By Jack Stubbs
An in-the-works project in San Francisco’s Bay Area highlights ongoing attempts to move projects through the city’s review process. In mid-December 2022, the San Francisco Planning Commission published a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Stonestown Galleria project in San Francisco, a public hearing for which was held on Feb. 9.
The developer of the project, Brookfield Properties, proposes the transformation of the existing suburban-style mall into a mixed-use development. More specifically, Brookfield Properties proposes the redevelopment of the approximately 27-acre surface parking lot, an endeavor that would entail the demolition of four buildings surrounding the existing Stonestown Galleria shopping mall.
Plans for the Master-Planned, mixed-use redevelopment would retain 710,000 square feet of the Stonestown Galleria Mall, while changes would be made to the facade, entrances and exits.
Overall, the proposed project would include up to 2,930 residential units; up to 160,000 square feet of new retail sales and service use space; up to 200,000 square feet of non-retail sales and service use; up to 100,000 square feet of hotel use; approximately 53,000 square feet of institutional uses; approximately 4,250 parking spaces; and approximately six acres of open space, according to the Draft EIR submitted to the City.
The proposed project would also include transportation, circulation and utility infrastructure improvements, including upgrading the existing utility infrastructure to provide the proposed uses with potable water, recycled water, emergency water, wastewater collection, stormwater collection and treatment, electricity and communications, notes the report.
Another factor in the EIR pertains to one specific on-site building: the project team proposes the redevelopment of the 0.8-acre Authentic Church parcel adjacent to the project site, which would include approximately 150 additional residential units, 10,000 additional square feet of institutional use and 200 additional parking spaces in a partially below-grade parking structure.
The draft EIR provided a summary of potential environmental effects related to the redevelopment of the Stonestown Galleria Mall, which concluded that the proposed project would have less-than-significant environmental impacts on the surrounding area – more in-depth analyses of the environmental impacts are detailed in the full report..
However, even given the above findings, the EIR draft did uncover several potential impacts that the proposed redevelopment might entail, which pertained to historic architectural resources, transportation, noise effects, air quality, and wind.
The recent update will come as welcome news to Brookfield Properties, whose San Francisco portfolio already comprises various different properties. Some of these include the Presidio Landmark in the Presidio, eight properties around the Financial District as well as a couple of others, according to the developer’s website.
On the national level, the developer has a significant footprint as well. Brookfield’s properties include 28 in the San Francisco Bay Area; 62 in the Los Angeles region; and seven around San Diego. Additionally, the company’s Pacific Northwest portfolio comprises 14 properties in total, including ones in the Seattle area, Tacoma and Portland, Oregon.
In mid-June, another draft EIR – in this case for a commercial project in San Jose – received approval, as The Registry reported.
Orchard Workspace, a two-building, 20-story commercial project in downtown San Jose,is being developed by Vancouver, BC-based Westbank, one of North America’s leading mixed-use real estate development companies. Located at 300 South 1st Street, the 2.8-acre site is set to be repopulated with more than 1 million square feet of commercial space and over 60,000 square feet of retail space.
