San Francisco Waterfront Partners, the team behind the recently revitalized Piers 1 ½, 3 and 5, have announced plans for 8 Washington, proposing a mix of housing and public amenities that would revitalize a corner of waterfront property that currently consists of a small, unsightly parking lot and a private club.
Image courtesy of SOM
Published: February, 2009
Mixed-Use Proposal Would Create New Open Space, Much-Needed Parking
San Francisco Waterfront Partners, the team behind the recently revitalized Piers 1 ½, 3 and 5, have announced plans for 8 Washington, proposing a mix of housing and public amenities that would revitalize a corner of waterfront property that currently consists of a small, unsightly parking lot and a private club.
The 8 Washington project includes renovation of the existing Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club facilities, a private membership-only club, and transformation of the parking lot into a vibrant waterfront community of residential housing, neighborhood-serving retail, restaurants, recreation, below-ground parking and public open space. Currently, virtually no public open space exists on the Port site.
The 8 Washington proposal includes three public open space areas: The Jackson Commons, the Pacific Waterfront Park and the Drumm Street Garden Walk. The Jackson Commons will re-connect Jackson Street to the Embarcadero, opening views and pedestrian access to and from the waterfront. The Pacific Waterfront Park would include a restaurant in the park and would connect Sidney Walton Square via Pacific Street to the Embarcadero, creating a vibrant and active waterfront park, with stunning views of the Bay and Treasure Island. The Drumm Street Garden Walk is an expanded, landscaped pedestrian path connecting the Jackson Commons to the Pacific Waterfront Park along the Embarcadero.
SFWP acquired an option on the Golden Gateway land and intends to combine this land with the Port’s Seawall Lot 351. Combining these parcels would be consistent with the Port’s Waterfront Land Use Plan and provides for the greatest urban use of this civic waterfront land.
The 8 Washington project would also replace the parking lot’s awkward strip of asphalt with a larger, centrally located underground garage that would serve the Ferry Building and Embarcadero businesses, as well as residents. The garage would also include secure parking for bicycles and car sharing programs.
8 Washington would house 140-170 residential units housed in LEED-certified buildings with green rooftops. More than 50 percent of the land in the proposed 8 Washington project would be dedicated to recreation and public open space. 8 Washington would also provide an enlarged and improved fitness facility and locker rooms, larger recreational and lap pools and four tennis courts. The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) found that the most innovative aspect of this project is the opening of pedestrian access from Jackson Street to the waterfront.
This commitment to the meeting the parking needs of the Ferry Building and Embarcadero businesses—combined with the addition of significant public open space on our waterfront, which currently doesn’t exist on the site—is a key strength of the proposal, said Simon Snellgrove, principal of San Francisco Waterfront Partners.
Others see 8 Washington as a necessary boon to the vitality of the Central Waterfront neighborhood. The residential nature of the project can only help stabilize the neighborhood’s residential character, bringing 24 hour activity to the Embarcadero that currently occurs only during working hours. We see this as an important ingredient to the stability and growth of our markets, said Janet Griggs, president of Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), which oversees the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Markets.
SFWP has engaged the prestigious local architectural and planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to create 8 Washington’s design. SFWP made the announcement in conjunction with the Port of San Francisco’s call for private sector development proposals for Seawall Lot 351 on the Embarcadero at Washington Street.
San Francisco Waterfront Partners is a San Francisco-based real estate development firm. Recently, the firm completed the historic rehabilitation of Piers 1 ½, 3 and 5, which has won numerous awards for its public amenities, open space and attention to historic detail. Most noteworthy are the tenants: La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, which opened in September; The Plant Café Organic and Lafitte restaurants opening in 2009; a number of prestigious office tenants.
Headquartered in Pier 3, Snellgrove says SFWP is passionate about San Francisco’s waterfront and is proud to continue efforts to bring further improvements to the area with the 8 Washington Street project.
For more information, go to www.8Washington.com
