[Jerry of San Fran]

There is a front page article in the San Francisco Chronicle today, 02/10/2019 concerning the development by Chinese companies. Some quotes here. "...planning & building requirements are far more restrictive than in their home country boom-towns. The problem is made worse by government restrictions on investment money leaving China.""...Z&L owned site at 1554 Market St. excavated a foundation in September 2017, only to abruptly halted construction because, the company now says, costs came in $10 million over earlier estimates. The project unfortunately became economically unfeasible, and no lender would fund it" said Buckner, who added that the group is in talks with a new contractor that "has come in with a more reasonable construction budget." "While the building permit for that project was obtained in September 2017, it doesn't work economically now & there is no timetable to start construction, Buckner said.

The article also talks about the development at 555 Fulton Street which has been in construction for almost 5 years, angering neighbors with illegal construction as early as 5:15 am when the legal start time is 7 am., and the lack of parking spaces due to the construction.

It appears that we may have a big hole in the ground at 1554 Market St. for many years to come. JWS, you were smart to be skeptical about this development!