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Commission approves limited waiver to allow storage in rehabilitated 1035 Howard Street; neighborhood groups object and unions cite jobs
Summary
The Planning Commission approved a limited waiver allowing self‑storage on the upper floors of the rehabilitated Article‑11 landmark at 1035 Howard Street, following the Historic Preservation Commission—s recommendation to preserve active uses at street level while allowing storage where needed to make restoration financially feasible.
The Planning Commission approved a resolution granting a narrow waiver of the Planning Code—s active‑use requirement for 1035 Howard Street—s upper floors so the property owner can rehabilitate the vacant, Article‑11 historic building and operate storage uses on the Second and Third Floors. The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) had already approved an exterior permit and recommended that active use be retained at the ground floor while allowing storage on upper floors to improve the project—s economic feasibility for preservation.
What was approved: The commission approved the HPC‑recommended waiver for the Second and Third Floors (waiving the first 15‑foot active‑use depth on those upper stories) while directing encouragements to the sponsor to pursue additional neighborhood‑friendly design steps (for example, greater transparency at roll‑up doors, off‑street loading where feasible and perimeter circulation on the upper floors where practicable). The applicant agreed to restore storefronts, create long‑term below‑market leases for community organizations on portions of the ground floor (SOMA Pilipinas and the Filipino American Development Foundation were cited in a signed MOU) and to prepare a lighting and streetscape plan for staff review.
Neighborhood opposition and support: The hearing drew strong neighborhood turnout. Opponents — residents, nonprofits and small businesses in the nearby SOMA Filipinas cultural district — said self storage will not activate the street, may increase truck traffic and will further degrade a corridor already affected by homelessness and public‑safety challenges. United Players and other cultural‑district advocates urged permanent community space instead of storage. Several commenters said they had not been included in negotiations and requested greater transparency about stewardship, the scope of community benefits and how long community uses would be committed.
Supporters included multiple building‑trades unions and several construction workers who said the rehabilitation would create immediate, local, union jobs and prevent long‑term vacancy and blight in the neighborhood. Union representatives said Turbano Real Estate Partners had committed to a union general contractor and union trades on the project.
Technical issues raised during the hearing: Architect and community members pointed out inconsistencies in the plan set presented to the commission. An apparent mezzanine shown in some plan drawings extended to the Russ Street facade and would have reduced front‑facing interior ceiling heights to about 7 feet; staff and sponsor said that detail was an error and would be corrected so the mezzanine would be set back and not reduce usable active‑space heights. Critics also asked the commission to require increased transparency of roll‑up doors, perimeter circulation at upper floors (rather than back‑of‑unit service corridors), and off‑street loading to reduce curbside truck activity.
Why the commission approved the waiver: Commissioners cited the HPC—s finding that the waiver would increase the economic feasibility of preserving a significant historic building that has stood vacant for years and requires major rehabilitation; they also noted the sponsor—s commitments to restore storefronts, provide long‑term community leases for local organizations, install security improvements and prepare a lighting and streetscape plan. The commission added nonbinding encouragements (roll‑up transparency, off‑street loading, perimeter corridor provision) to the resolution and requested staff follow up during permit review to ensure code compliance and that the plan set corrections are made.
Next steps: Staff will not sign building permits until the plan set is corrected and the ground‑floor active‑use and building permit details comply with code and HPC conditions. Several neighbors and community groups said they will track the project and seek specific commitments on how community spaces will be programmed and priced.
Ending: The decision reflected a common preservation tradeoff in tight real estate markets: allow a lower‑impact but less activating upper‑floor use in order to generate the revenue needed to restore and reactivate a landmark building at street level; the approval included a string of conditions and community commitments the commission asked staff to enforce during permitting.
