At long last, Visitacion Valley is getting a new chance at development. The T-Third line first began to open up the area two years ago, but with the development of the Schlage Lock factory, and now the Cow Palace, the poverty and violence in the area might finally be mitigated.
The far southern edge of the city, over the hills and far away. This area is should have a lot going for it. Views of the bay, quick access to Cal Train and Highway 101, the type of isolation typically only found on the back of Twin Peaks. Instead, the industrial nature of the area turned it to waste, and then the industries left. Now all that remain are closed factories and railyards, with a collection of neglected houses.
One benefit of the critical density of San Francisco is that any neighborhood won’t stay homogenous for long. The forces of gentrification are strong, and now this area is poised to benefit from new development. My firm has even had a hand in developing several projects in the area, adding some much needed new housing stock. But that pales in comparison to the new proposals.
The Planning Department has created a new development plan for the Schlage Lock (large pdf) site, focused on the ideals of Transit Oriented Design. In reading the proposal, I must say that they’ve hit the nail on the head in terms of scale. Mid-rise mixed-use development, centered around open areas, with a focus on the adjacent T-line (with a possible extension to Brisbane). My typical complaint is that density and height limits aren’t high enough for each site, but in this area 5-6 stories seems perfect. My only real concern is that the design guidelines are the typical fare that are in every planning document. If every project follows the guidelines, then the city will end up as one homogenous goop. The Board of Supervisors recently approved the EIR, and demolition just began, so we’ll have to wait until the first designs actually come out.
The big news of the day is the possible sale of the Cow Palace lot. Last year an attempt was made to sell the lot, only to be vetoed by Schwarzenegger. At least market forces are bringing some sanity to government finally. State Senator Leland Yee has put music in my ears, “Developers could be wooed, despite the poor economy, because the city and state would be motivated to cut red tape associated with their projects.” No real word yet on what could be put there, but it has to be better than tattoo expos.
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Rail Rumbles In : San Francisco Transit Oriented Design on 06.17.2009
[...] southbound. The shock is most likely to occur in a few years, after the completion of the Vistacion Valley Plan. What was once the sprawling Southern Pacific yard will become a developed landscape, much like [...]
Steven Huang on 07.29.2009
Check out the Visitacion Valley (Schlage) TOD website: http://www.renewvisvalley.com for more info.
The Affordable Housing Conundrum : San Francisco Transit Oriented Design on 07.30.2009
[...] the southwestern regions served by the KLM lines are ripe for more growth. Naturally plans for Visitacion Valley and Balboa Park will contribute greatly to this goal, but more is needed. Areas with single [...]