The story of two men and an alley. More specifically, Linden Alley in Hayes Valley plus developer Loring Sagan and architect David Winslow. Taking lessons from the Trastevere neighborhood in Rome, they're developing Linden as a prototype for what could be imprinted all over San Francisco- narrow streets that permit limited vehicular access and are friendly to pedestrians, retail, cafés and nightlife.
Loring's no stranger to this concept of mixed use. The astoundingly successful cult coffee roaster Blue Bottle Coffee occupies the front few feet of his woodworking shop, and Linden Place connects at one end to the new Octavia Corridor. It will take a few classic San Francisco paradigm shifts here and there- noise issues, fire codes and emergency access, unhappy neighbors, plus the twin ogres of gentrification and land use. Pictures!
Back to the Alley [SF Gate]