Currently, the 1100 block of Polk Street, which runs between Hemlock and Sutter, is home to several small businesses, some vacant storefronts, and a Sunni mosque. That could change, though, if some (still very preliminary) plans sniffed out by Hoodline actually take shape. Hoodline reports that a developer may be buying up and demolishing the entire block to make way for apartments and new commercial space. Last November, a Preliminary Project Assessment was filed for 1145 Polk by Dolmen Property Group, the same developer responsible for the big Hibernia Bank project. The PPA, which is still under review by Planning, envisions 54 studio apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial space for the site.
If the project were to go ahead, it would replace businesses like Hemlock Tavern, Cafe Zitouna, and Sudachi Sushi Bar with a new six-story building just across the street from fancy rental tower Etta, which opened in late 2013. Hemlock Tavern's owner told Hoodline that he hasn't heard anything about the possibility of a new development and that his lease is good through 2021. Of course, PPAs are just the very first step in the planning and approvals process, but changes for this corner of Polk Street remain a possibility.
· Hemlock Tavern, Polk Block Could Be Demolished for New Mixed-Use Building [Hoodline]
· Dolmen Property Group [Official Site]
· Mapping 40 Major Changes Reshaping the Mid-Market Corridor [Curbed SF]
· 1285 Sutter is Now Etta, LEED Gold Luxury Apartments [Curbed SF]