Proposed Mixed-use Condo Project at 2299 Market St. Sits Idle Pending Approval of Upper Market Plan

By Christine Lias

The prominently placed condo development planned at the southern confluence of 16th, Noe and Market streets has been put on hold while city planners finalize a new report for the neighborhood and wait for its approval.

The approval of the Upper Market Community Design Plan could come as early as this month from the San Francisco Planning Commission. As of press time, the commission had not yet released a date for a hearing on the plan.

Meanwhile, the vacant site – “the pit” as some may call it – sits unchanged since San Francisco developers Angus McCarthy and Edward Duffy purchased 2299 Market St. from the Bethany United Methodist Church in April 2007.

The only thing that has changed, those in the neighborhood say, is the addition this year of a dark green tarp around the perimeter to lock in the view of the grounds and obscure a colorful mural along a back wall with the words “Vida, Life, Vita.”

Darrell Tenaglia, general manager of Asqew Grill restaurant next door to the development site, said the addition of the tarp has severely cut into his business sales. He says the tarp at 2299 Market St. was added after seasonal Christmas tree sales on the lot ended Dec. 26, and he does not know whom to complain to: the City, McCarthy and Duffy, or even the nonprofit Delancey Street, which sells the trees as a fund-raiser on the lot.

“It’s an eyesore. The tarp went up right after Christmas,” Tenaglia said. “My business is down dramatically. I know we’re in a weak economy, but every little bit helps.”

Asqew Grill, at 3583 16th St., is wedged between the development project at 2299 Market St. and the Eureka Valley-Harvey Milk Branch Library, which closed earlier this year for renovations. Tenaglia, who was previously general manager of the Asqew Grill on Haight Street, said he’s considering using an outdoor sign with an arrow to lure restaurant patrons.

Suspended Building Projects
There are approximately 10 other building projects that have been similarly suspended along the Octavia-to-Castro Street corridor, according to city planner Abigail Kiefer. The site at 2299 Market is one of the building projects that were the “impetus” behind the Upper Market Community Design Plan begun last year and now currently awaiting the Planning Commission’s approval.
“We’re really, really ready to move forward,” Kiefer told the Courier.

Her colleague, fellow city planner Michael Smith, said unofficial papers were filed in the Planning Department on April 14 of this year for the site, although no official planner has been assigned yet. Furthermore, no Environmental Impact Report has been conducted, which would lead to a calendared Planning Commission vote on the project.

The project is tentatively described as a 34,477 square-foot, 50-foot-tall building with five stories of 18 residential units above ground-floor retail, according to Smith. It would include a basement garage, and would need a “shadow study” because of it is over 40 feet tall, Smith added.
He said 2299 Market St. will have to go through the Planning Commission.

McCarthy, who sits on the city’s Immigrant Rights Commission, was not immediately available for comment. He e-mailed the Courier to say he would be on vacation and unavailable to return questions until after press time. Supervisor Bevan Dufty and his office also did not return phone calls for comment on the site.

The next-door neighbor of 2299 Market St., real-estate agent Chet Williams of Buena Vista Realty, said once those condos are built and placed on the market, they will be a hot commodity regardless of the downturn in the overall Bay Area economy. He cited the recent sale of a property on the 600 block of Noe St. for $1 million as one example of the continued robustness of real estate in the area.

“I’ve got a feeling that for that location, for that neighborhood, and depending on the size, and if there were parking underneath, they would definitely sell,” Williams said.

Kiefer said all developers for the 10 projects have been asked to wait to begin on their projects pending the Upper Market plan’s approval. She did not know when the plan would be submitted to the Planning Commission, but speculated it would be sometime in September.

“We have asked all property owners to wait,” she said. The plan includes public input from a series of community meetings from last year.

As for the tarp that folks like Tenaglia and even Flower Corner employee Jose Perez across the street are noticing – “I haven’t heard anything in our department about a tarp up,” Kiefer said.

To see final drafts of the Upper Market Community Design Plan and to learn about any upcoming hearing dates for the plan, go online to
http://uppermarket.sfplanning.org.

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