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Buchanan and Market condo plans revised
By: John Upton
05/31/09 2:52 PM PDT
Revised plans for a gargantuan glass-covered, sharp-edged condo complex at an major intersection along Market Street will be unveiled this week, after original plans were criticized.
A 115-unit project is proposed at the site of a recently-shuttered gas station at the corner of Buchanan and Market Streets, near the Hayes Valley and Duboce Triangle neighborhoods.
The 85-foot high project follows urban design guidelines set by The City under the Market and Octavia Plan, which aims to revitalize an area that’s filled with vacant lots -- the legacy of a freeway that was left damaged and subsequently felled after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.
But neighbors complained about the design to the Planning Commission when it met May 16 to consider approving the project, calling the modern design of the building out of context with the area and criticizing the project’s bulkiness and its high-density nature.
Planning commissioners at the end of that hearing asked developer Brian Spiers to spend more time meeting with neighbors and department staff and to modify his plans based on their feedback.
The commission is scheduled Thursday to review the modified plans, which Spiers says will be ready by Tuesday.
“We did some pretty cool changes,” Spiers said Sunday. “It’s still evolving.”
Even if the plans are approved Thursday, construction won't begin until the economy begins to recover, he said.
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