UCSF Buys 3 Properties In Dogpatch For Student Housing As Rents Continue To Rise
UCSF Buys 3 Properties In Dogpatch For Student Housing As Rents Continue To Rise
October 20, 2015
UC San Francisco has bought three properties in the Dogpatch neighborhood, in a bid to keep student housing affordable near its Mission Bay campus, the school said this week.
The parcels at 600 & 566/590 Minnesota Street constitute two buildings on three lots. They are now home to industrial buildings, which combined could hold around 1,000 student housing units. UCSF said it bought the land as a way to stay competitive for the best students, some of whom have avoided the school because of the rising costs of living in the city or long commutes to the campus.
“San Francisco has always been an expensive place for our students to live, but more and more are giving up their first choice for other institutions they can better afford,” said Dan Lowenstein, UCSF executive vice chancellor and provost, in a statement. “Our goal, as a top-ranked health sciences university and a major economic engine for the city, is to find innovative ways to help them join us.”
Still, the development could worsen headaches in the area for residents already concerned about the lack of public transit and useable outdoor space. The area is still largely car-centric, which means any new development plans would need to accommodate parking or add transit stops.
“The neighborhood is swinging up from where there was not a neighborhood previously. But it doesn’t have the infrastructure,” J.R. Eppler, president of the Potrero Boosters neighborhood group, which also serves Dogpatch, told theBusiness Times in June.
For its part, the school said it is open to working with community leaders to make sure it is a good neighbor and takes into account the long-term livability of the area.
“UCSF will work closely with neighbors in the Dogpatch area and follow standard protocols for public engagement to assess potential plans for the property,” it said in a statement. “While UCSF intends to designate the site as a preferred site for environmental review of additional student/training housing, no final decisions will be made regarding use of the site until UCSF has completed environmental review under CEQA.”
Bruce Williams, a neighborhood resident, took issue with the neighborhood being characterized as low on transit options.
“The neighborhood is increasingly well served by transit. The T-third goes right along 3 rd Street. When the central subway is complete in a few year, access downtown will be even better,” he told the Business Times.
“Muni is beefing up service along the 16 th Street corridor to better serve UCSF, [as well as] Caltrain at 22 nd for additional service south,” said Williams. “There is no reason for anyone, especially a student, to need a car. Everything can be done by walking/biking/transit/Uber.”
Williams said access to amenities like shops continues to be a hurdle, although it is not insurmountable.
“The biggest single issue is probably access to a real supermarket, which would require getting to Whole Foods or Safeway at the base of Potrero Hill, or Safeway on King,” he said. “Eventually there will be some sort of grocery (although not a full scale supermarket) in Mission Bay itself.”
Williams also pointed to the newly opened Mariposa Park as viable outdoor space for the neighborhood’s residents.
“It more than doubles the outdoor space in the neighborhood, which was previously limited to Esprit Park,” he said.
“UCSF will work closely with neighbors in the Dogpatch area and follow standard protocols for public engagement to assess potential plans for the property,” it said in a statement. “While UCSF intends to designate the site as a preferred site for environmental review of additional student/training housing, no final decisions will be made regarding use of the site until UCSF has completed environmental review under CEQA.”
Bruce Williams, a neighborhood resident, took issue with the neighborhood being characterized as low on transit options.
“The neighborhood is increasingly well served by transit. The T-third goes right along 3 rd Street. When the central subway is complete in a few year, access downtown will be even better,” he told the Business Times.
“Muni is beefing up service along the 16 th Street corridor to better serve UCSF, [as well as] Caltrain at 22 nd for additional service south,” said Williams. “There is no reason for anyone, especially a student, to need a car. Everything can be done by walking/biking/transit/Uber.”
Williams said access to amenities like shops continues to be a hurdle, although it is not insurmountable.
“The biggest single issue is probably access to a real supermarket, which would require getting to Whole Foods or Safeway at the base of Potrero Hill, or Safeway on King,” he said. “Eventually there will be some sort of grocery (although not a full scale supermarket) in Mission Bay itself.”
Williams also pointed to the newly opened Mariposa Park as viable outdoor space for the neighborhood’s residents.
“It more than doubles the outdoor space in the neighborhood, which was previously limited to Esprit Park,” he said.
“UCSF will work closely with neighbors in the Dogpatch area and follow standard protocols for public engagement to assess potential plans for the property,” it said in a statement. “While UCSF intends to designate the site as a preferred site for environmental review of additional student/training housing, no final decisions will be made regarding use of the site until UCSF has completed environmental review under CEQA.”
Bruce Williams, a neighborhood resident, took issue with the neighborhood being characterized as low on transit options.
“The neighborhood is increasingly well served by transit. The T-third goes right along 3 rd Street. When the central subway is complete in a few year, access downtown will be even better,” he told the Business Times.
“Muni is beefing up service along the 16 th Street corridor to better serve UCSF, [as well as] Caltrain at 22 nd for additional service south,” said Williams. “There is no reason for anyone, especially a student, to need a car. Everything can be done by walking/biking/transit/Uber.”
Williams said access to amenities like shops continues to be a hurdle, although it is not insurmountable.
“The biggest single issue is probably access to a real supermarket, which would require getting to Whole Foods or Safeway at the base of Potrero Hill, or Safeway on King,” he said. “Eventually there will be some sort of grocery (although not a full scale supermarket) in Mission Bay itself.”
Williams also pointed to the newly opened Mariposa Park as viable outdoor space for the neighborhood’s residents.
“It more than doubles the outdoor space in the neighborhood, which was previously limited to Esprit Park,” he said.
