SF: Civic Center Archives
Curbed SF's Guide to Pride
This week's Gay Pride celebration has taken on an especially rosy tinge now that same-sex marriage has officially been made legal in the state of California; event organizers are expecting a 1.2 million-person turnout for the festivities. Most of the revelry will take place around Civic Center/ FiDi, though there are a plenty of outlying events. Traffic wise, Curbed SF predicts that this weekend will bring new vitality to the sometimes overused by us term "clusterfuck." See below for a few major events; we've missed gads, surely— supply what we missed, revelers amongst you. Happy Pride, folks.
When: TODAY; 3 pm, march at 7 pm
What: 5th Annual Trans March
Where: Rally begins in Dolores Park with entertainment; march at 7pm circling through the Castro, down Market and back to Dolores Park for additional music and performances.
When: Tomorrow, noon to 6 pm
What: 38th Annual LGBT Pride Festival
Where: Civic Center
When: Tomorrow; 3 pm, march at 7 pm
What: 16th Annual Dyke March
Where: Rally begins in Dolores Park; march departs from there.
When: Tomorrow, noon to 6 pm
What: LGBT Festival, continued
Where: Civic Center; march on Market Street from 10 am to 7 pm on Sunday.
—SPECIAL BONUS GAY PRIDE MADNESS: LA-based online gossip "Queen of All Media" Perez Hilton will grace Westfield San Francisco Centre on Saturday, at 2 pm. Location: Hot Topic, appropriately enough. The chills are simply racing up our spine.
· Additional Pride coverage and events [Bay Area Reporter]
[Image courtesy Carlos Avila Gonzales for the Chron via Flickr photog dreaminof1or2]
Trinity Builder Advises: "Just Buy that S.O.B."
San Francisco's newest colossal development, Trinity Place, broke ground last week and its owner, madman-with-cash-in-hand Angelo Sangiacomo has something to say about it: "Who the hell is building buildings today, 440 rentals in San Francisco, and paying all cash? With rents down there at $500 and $700? It doesn't pencil out. I'm trying to tell you, I'm not too smart." Despite his modest claims, Sangiacomo was at one point the biggest slum lord landlord in the city. He's been scheming on Trinity Plaza for years; Chris Daly and the San Francisco Tenants Union put the kabosh on his initial plans. In 2005, all involved parties came to an agreement that provided for permanent rent-controlled units in exchange for a zoning variance that increased the allowable density of the project by over 35%.
Trinity Place Finally Breaks Ground
Yesterday saw the groundbreaking of Trinity Place, the three tower, 1,900 unit (1,100 studio units and 800 one-bedroom units) monster-development designed by Miami-based architects, Arquitectonica. Plans for the demo and reconstruction of the beleaguered Trinity Plaza on Market Street (a nasty, 360-unit converted hotel) began years ago, soon launching a spectacular shitshow of political proportions that drew in everyone from the site's owner, real estate mogul and "father of rent control" Angelo Sangiacomo, to Supervisor Christopher Daly, who initially opposed the sale of the land. The project was approved back in 2007; the first phase is located at 1177 Market Street (next to SoMa Grand) and will take about 2 years to complete, at which time the city will be home to 440 new residential units, including 360 of the rent-controlled variety. And the saga continues ... (Constructoporn in the photo gallery!)
· Arquitectonica Breaks Ground on San Francisco Residential Development [Commerical Property News]
· Trinity Place [website]
· Trinity, More Affordable Units? [Curbed SF]
· More Trinity Plaza [Curbed SF]
· Infilling Market Street [Curbed SF]
[images via Trininty Place]
From Caddies to Condos on Van Ness
Here's your chance to live in the Cadillac of buildings— or at least a building that used to be a Caddy dealership.(Close enough.) 151 Alice B. Toklas #707 is a "NY style loft condo" honored in its listing as "one of the most special conversion buildings in SF." No word on the square footage, but the lack of a separate bedroom (a sleeping platform will suffice for that) should serve as a hint. The location might not be for everyone, but give it a few years and there won't be any problem on that front. $799,000 asking.
· 151 Alice B. Toklas #707 [MLS]
Rumblings & Bumblings: Something Gives at Linden and Franklin
Rumblings & Bumblings: the Curbed SF construction watch for readers, by readers. You ask, we pass. Got an answer to one of these queries? To the comments or the tipline! Wondering about some urban carnage? Let us know. (As always, bonus points for digital photos.)
Short, sweet, and direct. Just how we like it: "Corner of Linden and Franklin Streets. Bulldozers. Trucks. Chain link fence. Dirt. What gives?"
Burning Down the School: Post-Fire Carnage at SFUSD
Hott post-fire destructoporn: The San Francisco Unified School District building on Franklin Street went up in smoke a couple of days back. From a reader who sent along the snaps:
This is the scene at SFUSD Headquarters. I saw NOTHING about this in the local news papers... did you all? According to the security guard, the damage is pretty intense and fire damage is in the first floor mostly. But, looks as if there is QUITE a bit if drying doing on, as evidenced by the flying tubes coming out from several windows in different parts of the building. Sprinkler damage? Funny how a house fire in Vallejo (displaces one) warrants front-page headlines, yet a disaster at the SFUSD.... nothing?More deets from SF Mike's Civic Center blog.
More smokin' hot damage right this way >>
RED Menace Threatens Civic Center Farmers' Market
"Buying local" has always been a popular idea in this city, but now it seems that the city itself has turned to buying out the locals. The Heart of the City, the Civic Center farmers' market, is the poor man's alternative to the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market; for the past 27 years, it's been run by a nonprofit with a board of directors composed mostly of local farmers. Now, the city wants to involve itself in making the show run "more efficiently" (since that's what they do best and all). Specifically, the San Francisco's Real Estate Division (SFRED) is looking to take over operation of the market. The change, they say, would have no effect on either farmers or patrons, though farmer's remain rightly suspicious, as the city's track record for working in the best interests of small business or local farmers isn't so golden. Take the Alemany market, for example: the SFRED moves vendors around like pawns, and have raised their fees by 50 percent. Choice quote from local farmer Rosa DeSantis, who works at both markets, "They don't ask what we think. What is this, Russia?"
· S.F.'s sights on Civic Center farmers' market [SF Gate]
[Image via Flickr photog Steve W Lee]
Market & Octavia Nabe Plan Actually Approved
You might want to sit down for this one. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors have *gasp* unanimously approved the Market & Octavia Neighborhood Plan. Previously under review for 6 years, the M&O Plan was recently brought into question by high-profile Supe Ross Mirkarimi, who wanted to add higher developer fees, additional housing (affordable, of course), and reduced parking. After negotiating with the mayor's office, an agreement was reached that requires 25% of new units to be sold at below market rates; developer fees were raised to upwards of $50M, which will be put towards an affordable housing fund. The M&O plan will have some drastic urban implications: zoning changes will permit devs to pack more residential units in less space and, in some places, allow the construction of 40-story towers near Van Ness Avenue and Market Street. (This is twice the previously-permissible limit, for those of you who fear heights.) All things considered, San Francisco should see 6,000 new housing units. Progress? Refreshing. Next up: the Octavia Boulevard Plan.
· S.F. OKs plan for 6,000 housing units [SF Gate]
· Paved With Good Intentions: Octavia Boulevard [Curbed SF]
· Supes Slow Development In the Name of Progress [Curbed SF]
[image via SFgov.org]
ADA All the Way: Supe Will Sue Over City Hall Ramp
Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, who has been wheelchair-bound since she sustained a ski-related injury at 13, has vowed to sue after the city rejected (with a 6-5 vote) a $1.1 million plan to build a handicapped-accessible ramp at city hall. Why $1.1 million? Initial reader speculation centered around the attendant sound system set for reconfiguration as part of the plan. Seems that historical preservation is also of utmost importance here: the proposal includes the preservation of a Manchurian oak platform and podium that dates from 1915; said oak is now extinct, natch. On the gossip end, Alioto-Pier and opponent Chris Daly (who wants to build a homeless shelter instead of the ramp) threw down over the measure during yesterday's debate. Note that the clerk's desk, now accessible by a non-ADA compliant ramp, is actually blocked by Board President Supe Aaron Peskin, who sits in front of it. Nice. [SF Gate]
· Supes Block Wheelchair Riders, Taxpayers Pick Up Slack [Curbed SF]
[Image courtesy SF Gate]
Greener Than Thou: City Dukes It Out Over LEED Law
Everyone seems to want a greener San Francisco, but as two dueling ordinances show, selecting the proper shade is no easy task. The most clearly defined differences in the ordinances revolve around LEED requirements— a flawed system to be sure— but (for now) the only one we've got. In one corner, weighing in at 175 lbs (hair product included) is Mayor Gavin Newsom and a policy mandating all new construction must qualify for base LEED certification, with a plan to gradually raise the standard to LEED gold certification by 2012. And In the other corner, in the green trunks, is Supervisor Aaron Peskin (surprise) who has his own ordinance requiring that the city immediately call for all new construction to be built according the LEED gold standard. The mayor's Green Building Task Force believes that the time line will help businesses adjust to higher initial costs while opponents of his plan believe that an "if you build it they will come" mentality will prevail and high upfront costs will lessen as demand increases. Gavin's plan will be presented in mid-March, with the likely outcome being some sort of combination of the two plans.
· Building green in SF [SF Bay Guardian]
· Greener Than Thou: Carbon Neutral by 2020? [Curbed SF]
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