49ers, Folsom Street Development Opportunities Move Forward

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

The city of San Francisco has actively rekindled its search for an appropriate developer for a housing project in the vicinity of Transbay Terminal. The San Francisco Business Times reports that the city’s Redevelopment Agency is trying to get a developer to buy property on Folsom Street. The initiative began in December 2010 but was put on hold when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed dismantling redevelopment agencies across the state. While that is still a possibility, there are signs that a form of the agency will continue to exist, according to the Business Times.

The most probable developing team would combine market-rate and affordable housing expertise, since the project will have a mandatory affordable housing component. The partnership closest to the agency’s demands will produce around 350 market-rate units and 150 affordable housing units. A larger project calls for a 300-foot tower and a 50-foot townhouse development with 15 percent of the units affordable housing. That would also mean somewhere between 100 and 150 affordable units.

Another new project is closer to becoming a reality–one that would make 49ers fans really happy. The proposed new South Bay home for the local football team is trying to get the necessary financing to kick-start the massive development. Its projected value stands at a whopping $1 billion; its gates should be open for the 2015 season. Recently, the project scored a field goal by getting a sports marketing agency to handle the sale of personal seat licenses, a move that would provide some help in funding stadium construction. The project also leans on the recent sale of $138 million in luxury boxes, along with $79 million in approved public funding and an additional $35 million from a room tax on area hotels, The San Francisco Examiner reported.