Socket Site picked up the scent on the latest deets on the Japantown redevelopment effort. What started out as truly nabe-centric project is now beginning to smack of "big business," as it were: Local residents are feeling the rub of developer The ADCO Group's proposed 38-story, elliptical shaped phallus tower at 1481 Post Street. The scheme allows for market-rate units built atop tennis courts, with 5 levels of underground parking beneath it all— all well and good, right? What Japantown really has on its hands, however, is a bona fide Catch 22. Though logic dictates that with increased height yields greater density— along with more room for more bells, whistles, and most importantly, units— the nabe is nevertheless uneasy with the idea of such a tall tower setting a precedent for future development in the area. A shorter building will yield a decrease in the number of affordable housing units however, which in turn will give those displaced by redevelopment efforts less to come back to. Sure, the redevelopers have offered to reconsider the plans. But let's be honest: for better or worse, tall buildings tend to beget tall buildings. Looks like Japantown is about to feel the Rincon Hill Effect, no?
· J-Town Concerned About High-Rise Plans [Asian Week]
· 1481 Post Street [website]
· Japantown Plans Revealed [Curbed SF]
· Japantown Revamp: We Smell Condos [Curbed SF]
[Image courtesy The ADCO Group]
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