state density bonus to “achieve a 100% density increase” by making 30% of the units affordable to low- and moderate-income households. Of these, 15% will target households making 50% of area median income, $62,350 for a two person household. Another 15% will accommodate households earning 120% of area median income, about $1680,000. There will be 164 parking spaces, 180 bicycle spaces and 9,800 square feet of common open space.
The site had previously been home to several wooden cottages, occupied by artists, as well as a work yard used for Burning Man art projects.
The application comes as several other prominent San Francisco projects are seeking to increase density. In Potrero Hill DM Development is building a 12-story building with 425 units, up from a previous application that called for seven stories and 290 homes. At One Oak Emerald Fund is seeking to build a 41-story tower with 541 units, up from a previous scheme for 319 units.
Housing Action Coalition Executive Director Corey Smith said developers are busy reworking their pro formas to try to make projects work. In some cases, like with 360 Fifth St., that means more than doubling height and unit count. In other cases, it means downsizing in order to bring down costs by going from concrete to wood construction type.
A rendering of the new proposal for a tower at 360 Fifth St. in San Francisco that would include 164 parking spaces, 180 bicycle spaces and 9,800 square feet of common open space.
Handel Architects
“It’s cool that (Thompson) is able to make it work,” Smith said. “It’s a whole different building type than the previous proposal.”
Article continues below this ad
He said most developers are still not breaking ground on stalled projects, something he thinks might change if the Board of Supervisors passes legislation that would roll back the city’s transfer tax. Legislation introduced in February would decrease transfer tax to pre-2020 levels: from 5.75% to 2.75% for transactions of at least $10 million and from 6% to 3% for deals of at least $25 million.
In addition, builders are looking at whether affordable housing requirements are reduced, something a technical advisory committee is currently looking at.
“I think the smart money is sitting on the sidelines to see where those two things land,” he said.
Thompson Builders didn’t return a call seeking comment.
Article continues below this ad