What should the city do with Haight McDonald’s?

There’s no mystery about what the city plans to do with the infamous Haight/Stanyan Street McDonald’s in the long run.

City Hall bought the parcel for more than $15 million and plans to construct new affordable housing on the site in a forthcoming development of indeterminate size, projected to be “no more than 7 stories and no more than 186 units.”

But that’s all in the future, as the city now warns Haight residents that it could be anywhere from one to four years before construction on the strategically located corner lot at 730 Stanyan begins.

Earlier in the year, SocketSite noted that demolition of the existing circa 1975 burger stand building could happen as early as July, leaving the site potentially barren for years to come while red tape unspools on housing plans.

On Thursday, SFPD informed the public via Twitter that the Mayor’s Office of Housing [MOH] will hold a community meeting on interim uses for the property on Thursday, May 17 at the CCSF campus at 1860 Hayes, staring at 6 p.m.

Potential applications for the site include a soccer field (in conjunction with Park and Recreation and an unidentified non-profit), a homeless Navigation Center, or just parking.

Community members in attendance will vote on the potential uses—which, of course, will only be an advisory vote that MOH takes into consideration, but it is nevertheless neighbors’ chance to provide some direct input.

The corner McDonald’s itself finally closed in March of this year, a bummer for employees but otherwise largely a relief for the neighborhood, as the locale right across the street from Golden Gate Park and at the mouth of Haight Street was a constant hub of complaints and police calls for years.

• Haight McDonald’s Closes [Curbed SF]
• McDonald’s Leveled by July [SocketSite]
• SFPD Park Station Twitter