[timbad]

John King went out of his way to contrast Fourth St with King St and northern MB in general today:

What's been missing until now is the piece in the middle, the residential blocks that, theoretically, will serve as the crossroads of the new neighborhood. Fourth Street is to be lined with small-scale retail, a contrast to the franchised anonymity along King Street on the north side of Mission Creek.

The new flock of buildings also are intended as a lively contrast to the scene near the ballpark, where early residential blocks blurred into a monotonous procession of stucco cubes.

Aesthetically, the push to loosen up could boomerang: The projects on the south side of Mission Creek are locked in by the 1997 development plan at low-to-moderate heights, just like their predecessors to the north. But city planners want a more varied appearance in the blocks now being developed, so projects are designed to look like a cluster of small buildings even as they fill entire blocks. ...

No matter how the buildings turn out, the neighborhood will be more varied than cynics might expect.

Thirty percent of the 6,000 total housing units are reserved for low-income residents. Parks are mapped to weave throughout the blocks. On Third Street the San Francisco Police Department is building a new headquarters.

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