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Developers present Central SoMa key‑site plans including 88 Bloxham and 655 Fourth; public largely supportive on amenities
Summary
Two major Central SoMa ‘key site’ projects — 88 Bloxham (Alexandria) and 655 Fourth (Creamery, Tishman Speyer) — were presented as informational items. Sponsors emphasized public benefits including new parks, affordable housing, indoor tennis courts and arts programming; speakers representing parks, sports and arts groups voiced support.
The planning commission received informational presentations on two of the Central SoMa key‑site projects during the May 23 meeting.
88 Bloxham: Sponsor Alexandria Real Estate Equities presented a multi‑building project that would replace the existing Bay Club Tennis Building with a mixed complex including west and east office towers, a community center, an affordable housing parcel (to be donated to the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development), a new Bloxham Linear Park and reconstructed indoor tennis courts. The sponsor emphasized added publicly accessible open space and donated foundations/utilities for a future affordable housing building.
Public speakers and organizations including San Franciscans for Sports and Recreation, nonprofit event partners and arts curators praised the sponsor’s commitments: resurfacing dozens of public tennis courts across the city, donations to local recreation programs, free event space programming and an arts plan involving local Filipino cultural artists.
655 Fourth (Creamery): Tishman Speyer presented the Creamery project at Fourth and Townsend: demolish existing structures and construct two new buildings with approximately 960 dwelling units, a 38‑room hotel, office space and public open space, including a central courtyard and retail frontages. The sponsor emphasized family‑oriented units (two‑ and three‑bedroom layouts), public open space and connectivity with planned public realm investments.
Commissioners asked standard questions about phasing, hotel operations, short‑term rental rules and the projects’ connections with other Central SoMa infrastructure investments. These presentations were informational with sponsors and community groups describing public benefits; no entitlement votes were taken at this hearing.
