New Condos Break Ground on Opposite Sides of Potrero

Groundbreaking ceremonies will be held this afternoon for two big new condo projects on the south side of the city from developer Trumark Urban. You may recall both of these projects, which sit at 645 Texas Street and 346 Potrero Avenue, from their respective journeys through Planning Commission approvals, but they've now both been given names, websites, and future sales dates. Now named Knox, 645 Texas Street sits on the edge of Potrero Hill. It's also just a stone's throw away from the 22nd Street Caltrain. 346 Potrero Avenue is now known as Rowan and straddles the edge of the Mission and Potrero, near 16th Street.

Knox is a 91-unit building designed by BDE Architecture. It will include a small retail space on the corner of 22nd and Mississippi, and its design features latticework-planted "green walls," metal awnings and railings, and raised planters. A common patio lounge and a fitness center will be on-site. When Knox is completed in fall 2016, there will be 35 one-bedrooms of 620 to 890 square feet, 53 two-bedrooms ranging from 810 to 1,245 square feet, and three three-bedrooms of 1,250 to 1,500 square feet. The 11 below-market-rate units be will included on-site. And although the development even includes Dogpatch in its official website moniker (knoxdogpatch.com), it does sit solidly west of 280 and therefore in Potrero. Sales will begin in spring 2016.

The location of Rowan is a bit grittier. Potrero Avenue remains one of the city's less scenic thoroughfares, although it isn't the only project planned for the boulevard. Its also easily walkable to Potrero, parts of the Mission, and western SoMa. It will hold 70 units, a landscaped terrace with a water feature and a Zen garden, and a rooftop terrace with barbecues and vertical gardens. Its diagonal grid design is courtesy of Handel Architects and draws from the industrial character of the neighborhood. There will be 38 one-bedrooms of 650 to 760 square feet, 30 two-bedrooms of 820 to 1,237 square feet, and two three-bedrooms that will both be about 1,270 square feet. Another 11 below-market-rate units are included, and the building's timeline of spring 2016 sales and fall 2016 move-ins is identical to Knox's.

· Odd Slice of Potrero Seeks Equally Odd-Shaped Housing [Curbed SF]
· Handel's Retooled Condos Zig and Zag Toward Approval [Curbed SF]
· Knox [Official Site]
· Rowan [Official Site]