Seven-story senior complex could rise on SF’s Cathedral Hill

94-unit apartment building would sit next to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church on St. Mark’s Square

Rendering of the Project at 1001 Franklin Street in San Francisco (Van Meter Williams Pollack, Getty)
Rendering of the Project at 1001 Franklin Street in San Francisco (Van Meter Williams Pollack, Getty)

A nonprofit agency has moved forward with plans to build a 94-unit affordable senior complex in San Francisco.

A developer representing Martin Luther Tower has filed building permits to build Ella Rohlffs Place at 1001 Franklin Street at St. Mark’s Square on Cathedral Hill, SFYimby reported.

The John Stewart Company, an affordable housing developer based in the city, applied for permits to construct the seven-story building in a campus of three buildings within the square.

They include St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, a Romanesque landmark built in 1894; the Urban Life Center; and Martin Luther Tower, a 13-story senior housing highrise built in 1962.

The 100 percent affordable senior housing addition would replace a surface parking lot and garage.

Ella Rohlffs Place is named after the late Ella Rohlffs, the San Francisco daughter of an Alaskan fish-packing magnate whose foundation supports housing for low-income senior citizens and supplied a $5 million development grant.

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The 70,800-square-foot complex, designed by Van Meter Williams Pollack of San Francisco, will include 19 studios and 75 one-bedroom apartments ranging from 375 to 661 square feet.

It will include a community room and kitchen, resident lounge, laundry room, ground-floor offices and a courtyard across from Martin Luther Tower, managed by the John Stewart Company.

The L-shaped building, in brown and white, will include red brick and gridded windows that take cues from the historic church and other buildings on St. Mark’s Square.

The $48-million project, across from Carillon Tower is expected to break ground in 2024.

— Dana Bartholomew

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