Tenderloin food hall project advances; affordable housing to come later

       

101 Hyde St. was promised as an affordable housing development site in 2016, but the project has yet to secure funding.(Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

By Joshua Sabatini on March 14, 2019 1:00 am

A Tenderloin food hall is expected to open under a six-year lease after a push to build affordable housing on the site faster fell flat.

In association with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, the nonprofit La Cocina, which trains women of color to advance in the food industry, will open up within 7,500-square feet of 101 Hyde St. as temporary interim use. The building, a former US Postal Service office, has remained shuttered for years.

When the largely celebrated lease with La Cocina ends in December 2025, The City is expected to move forward with a promised affordable housing development on the site.

SEE RELATED: Tenderloin food hub project short of funds for construction

The Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee, which voted to approve the lease on Wednesday, had originally been scheduled to vote on the agreement two weeks ago. The vote was postponed, however, after Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, raised concerns about the length of the lease.

Friedenbach noted that the site was promised in 2016 as an affordable housing development as a mitigating factor from concerns about the gentrification caused by developer Shorenstein’s 1046 Market St. housing development. At the time, the wait for the affordable housing wasn’t expected to last so long.

Shorenstein gave The City the 101 Hyde St. in exchange for developing “market rate housing at 1066 Market Street in lieu of meeting the City’s Inclusionary Affordable Housing requirement,” the budget analyst report said.

In the intervening weeks, Supervisor Matt Haney, who represents the Tenderloin, said during Wednesday’s hearing that he held discussions with the groups involved and decided to move forward with the lease as proposed, while city housing officials re-committed to the affordable housing project.

The challenge, in the short term, was a lack of funding for the affordable housing project. La Cocina also needed the longer lease to make the proposal pencil out.

Mara Blitzer, of the Mayor’s Office of Housing, acknowledged the situation during Wednesday’s hearing.

“We understand that the wait to realize the community’s permanent vision of affordable housing for this site is frustrating, and the viability of La Cocina’s interim use rests on the lease terms that run through December 2025,” Blitzer said.

She said that the Mayor’ Office of Housing “remains highly committed to developing 101 Hyde as permanently affordable housing inclusive of homes available to those who are experiencing homelessness.”

The project is expected to result in between 86 and 100 affordable housing units. Blitzer said that the cost of the project is estimated at $38 million and would take 18 to 22 months to build. Construction would begin in January 2026.

Haney said that given the “pipeline” of affordable housing projects under the Mayor’s Office of Housing, “the timeline makes sense and that we will build housing on a lot of other sites over the next few years and then ultimately on 101 Hyde.”

He said that the interim food hall was “desperately needed” in the Tenderloin and the site “unfortunately has been vacant and a source of many challenges.”

La Cocina will pay annual rent of $12,000 and percentage rent equal to 5 percent of net revenues. The group will also pay for tenant improvements totaling $4.6 million. The City will contribute $1.4 million, which includes a $1 million grant from the San Francisco Foundation.

The outfitted space will have seven kiosks for seven full-time food vendors.

Tenant improvements are expected to begin in May and the grand opening is slated for January 2020.

The full board will vote on the lease agreement next week.

jsabatini@sfexaminer.com

As an interim use of the vacant post office space at 101 Hyde

Nonprofit Food Incubator La Cocina Envisions Major Tenderloin Food Hall

As an interim use of the vacant post office space at 101 Hyde

by Caleb Pershan Feb 16, 2018, 1:08pm PST

Share

La Cocina

Nonprofit food incubator La Cocina, which has helped women of color formalize or launch food businesses like Reem’s California, El Buen Comer, Nyum Bai, and Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas through its Mission District commercial kitchen, hopes to expand with a new 7,000 square foot food hall to be located in the Tenderloin. The project, which would be called La Cocina Municipal Market, is in its early stages, and would be undertaken as an interim use activation of the former post office site at 101 Hyde (at Golden Gate), a stopgap use of the vacant city-owned property which is set to become affordable housing.

City planning has approved the interim use, which could last anywhere between 5 and 10 years, but a La Cocina representative says the nonprofit has yet to sign a lease. Currently, La Cocina seeks to fill the role of project manager for the Municipal Market and fundraise to make it a reality.

The market, which would focus on feeding the Tenderloin community and supporting food entrepreneurs, would be a collaboration with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which provides legal assistance to low income tenants and secures SRO units through a program of operating master leases. In 2016, the city brokered a deal to receive the 101 Hyde site from the Shorenstein family. As a term of the deal, the Shorenstein family agreed to pay $1 million for an interim use of the site, with something similar to the mid-Market food court The Hall in mind, while the city raised funds to construct a 12-story building with 87 units of affordable housing.

 Google

Related

Reem’s California Brings the Arab Corner Bakery Home to Fruitvale

At the time of the deal, THC executive director Randy Shaw told the Chronicle the vacant office space was “the No. 1 blight in the Tenderloin.” Eater SF has reached out to Shaw regarding the Municipal Market project use and awaits comment.

According to a hiring notice from La Cocina for the manager position, “we expect to sign a lease with the City in May, and begin construction in June, 2018. The construction timeline is 14 [to] 18 weeks, depending on external factors.” La Cocina currently operates a 4,400 square foot full-service shared use commercial kitchen and incubator space at 2948 Folsom Street. The new 7,000 square foot project would “focus on equitable economic opportunity for entrepreneurs, affordable and healthy eating options for residents and workers of the Tenderloin and a vibrant community third-space that welcomes everyone to the table at 101 Hyde Street.”

“The very density of the Tenderloin, a neighborhood with 30,000 residents, and one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the City, alone speaks for the need for additional community spaces and gathering spaces,” La Cocina’s development and communications manager Jessica Mataka tells Eater SF.

“These individuals and families are the backbone of our city — the workers, students, strivers and new arrivals that have always shaped San Francisco with their day-to-day lives. These are residents that deserve more affordable food options and more places to sit around the table. We’re building this food hall to stand in opposition to the tiered economy we see being built everywhere around us.”

Stay tuned as the Municipal Market project advances: To help it do so, donations to La Cocina can be made here.

Groups seek more funding for Tenderloin public market

The former U.S. Post Office at 101 Hyde St. | Photo: Brittany Hopkins/Hoodline

Mon. May 7, 2018, 8:59am

by Carrie Sisto 

Several Tenderloin organizations hoping to convert a former post office into a food hall and public market are today calling on the city to increase its support for the effort.

Representatives of Tenderloin Housing Clinic, La Cocina, UC Hastings School of Law, the Asian Art Museum, UNITEHERE Local 2 union, and La Voz Latina will gather at 101 Hyde St. at 11 a.m. to call on interim Mayor Mark Farrell and the Board of Supervisors to contribute more funds to convert the space into a marketplace.

In August 2016, the city purchased the property on the northwest corner of Hyde Street and Golden Gate Avenue, which has been empty since the U.S. Postal Service's lease ended on December 31, 2015.

At the time, officials selected La Cocina to operate a public market in the space until construction could begin on an 8-story, 85-unit building. The plan was modeled in part on The Hall, which operated as a local market place and food hall at 1028 Market St. until it closed in October 2017.

PHOTO: THE HALL/FACEBOOK

The Planning Department has approved the use of the space for a food hall, but no lease has been signed, a La Cocina representative told Hoodline.

Advocates say the space was falling into disrepair before the post office vacated, and the corner where it resides is frequently the site of drug dealing and littering.

“San Francisco can either invest $1 million to revive a troubled corner, or do nothing and allow the drug trade to continue controlling the space,” said Randy Shaw, director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic in a press release. “The long underserved Tenderloin neighborhood needs this economic boost.”

The city has already agreed to spend $1 million to help convert the building into what would be the first all-woman-led food hall in the country, according to Caleb Zigas, director of La Cocina.

Rendering of Golden Gate Avenue with the approved development on the corner of Hyde Street. | IMAGE: COSTA BROWN ARCHITECTURE

When the project was priced in mid-2016, the building needed about $2 million in renovations to prepare the market hall, and the city and La Cocina agreed to split the cost evenly.

Since then, cost estimates have risen to $4 million. La Cocina has agreed to raise an additional $1 million and is calling for the city to contribute the same.

SF Planning in June 2015 approved plans to demolish the one-story building to make way for an eight-story on with 85 residential units, including 10 on-site affordable units, and about 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Deal Reached on Residential Project for 1066 Market

Deal Reached on Residential Project for 1066 Market

  Published: 04 October 2016

Located at the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue, Jones Street and Market Street, construction of 1066 Market Street is scheduled to start in late 2016 and should be completed by the end of 2018.

Planning Commission Approves 12-Story Development

By Paul Burton, Contributing Writer

The San Francisco Planning Commission approved Shorenstein’s 12-story, 300-unit residential project at 1066 Market Street after the developer reached an agreement with the city to purchase the now closed post office at 101 Hyde Street and convey it to the city.

The Planning Commission had originally approved the project in March, but affordable housing advocates and Tenderloin neighborhood groups appealed the decision because the project did not include enough affordable units. Under the deal approved by the Board of Supervisors, the 101 Hyde property will become an 85-unit affordable housing development. The Planning Commission’s vote waives the Inclusionary Affordable Housing requirements for the 1066 Market Street project.

“1066 Market and 101 Hyde are the bookends of the Tenderloin, and the dedication of 101 Hyde to the city ensures both properties can now move ahead,” said Meg Spriggs, managing director of Shorenstein’s multifamily investments group, in a statement. “We are very pleased with the consensus solution, which will nearly triple the amount of affordable housing provided by the development of 1066 Market. Those 85-plus units will now be available at permanently lower levels of affordability.”

BY THE NUMBERS

12

Height, in stories, of 1066 Market St.

300

Number of units

85

Number of affordable housing units proposed for 101 Hyde

$23,000

Median annual income for Tenderloin residents

Affordable housing developer Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) had initially appealed the project.

“We heard from Tenderloin residents that they can’t afford the rents under the city’s inclusionary program,” TNDC’s CEO Donald Falk said.

The median annual income for Tenderloin residents is approximately $23,000, according to the TNDC, so even the 36 below-market rate units originally part of the project would not have been affordable to most Tenderloin neighborhood residents.

“Shorenstein worked with us to come up with a creative alternative that will generate more housing at deeper levels of affordability,” Falk said. “It’s a great outcome for everyone.”

Located at the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue, Jones Street and Market Street, 1066 Market Street is designed by architectural firm Arquitectonica to maintain continuity with the architectural elements of the surrounding buildings. The building replaces a vacant commercial building and parking lot currently at the site. The 12-story building will also include approximately 5,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

Shorenstein has a good reputation for using union labor and union contractors on its office projects. The developer could not be reached for comment on the choice of a general contractor on what will be its first residential project in San Francisco. Construction is scheduled to start later in 2016 and be completed by the end of 2018.

U.S. Postal Service Offers Preview Of Mail Delivery To Cut Down On Identity Theft

A United States Postal Service worker unloads mail at a processing center. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

(CBS SF) — The U.S. Postal Service is seeking to cut down on identity theft with a new program that gives customers a preview of the mail headed their way, so they can alert authorities if the mail doesn’t arrive.

The new program is called USPS Informed Delivery. The service sends a digital copy of the front of the envelopes and packages to recipients the day they’re scheduled to be delivered.

Once mail customers know what to expect, they can report any missing or stolen mail before anyone has an opportunity to use their personal information for identity theft or other fraud.

The service also allows customers to designate a trusted neighbor to pick up sensitive documents you know are being delivered that day.

Postal customers can register for the service at the USPS.com website.

Major Market-Rate Residential Development For Market & Jones Is A Go—Again

Photo: Shorenstein Residential

Fri. July 1, 2016, 4:13pm

by Brittany Hopkins 

The mixed-use development seeking to transform the corner of Market and Jones with 304 new residences is officially moving forward—again.

This week, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve legislation allowing Shorenstein Residential, the developer of 1066 Market St., to provide the city with a land grant, in lieu of satisfying the typical affordable housing requirements.

Originally, Shorenstein Residential proposed making 12 percent (36) of the building's on-site units affordable, the city-required minimum. Though a public hearing drew crowds of Tenderloin residents and nonprofit service providers who objected to the market-rate development joining the primarily low-income neighborhood, the Planning Department approved Shorenstein's plan.

As expected, an appeal was filed. But rather than taking this argument to the Board of Supervisors, District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim struck a new deal with the developer: Instead of sticking to the existing affordable housing requirements, Shorenstein Residential would buy and gift the land at 101 Hyde St., which is home to a soon-to-be-demolished former post office, to the Mayor's Office of Housing. The city can then use the land to build 85 units of 100 percent affordable housing in the heart of the Tenderloin.

In addition to the $12.5 million land dedication, Shorenstein Residential has agreed to provide $6.5 million to a nonprofit developer, to cover activation of the property until it's demolished and pre-construction work.

Rendering of approved redevelopment plans for 101 Hyde St. 
Image: Costa Brown Architecture

Despite the uncertainty around the city's timeline for raising the additional funds needed to break ground on 101 Hyde, Tenderloin residents and service providers returned to the Planning Commission chambers earlier this month to offer full support for the revised affordable housing package. That cleared the way for the Board of Supervisors' approval this week, and the redevelopment of 1066 Market St. will now move forward.

Per the project website, construction at 1666 Market was originally slated to begin within the fourth quarter of 2016 and wrap up be the end of 2018. But with months of delays in gaining the final approval, that timeline will likely be pushed.

Land for More BMR Units, But Later and Deeper in the Tenderloin

June 10, 2016

Rather than including 36 below market rate (BMR) units within the walls of its 304-unit development to rise at 1066 Market Street, or paying a $17.7 million in lieu of fee, Shorenstein Properties is now seeking permission to buy and dedicate the former Post Office property at 101 Hyde Street, which could support the development of up to 85 units, to the Mayor’s Office of Housing for the development of a 100 percent affordable building.

But at present, San Francisco’s Planning Code doesn’t allow for a land dedication in order to meet the City’s inclusionary housing requirements for downtown developments, an option that does exist for other areas of the city, such as in the Mission.

As such, Shorenstein is now seeking a Code amendment and exception in order to meet the inclusionary housing requirement for 1066 Market by dedicating the 101 Hyde Street parcel, which has been valued at $12.5 million, and donating $6.5 million to a non-profit organization, “for the promotion of the development of an affordable housing project sponsored by a non-profit affordable housing developer that will include between seventy-five and one hundred units of affordable housing located in the vicinity of the Project (between Market Street and Larkin Street and between McAllister Street and Turk Street).”

According to the City’s Planning Department, once the land was transfered, an additional $21.5 million would need to be secured before the development of the 101 Hyde Street site could be initiated. And the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development has estimated that the development of 101 Hyde Street as an affordable project would take between 8 and 10 years to complete.

But if the project should qualify for $17.5 million in funding from the State’s Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention and Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Programs, the funding gap could be as low as $4 million, in which case the project could be developed in as few as 4 years.