San Francisco Art Institute tells Planning Commission it plans to lease 320 student beds at 333 Twelfth Street

The Planning Commission received an informational Institutional Master Plan (IMP) presentation from department staff and representatives of the San Francisco Art Institute about a significant revision to SFAI’s filing. Staff said SFAI’s board has signed a letter of intent with Panoramic Interests to lease approximately 320 student housing beds at the 333 Twelfth Street project, which would more than double beds available to SFAI students compared with its current leased locations.

Andrew Perry of planning staff explained that per Planning Code section 304.5 institutions must file an IMP and that acceptance of an IMP at a planning commission hearing is an administrative act taken after public testimony closes. The department noted the submission met filing requirements and recommended the commission accept the IMP as complete.

Panoramic Interests’ director of business development, Michael Thomas, and Heather Hickman Holland of SFAI elaborated on the lease arrangement and the institution’s broader campus strategy, including occupancy at Fort Mason and connections between campus sites via transit and bicycle routes. Staff reminded the commission that a separate conditional use authorization is required if the 333 Twelfth Street project proceeds as student housing and that that review cannot occur until at least three months after the IMP acceptance per code.

There was limited public comment and positive remarks from commissioners about SFAI’s Fort Mason move and the housing proposal. The hearing was informational; staff will post the IMP acceptance after public testimony closes and the separate conditional use review for the housing proposal will follow the process set out in planning code.