346 Potrero Ave. (Planning, Design or Conception) – San Francisco – 94103

346 Potrero Ave. (Planning, Design or Conception) – San Francisco – 94103


346 Potrero Ave. (Planning, Design or Conception) – San Francisco – 94103

Trumark preps 5 condo projects

map-346

Trumark Homes is on a San Francisco buying spree, gobbling up five development sites and filing applications to build more than 500 units in less than a year after making the decision to target infill housing in the city.
Trumark has tied up parcels in Lower Nob Hill, Potrero Hill, Hayes Valley, the Mission and South of Market. If the projects come to fruition, Trumark would have five condo projects under construction in 2014 and 2015. The company has spun off a San Francisco-based subsidiary, Trumark Urban, which is headed by Arden Hearing and has opened an office at 703 Market St. The group has also brought on board well-known Bay Area development executive Kim Diamond, who has held senior positions at Pulte Homes and Catellus Residential Group.
In addition to the first 123-unit project Trumark acquired in the Lower Polk Neighborhood, 1533 Pine St., the company is proposing 101 units at 645 Texas St. on the south side of Potrero Hill; 110 units at 1554 Market St., next the Richard Meier-designed tower for which developer David Choo is seeking approvals; 80 units on the site of a car wash at 346 Potrero St.; and 120 units on an undisclosed 22,000-square-foot parcel in the South of Market.
Based in Danville, Trumark has been developing commercial and residential projects in California for over 20 years, focusing on condos, apartments and office buildings close to jobs. But until now the group has mostly avoided urban core neighborhoods and stuck to townhouses, flats and single-family homes near employment centers such as Danville, Concord, Martinez, Palo Alto, San Leandro, San Jose and Walnut Creek. In addition to San Francisco, the new group will look to acquire development sites in downtown Los Angeles.
Trumark is focused on projects between 50 and 200 units in core San Francisco areas, sites that are too small for the real estate investment trusts, but too big for many of the Irish and Chinese family builders who have traditionally built a lot of the infill neighborhood projects, Hearing said. The projects are being underwritten as both rental apartments and condos, but Hearing expects they will end up for sale.
“We really like the fundamentals on condos, and as apartment rents go up, we like condos more and more every day. Jobs are booming and you have very little for sale.”
While the San Francisco projects are at various stages of environmental review, the Pine Street development is the furthest along toward approval. Designed by Arquitectonica, the Pine Street project is being called the Tower at Nob Hill and will incorporate a 1923 façade from one of the existing buildings, a former furniture and automobile showroom. Cahill will be the contractor.
At 1554-1560 Market St., Trumark is working with Forum Design on a 12-story, 120-foot tower with 24 parking spaces and retail along Market Street. In comments on a preliminary application, city planning staff called the tower “a transition building from the lower existing buildings to the 400-foot highrise that is being planned for the Choo site at the corner of Van Ness Avenue and Market Street.
At 346 Potrero, also being designed by Forum, Trumark is proposing a nine-story building with 52 parking spots and 3,000 square feet of retail. The 80,000-square-foot building would feature a taller ground floor level that would be set aside for production, distribution and repair, as required by the Eastern Neighborhoods plan.
“The views are stellar. It’s an easy walk to Zynga, Whole Foods, the Potrero Center — the whole thing,” said Hearing.
While Trumark is willing to take on considerable entitlement risk, Hearing said he would not mind finding an approved project that could get under way sooner.
“We are working feverishly to find a couple that we would be able to get in the ground in 2013,” said Hearing. “But they are hard to find.”
Hearing said construction costs have jumped 10 to 12 percent over the past year, “but the good news is that rents are up even more than that.” He said he is not worried about a glut of new units coming on line, despite the fact that San Francisco is seeing a housing boom that rivals that of 2006 and 2007.
“A year from now, tower cranes are going to litter the sky, but most of those are going to be apartments,” said Hearing.
J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

346 Potrero is a new condo project by Trumark Urban currently in preconstruction at 346 Potrero Avenue in San Francisco. The project has a total of 75 units.

Project Details
DEVELOPMENT NAME: 346 Potrero
DEVELOPER(S): Trumark Urban
BUILDING TYPE: Condo/Apartment
OWNERSHIP TYPE: Condominium
ADDRESS: 346 Potrero Avenue
CITY: San Francisco
STATE/PROVINCE: California
ZIP CODE: 94103
CONSTRUCTION STATUS: Preconstruction
STATUS: Pending
TOTAL NUMBER OF UNITS: 75 units

Project Summary
This proposed project aims to revitalize a parcel currently underutilized as a self-service car wash. Trumark Urban is in the planning stages for approximately 75 high quality residential units, in a vibrant neighborhood with easy access to transit. The proposed design integrates flexibility and innovation, while respecting the existing neighborhood character and the transitional nature of the project. The site is well situated near the many amenities of Potrero and Mission neighborhoods.

346 Potrero Residential Development (“Potrero”)
In addition the adaptive re-use redevelopment projects being completed in
concert with the University of the Pacific, Hillwood and Trumark will be
undertaking the development of a highly sought after residential project in
the Mission District of San Francisco, California. The property is located
at 346 Potrero Avenue and will feature close access to a multitude of
local amenities including nearby freeway access and multiple mass transit
access points to the North Bay, East Bay and the Peninsula.

The project is currently planned to be constructed as a nine-story structure including
seven-stories of residential units (featuring 76 condominium units in total) and 2
stories of residential and commercial parking. Upon completion the facility will
include 69,725 square feet of residential space, 2,356 square feet of commercial
space, and 8,528 square feet of parking and surface space. Current design plans
include the development of 42 one-bedroom residential units and 30 two-bedroom
units. Many of the units will feature private balconies and the facility will feature
several open public spaces including a 3,623 square foot rooftop deck.
Group XVIII EB-5 capital will be directly employed in the construction activities of
the project including the demolition of the existing structures currently occupying
the site (former car wash), horizontal infrastructure improvements, and the vertical
construction and completion of the residential facility. Entitlements for the
project are anticipated to be completed by 1st quarter 2014 will full construction
completion anticipated by 4th quarter 2015. Total construction costs for the Potrero
project are approximately $33 million.

Potrero Hill is a residential neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It is known for its views of the San Francisco Bay and city skyline, its close proximity to many destination spots, its sunny weather, and for having two freeways and a Caltrain station.
Initially a working-class neighborhood until gentrification in the 1990s, it is now an upper-middle-class family-oriented neighborhood.

Potrero Hill is located on the eastern side of the city, east of the Mission District and south of SOMA (South of Market) and the newly designated district Showplace Square.[2] It is bordered by 16th Street to the north, Potrero Avenue and U.S. Route 101 (below 20th Street) to the west and Cesar Chavez Street to the south. The city of San Francisco considers the area below 20th Street between Potrero Ave and Route 101 to be part of Potrero Hill as well, as outlined in the Eastern Neighborhood Plan.[3] The area east of Highway 280 is Dogpatch. Dogpatch was originally part of Potrero Nuevo and its history is closely tied to Potrero Hill. Some consider Dogpatch to be its own neighborhood while others disagree. Dogpatch has its own neighborhood association but shares merchant association, Democratic caucuses, and general neighborhood matters with Potrero Hill.

Potrero Hill is one of the sunniest neighborhoods in San Francisco, located on the eastern side of the peninsula and flanked by the San Francisco Bay. It is insulated from the fog and chill of the Pacific Ocean that is typical on the western side of the city. It is a residential neighborhood and not considered a tourist destination. Although it is not the most walkable neighborhood in San Francisco due to its hills, it is generally considered a very convenient location due to its proximity to offices, shopping, dining, entertainment, freeways and a Caltrain station. Despite being surrounded by busy neighborhoods, Potrero Hill is quiet and sleepy.

Potrero Hill started as a Caucasian working-class neighborhood in the 1850s. Its central location attracted many working professionals during the dot-com era in the 1990s. Today, it is mostly an upper-middle-class family-oriented neighborhood. In addition to Freeway 101 and 280, Caltrain also runs through this area, making it popular with commuters. Most homes in Potrero Hill have views of the downtown skyline, the San Francisco Bay or Twin Peaks.
Potrero Hill has a North and a South Slope, with the North Slope generally more coveted due to its proximity to downtown and its distance from the housing projects. There is no clear dividing line between North and South as the hill apexes in various places. The demographics of the two are mostly similar with the exception of two notorious public housing projects (Potrero Terrace and Potrero Annex) situated on the South Slope. The projects occupy over one third of the South Slope and stand in sharp contrast to the more affluent homes in the neighborhood. The poorly designed, curvy and diagonal grids of the housing projects isolate their residents from the greater neighborhood. A plan is in place to tear them down after 2015 and build mixed-income housing. The presence of the housing projects make the South Slope generally less desirable than the North Slope, and housing prices and rent tend to be higher the further they are from the projects.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The proposed project would demolish an existing 10-foot-tall, one-story, 1,500-square-foot (sf) car wash
facility, and construct an approximately 85-foot-tall (with a 10-foot-tall, 650-sf penthouse covering
stair/elevator cores, set back approximately 35 feet from the building’s eastern perimeter, above the 85-
foot roof level), nine-story-over-basement, 84,300-sf mixed-use building. The proposed building would
provide: 1) 72 dwelling units including one studio unit, 41 one-bedroom units, 28 two-bedroom units,
and two three-bedroom units; 2)1,900 sf of retail space on the ground floor level; 3) 860 sI of future retail
space at the second floor mezzanine level; 4) 45 off-street parking spaces (43 in mechanical parking lifts
and two handicap accessible surface spaces) on the ground floor and basement levels; and 5) 74 Class I
bicycle parking spaces on the basement level and 8 Class 11 bicycle parking spaces along the project
frontage.
The project would include approximately 2,000 sf of common open space at the second floor level, 3,000
sf of common open space at the ninth floor level, and private decks for 10 dwelling units totaling 800 sf in
area. Access to the parking garage on the ground floor level would be from Potrero Avenue. An existing
billboard located on the southeastern corner of the project site would be removed as part of the proposed
project.

The Planning Department’s records indicate that the existing building on the project site was built in
1968. The project site was not evaluated as part of the Showplace Square / Northeast Mission Survey
because the  existing building is less than 50 years of age.1 Based on this, the Planning Department’s
Environmental Planning Division has determined that the existing  structure on the project  site is not
considered to be an historical resource under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Source: sfmea.sfplanning.org