Planning commission hears informational presentation on 1687 Market Street project that would demolish Article 10 landmark

On Feb. 5, 2025, the San Francisco Planning Commission received an informational presentation on a proposed mixed-use project at 1687 Market Street that would demolish a building identified as a contributor to the discontiguous Article 10 Market Street Masonry Landmark District and replace it with 100% affordable housing and four floors of arts space.

The project team submitted an application in May 2024 proposing demolition of the McCroskey Building (built 1925) and construction of approximately 102 affordable housing units atop four floors of arts uses including a black-box theater, rehearsal rooms and related services, Planning Department staff said. Rebecca Salgado, the assigned planner, said the project was initially found ineligible for the ministerial approval pathway under Assembly Bill 2011 because it fell within 500 feet of on- and off-ramps for US Route 101; after AB 2243 amended AB 2011 effective Jan. 1, 2025, the department determined the revised eligibility rules apply to the application submitted in 2024 and the project is now eligible for ministerial approval. "I wanted to give you an overview of the project as well as answer any questions you may have about it," Salgado told commissioners.

Why it matters: commissioners and public speakers flagged that ministerial approval limits the commission's ability to require mitigation or preserve a locally listed historic building. Because the project is proceeding under a ministerial ministerial review stream, staff said there is no discretionary environmental review under CEQA…