Brookfield Wants More Apartments at Pier 70 Project

Brookfield Properties wants to pack hundreds more homes into its long-planned Pier 70 redevelopment in the Dogpatch.

The New York-based developer is seeking approval to increase the maximum residential count at the 28-acre Dogpatch waterfront site by roughly 28 percent from 2,150 units to 2,750, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The proposal would also raise the height of the residential buildings from 70 feet to 90 feet, the maximum height allowed under the project’s existing voter-approved framework from 2015.

The changes are aimed at reviving a project that has been stalled alongside much of the city’s market-rate housing pipeline. Brookfield vice president of development Tim Bacon said the additional density would allow the company to break ground in 2027 on its first market-rate apartment building on the property, a 350-unit project that would gain roughly 70 extra units under the revised plan. Overall, Pier 70’s first development phase will consist of 700 homes, up from the previous proposal for 575 units.

“The additional 70 units makes it transition from something that is right on the edge of penciling to something that is starting to make a lot more sense,” Bacon said.

Construction and operating costs have continued climbing as San Francisco rents have recovered, pushing developers across the city to seek larger projects. Similar requests are underway at Treasure Island, where developers want to add as many as 2,800 homes, as well as at projects including 655 Fourth Street and One Oak. The city has also reduced inclusionary housing requirements for market-rate developments from 15 percent to 5 percent in an effort to spur construction.

Brookfield’s proposal is likely to face scrutiny over affordability. While the total number of affordable units would remain unchanged, the percentage of below-market-rate housing would fall from roughly 30 percent to about 20 percent because of the project’s larger overall size.

Neighborhood leaders said they support moving development forward but want assurances that affordable housing will continue to be delivered alongside market-rate construction.

The Pier 70 project has already completed redevelopment at other parts of the site. Building 12, the former shipbuilding structure at the heart of the project, now houses breweries, restaurants, artists, venture capital firms and recreation uses, helping establish the neighborhood while Brookfield works to bring housing and office construction online. Brookfield is looking to start construction on a 300,000-square-foot office building if San Francisco’s office recovery gains traction.

— Chris Malone Méndez