S.F. planners approve big project at old power plant
The transformation of one of the state’s dirtiest power plants into a mixeduse development with 2,600 homes won unanimous approval Thursday from the San Francisco Planning Commission.
With Pier 70 and Mission Bay to the north and India Basin and the Hunters Point Shipyard development to the south, the power plant is the latest of the colossal construction projects on the southern bayfront set to bring tens of thousands of new residents to the once mighty industrial waterfront.
The power plant project, being developed by Associate Capital, is set to be built in six phases over 16 years. Of the 2,600 units, 30% would be affordable. The development would also include 1.5 million square feet of commercial space — a mix of retail, office and research and development — and a 250room hotel.
In addition, the development would yield
nearly 7 acres of new public open space, including a “Power Station Park,” “Stack Plaza” and a waterfront park connected to the neighboring Pier 70 Shoreline Park and Bay Trail. There will also be a YMCA and two child care centers.
The developer will pay $65 million in transit fees and also fund the extension of the 55Dogpatch Muni bus into the power plant property.
In total, the developer said the project includes $862 million of community benefits.
Planning Commissioner Kathrin Moore said she was skeptical of the project at the onset but now is a believer. She said the development “sets an incredibly high bar” and called Associate Capital “a developer who has risen to the challenge of an informed community voice.” She singled out the plans for public transportation — both Muni and a water taxi system — and the developer’s commitment to set aside some housing units for a homeless prenatal care program.
“I call that allowing yourself to go deeper,” she said.
Ken Rich, director of development for Mayor London Breed, called the power plant development “the last of the major development agreement type projects along this part of the San Francisco waterfront.”
In total, the waterfront projects, which will also include Candlestick Point, will create 20,000 new housing units — 6,700 of them affordable — and enough commercial space to accommodate 38,000 jobs. Assuming the power plant wins approvals from the Board of Supervisors — likely to happen in February — all of the waterfront projects will have won approvals, though some have hit snags as many of the region’s megaprojects grapple with high costs and complex environmental cleanup.
“It represents a milestone in terms of planning for a lot, a lot, a lot more housing,” said Rich. “We have to make sure we get these things built.”
The power plant was shut down in 2011 after residents beat back a plan to build a new energy facility there. Enrique Landa, who works for the developer, credited neighborhood activists with forcing the closure of the old power plant and laying the groundwork for a new mixeduse neighborhood. He said he tried to harness that energy in planning the property’s next chapter.
“It was the community that worked to close what was a polluting, underutilized power station and the community that demanded that it be redeveloped,” he said after the vote. “Our team took that mantle and really pushed for a communitydriven process.”
Landa said the developer would be ready to start construction as soon as the approvals are secured. The first phase will include 350 homes, a 200,000squarefoot office building and several acres of waterfront parks. He hopes the restoration of the historic brick “Station A” building could be part of phase one as well.
“We are not trailblazing,” said Landa, referring to the success of Mission Bay and booming Dogpatch. “We are finishing the final chapter of the central waterfront story.”
Laura Foote, executive director of the prohousing group YIMBY Action, expressed concerns that the project is so loaded with expensive community benefits — affordable housing, historic preservation, open space and recreation — that it may not work economically. Other megaprojects in the city — including plans to increase density at Parkmerced, redevelop the Schlage Lock factory, and build 8,000 units on Treasure Island — have stalled over the past decade.
“Every time we have a project like this, we raise expectations about what any one project can do,” she said. “We have expected them to solve every single problem that San Francisco has.”