Revised plans submitted for site of burned Mission Street apartment building

The owner of a Mission site left vacant after a building was demolished following a 2015 fire that killed one person and displaced 60 people wants to build a bigger replacement with more apartments.

Hawk Lou, who owns 2588 Mission Street, filed a proposal for a 10-story building with 181 units instead of the eight-story structure with 148 units he unveiled in 2020, the San Francisco Business Time reported. The revised plan is undergoing an environmental review by the San Francisco Planning Department and will use a 50 percent density bonus under the Individually Requested State Density Bonus program.

2588 Mission (Ian Birchall + Associates)

In addition to the 74 two-bedrooms and 107 one-bedrooms, 30 of which will be below market rate, the proposal also calls for 4,656 square feet of retail and community space. Two tenants will be able to occupy stores fronting Mission Street while at least one more could use space along 22nd Street.

The property was home to Mission Mercado, more than a dozen small businesses operating from the ground floor. The building was razed in 2016.

The structure, designed by Ian Birchall and Associates, will have a white and gray eco-stucco facade and concrete-like finishes that would complement masonry buildings nearby.

Community activists objected to the 2020 proposal, saying it should be 100 percent affordable housing. They’ve also criticized the revision.

One question that remains is whether those who were displaced by the 2015 fire will have the right to move back in. The San Francisco Rent Board requires that tenants displaced by a disaster have the option to return to their units at the original rental rates. While that right never expires, it’s not yet clear if it still applies once the original building has been demolished.

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[SFBT] — Victoria Pruitt