On the site of a self-storage and truck rental facility where Potrero Hill meets Mission Bay, a new manufacturing site for local food artisans, brewers, and clothing and jewelry makers could rise in a proposed four-story, 56,000-square-foot building that would be owned and operated by the nonprofit SFMade, which supports local manufacturing. The proposed structure would be part of a three-building complex comprising another 90,000 square feet of manufacturing space at ground level. The upper floors would be devoted to office space, developer Urban Green Devco told the Chronicle.
The proposed facility would help small manufacturers find much-needed room to grow—the vacancy rate for manufacturing space is hovering in the low single digits, as the Chronicle notes—and would be the first to capitalize on recent legislation that allows for increased office density when developers devote sizable portions of their projects to manufacturing. The project is modeled on Dogpatch's American Industrial Center, which houses 285 businesses ranging from caterers and chocolatiers to clothiers and letterpress printers. SFMade is currently working with 23 local makers who are hunting for new space in San Francisco.
Planning is voting today on the proposal, after a preliminary recommendation to approve with conditions. The developer is still seeking an anchor office tenant, a search that will get easier if the project is approved.
· SFMade [Official Site]
· SFMade Manufacturing Center Proposed for SoMa-Potrero Area [SFGate]
· Conditional Use Authorization — 100 Hooper St (PDF) [SF Planning]