By Meghan Hall
Hyde Street Studios, a local fixture in the Tenderloin District and the studio responsible for recording artists such as Green Day, Tupac, Santana and the Grateful Dead could be closing to make room for a new, eight story mixed-use building at the corner of Hyde Street and Eddy Street. Hyde Street Studios, which was founded as Wally Heider Recording, has been operating continuously at 245-259 Hyde Street since it opened in 1969 and is the longest running multi-room recording studio in the Bay Area.
The Hyde Street project is just one of numerous mixed-use projects contributing to the redevelopment of the Tenderloin District, a vibrant neighborhood that has long been considered a safe haven for immigrants and low-income residents of the city. Group I, a San Francisco-based real estate development company, has plans to build a new 12-story mixed-use development at 950 Market Street while national real estate investor Shorenstein also has plans to build a 304-unit building at 1066 Market Street.
The site is a 10-minute walk to the Market and 6th Street trolley station and a 15-minute walk to Union Square. The AMC Van Ness movie theater, 24 Hour Fitness and Philz Coffee are also a short walk away.
“The proposed development at 245-259 Hyde Street seeks to improve the housing supply of San Francisco and to thoughtfully increase the density of the Tenderloin District and North of Market Special Use District,” said Albert Costa of Costa Brown Architecture, Inc.
The proposed building would include 94 condominium units on seven floors, totaling 97,000 square feet. While most of these units would be sold at market rate, 27 percent of the units would be allocated for households that are classified as low income in an effort to maintain affordable, accessible housing in an increasingly expensive neighborhood.
Building amenities include a rooftop deck, gym and an open space rear yard on the second level of the building. A 14-vehicle subsurface parking garage is also included in the plans. The project is also required provide at least 96 Class I bicycle parking spaces for residential use and 12 bicycle parking spaces for retail use per San Francisco City Code.
The ground floor of the new building would host 16,456 square feet of commercial space along Hyde Street and Eddy Street. The targeted tenants for the commercial space is unknown at this point and will be solidified once design plans have been solidified, according to Costa.
The project falls within the bounds of the North of Market Residential Special Use District, which aims to maintain affordable housing resources near downtown and conserve buildings of architectural or historic significance.
The proposed project would demolish the interiors of the two 16,500 square foot conjoined buildings on the site but preserve the building façades along Hyde Street and Eddy Street. The original façades, constructed in 1930, represent much of the Tenderloin’s history and was something that Costa Brown Architecture, Inc. wanted to make sure remains intact.
“Measures to preserve and promote the history of the existing buildings, including their appearance, character and massing will be taken,” explained Costa. “The project is still in its very early stages of design, but we’ll be involved in various forms of community outreach to ensure the community has an opportunity to provide input on the new development.”
Initial renderings of the project show a sleek, modern complex rising behind the initial building art-deco façades with airy balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Costa does not know if or when the San Francisco Planning Commission will approve the project, and as a result a current date for the project’s delivery is unknown and pending approval by that commission.
“We look forward to the unique challenge of restoring the existing two-story façade to meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation in order to contribute positively to the character of the Uptown Tenderloin National Register Historic District,” said Costa.
