Cresleigh Management moves forward with triple towers in SF’s SoMa

Cresleigh Management has moved forward with plans to build an office tower, apartment highrise and a hotel in San Francisco’s South of Market.

The developer tied to San Francisco-based Stanford Hotels has upgraded plans for the 1.3 million-square-foot project, while filing permits to bulldoze two commercial buildings on Harrison Street, between Second and Third streets, SFYimby reported.

The project, known as One Vassar, was approved by the city’s Planning Commission in 2020. It won additional approvals this month for a three-year extension, reduced affordable housing fees and modifications on the residential tower.

Plans call for a 35-story, 489-unit apartment tower at 657 Harrison Street; a 15-story, 468-room hotel atop a Mid-century building at 645 Harrison Street; and a 27-story, 446,000-square-foot office tower at 400 Second Street.

The apartment tower, designed by Chicago-based Solomon Codwell Buenz, would be wrapped in glass and stone, with floor-to-ceiling windows. It would include a three-level basement garage, a 14,000-square-foot childcare center and 1,000 square feet of shops.

The hotel, designed by local architect Skidmore Owings & Merrill, would be built atop a four-story, 160,000-square-foot office building, built in 1947, to include shops and restaurants.

The office tower, also designed by Skidmore, would share a similar blue and gray palette with walls of glass.

While One Vassar says it will include 110 percent more affordable housing than the city requires, according to its website, the number of affordable units was not disclosed.

In October, the city’s Planning Department approved a building permit for the residential tower. 

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Earlier this year, the city approved new project modifications, including reducing the affordable housing fee rate to 16.4 percent, from 33 percent, and extending the approval for three years. The reduced fee aligns the project with current law.

Plans for One Vassar, in the pipeline since 2012, initially estimated a construction cost of $420 million. The project, once slated to break ground in 2021 and be completed last year, has no known construction dates.

Cresleigh Management is led by Lawrence Lui, according to state business records, who also founded Stanford Hotels, based at the same address. 

— Dana Bartholomew