THE BAY AREA | Projects from San Francisco's Surrounding 8 Counties

[llamaorama]

Unpopular opinion: I have always loved the way Daly City looks. It's so unique, it's a very well preserved concentration of good examples of midcentury googie architecture AND it's denser than usual suburbia AND its got amazing scenery. Finally, it sits in an incredibly unusual micro-climate with the daily fog.

I think another thing going on with it is that it must have a combination of high land values and lots of planning regulations that keep it looking the same and in good shape. There's lots of early 1960s working class small scale levittown homes in Houston and Dallas but it's all been depreciated and neglected and now mostly trashed out with the siding falling off, slumping pier and beam floors, chain link all the way round and paved over yards with fugly beater cars, overgrown vegetation, etc.

[camel crush]

Daly City is one of the densest suburbs in the US and has transit mode share similar to Oakland and Berkeley.

It's also my hometown and disrespect will not be tolerated!

[tech12]

Much of Daly city is indistinguishable from SF neighborhoods like the Sunset District, Ingleside, Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, etc, with the exact same kind of topography, weather, styles of architecture, and a similar level of density. Other parts have more of a suburban character, with detached homes, and curvy streets, and mini front lawns and whatnot, as seen in all the pictures posted here, though they too have SF equivalents (places like Merced manor, Ingleside Terrace, or Westwood Park). Daly City is very dense by US standards, has good public transit access, a beautiful natural setting, and is right next to SF. It also has good access to amenities (for example, Mission street goes through it), and it's a diverse place. It seems very weird to me that people would shit on Daly City for being boring or ugly lol

Originally Posted by obemearg

A lot of the homes don't even seem to take advantage of the ocean views:

What?

lol there are plenty of views to be had in Daly City. Your pic literally shows a row of homes that have an ocean view, in the foreground, and other homes with hill/bay views behind them.

[CharlesCO]

Daly City has virtually no walkable high street area, not even anything like Taraval in the Outer Sunset. It has good transit connections, yes, but it otherwise has a lot of busy, wide streets that are pretty hostile to pedestrians. I suppose it has some visual charm in a weird way, but it's still a postwar-style suburb designed primarily for residents and for nobody to linger.

With that said, I also don't think a lot of the criticisms of Daly City in the last few posts are necessarily unique to Daly City. A lot of the developed parts of the California coastline are pretty unremarkable swaths of single family homes. That's just how we built a lot of places in the last half century, and it's a good idea to reconsider and ask whether we can build more vibrant, dynamic, and dense communities moving forward, especially in some of the prettiest parts of the state.

[deanstirrat]

This is one of the most valuable stretches of coastline in the US. Makes no sense that it should be enjoyed only by those who can afford to buy a single family home. Should be replaced with restaurants, bars and parks so that anyone can come and enjoy. Also, needs more apartment buildings.

[obemearg]

Interesting to hear all of the different opinions on Daly City from people much more familiar with it than I am. I agree that it's far from the worst example of suburban development in the area and that there's charm in it being a well preserved example of architectural & suburban development style of its time - but it would benefit from an increase in density and commercial uses.

Originally Posted by tech12

What?
lol there are plenty of views to be had in Daly City. Your pic literally shows a row of homes that have an ocean view, in the foreground, and other homes with hill/bay views behind them.

Sorry, I should have been more thoughtful about my wording there. What I find unusual about most of the oceanfront homes in Daly City is that it seems that very few of them have been substantially changed over time, whether that be through lots being combined or dramatic renovations, as is the case with many similar neighborhoods in Southern California where I'm more familiar. I personally don't think its a good thing make oceanfront properties more exclusive and less dense, I'm just surprised given its proximity to the city and the relative lack of oceanfront real-estate in the area that the same hasn't happened there.

[pseudolus]

Originally Posted by obemearg

I personally don't think its a good thing make oceanfront properties more exclusive and less dense, I'm just surprised given its proximity to the city and the relative lack of oceanfront real-estate in the area that the same hasn't happened there.

fog

[camel crush]

Originally Posted by CharlesCO

Daly City has virtually no walkable high street area, not even anything like Taraval in the Outer Sunset.

It has the southern end of Mission St.

[unpermitted_variance]

Originally Posted by camel crush

It has the southern end of Mission St.

Sadly Mission Street in Daly City is just too wide to be a walkable high street corridor, except for a couple blocks at the northernmost part of the city where the development pattern is most in line with SF's. There were plans a while back to redo the streetscape to make it more ped/bike/transit friendly, but I'm not sure what ever became of them.

Originally Posted by llamorama

I think another thing going on with it is that it must have a combination of high land values and lots of planning regulations that keep it looking the same and in good shape. There's lots of early 1960s working class small scale levittown homes in Houston and Dallas but it's all been depreciated and neglected and now mostly trashed out with the siding falling off, slumping pier and beam floors, chain link all the way round and paved over yards with fugly beater cars, overgrown vegetation, etc.

This is an interesting comparison - I think there's a few different factors that kept Westlake from depreciating like a lot of other early postwar suburbs around the country. There was a strong HOA until the early 2000's or so that, while allegedly disliked and overly strict, likely succeeded in keeping the neighborhood clean and home values up. The single-family zoning hasn't afforded much room for homes to be altered, although plenty have now had the lower levels converted into ADUs (another factor in why it's so dense despite the wide swaths of single-family zoning). Finally, compared to a place like Houston or Dallas, land values have remained high in Daly City because of the geographical constraints on development in the Bay Area. Proximity to downtown in most car-dominated American cities hasn't held its value like it has in SF, in large part because land is so scarce near the largest center of employment, and commute times are longer due to the constraints of the Bay.


Since we're on a skyscraper forum, I'll share one of the more interesting proposals that Daly City has had, although it sadly seems dead in the water:



This project was called Serramonte Views, by Costa Brown Architecture. It would have developed a steep wooded slope adjacent to Serramonte Mall. I would guess it was sunk by a mix of high development costs on the geotechnically challenging lot, and a relatively weak market for this type of development in the city.

[Busy Bee]

That looks awesome.

[iamfishhead]

Originally Posted by camel crush

Daly City is one of the densest suburbs in the US and has transit mode share similar to Oakland and Berkeley.

It's also my hometown and disrespect will not be tolerated!

I think it has already been disrespected https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUoX...nnel=SouledOut

[camel crush]

Yeah and look at her now. DEAD.

[iamfishhead]

Originally Posted by camel crush

Yeah and look at her now. DEAD.

[homebucket]

Hopefully this one gets approved. Ridiculous that this has been under review since 2018.

New Renderings, Meeting Thursday For 2190 Shattuck Avenue In Downtown Berkeley



BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON FEBRUARY 14, 2023

New renderings have been revealed ahead of a public meeting later this week for the 25-story mixed-use proposal at 2190 Shattuck Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, Alameda County. The mixed-use tower would rise from less than half an acre to contribute 326 apartments to the city’s housing market. Landmark Properties is the project developer.

Initial plans for an 18-story version of 2190 Shattuck Avenue were reviewed by the Design Review Committee in 2018. The additional height increased residential units from 274 to 326 in total. The plans have also increased bicycle parking, affordable housing, and reduced vehicular capacity.

The application uses the State Density Bonus Program, increasing residential capacity above zoning by including 32 affordable housing units. The 32 residences will be affordable for very low-income households or residents earning between 30-50% of the Area’s Median Income. The developer received concessions for reduced parking.

The 268-foot tall structure will yield around 417,210 square feet, with 389,710 square feet for housing, 7,500 square feet for ground-level retail, and roughly 20,000 square feet for the 51-car basement garage with garage access along Allston Way. Unit sizes will vary with 21 studios, 71 one-bedrooms, 113 two-bedrooms, 29 three-bedrooms, 69 four-bedrooms, and 23 five-bedrooms. Additional parking will be included for 295 bicycles.

https://sfyimby.com/2023/02/new-rend...-berkeley.html

[homebucket]

The site: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.8693...7i16384!8i8192

And the images. I like the street level interaction here and the fact they're keeping parking low given it is right above the Downtown Berkeley BART station.







https://sfyimby.com/2023/02/new-rend...-berkeley.html

[BobbyMucho]

I agree. It's definitely more than a little absurd how long it takes to get anything approved let alone ready for occupancy. I do, however, think the design leaves a lot to be desired and should have been able to improve and feel more refined after so long. I'm not exactly a fan of the architect's (Trachtenberg) work, esp their large-scale stuff, but feel like they could have tightened this up a bit more.

[homebucket]

New Renderings For 1200-1340 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, San Mateo County



BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON FEBRUARY 13, 2023

New renderings have been revealed ahead of today’s meeting for Peninsula Crossing, a multi-structure development at 1200-1340 Bayshore Highway in Burlingame, San Mateo County. The city’s Planning Commission will conduct a design review study for the laboratory research complex with two garages and new improvements to the San Francisco Bay Trail. The development is being sponsored by project developer DivcoWest.

The development will yield around 2.6 million square feet across all five structures, with 1.4 million square feet of rentable area, 5,000 square feet for two restaurants in the South and Central Building, and 1.18 million square feet for parking. The three 11-story office buildings will rise between 210 to 214 feet tall, offering generous ceiling heights for future tenants. Buildings will cover around 45% of the property, with landscaping improvements to another 45% of the 12-acre property.

The project includes a parking capacity for 3,400 cars between two garage structures. While this is slightly less than initially proposed, it exceeds the city’s minimum parking requirement by 550 cars. Additional parking will be included for just 629 bicycles. One parking garage will be located between Building Central and Building South, with the other garage on the northernmost edge of the property.

WRNS Studio is the project architect. Facade materials will include clear glass, fritted glass, perforated metal, concrete, and cementitious panels, graphic interlayered glass, and warm metal panels. The bird-safe facade design will protect local birds by having glass not exceed 15% reflectivity, fritted facade, and no vegetation behind the glass.

CMG is responsible for landscape architecture. The project’s most high-profile landscaping addition to the city will be 1,475 feet of new landscaping for the regional Bay Trail. The project site will include new connections from the trail to Old Bayshore Highway, bus stops, and the adjacent Hyatt Regency SFO airport.

https://sfyimby.com/2023/02/new-rend...eo-county.html

[homebucket]

New Renderings For 2900 Shattuck Avenue In South Berkeley



BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON FEBRUARY 20, 2023

New renderings have been revealed for a ten-story residential infill at 2900 Shattuck Avenue in South Berkeley, Alameda County. The project will have 221 apartments with some affordable housing across from the famous Berkeley Bowl grocery store. NX Ventures, an ambitious firm with nearly two thousand units and the tallest plans in the city pipeline, is the project developer.

The 110-foot tall structure will yield around 115,200 square feet with 109,860 square feet for housing, 4,090 square feet for retail, and additional space for mechanical functions. Unit sizes will vary marginally, with 203 studios, nine one-bedrooms, and nine two-bedrooms. Parking will be included for nine cars accessible from Russell Street, while the 64-bicycle storage room will be in the lobby.

Of the 221 apartments, 22 will be designated as affordable housing for very low-income households, earning between 30-50% of the Area Median Income. The affordable inclusion allowed NX Venture to employ the State Density Bonus, increasing residential capacity above the 151-unit base zoning.

...

The 0.45-acre property is located between Shattuck Avenue and Adeline Street, less than ten minutes from BART’s Ashby Station. Downtown Berkeley and Southside are around twenty minutes away on foot or five minutes on a bike, and the UC Berkeley Campus is about seven to ten minutes away by bicycle. On a clear day, residents on the rooftop deck could see the Oakland and San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge.

https://sfyimby.com/2023/02/new-rend...-berkeley.html

[homebucket]

And the renderings:

[homebucket]

Some more nice residential infill from Berkeley. It's been doing an excellent job of densifying (and ensuring affordable housing is included) along commercial and public transit rich corridors while keeping parking to a minimum.

Wish more moderate sized cities in the Bay Area would follow its lead. Looking at you San Mateo and Palo Alto.