The southeastern corner of San Francisco could be destined for a new landmark: a mammoth monument to our e-commerce habit.
The world wide warehouse developer Prologis is requesting approvals for the San Francisco Gateway, a two-building, 2.16 million sq. foot industrial facility bracketing Interstate 280 in the Bayview. The three-story structures would increase over 100 ft tall, in buy to accommodate vehicles on each and every degree of the constructing. The buildings, which would include around 1,000 parking spaces shrouded by rooftop photo voltaic panels, would tower around the freeway and close by grocery wholesalers.
Just times soon after Amazon put its San Francisco achievement middle proposal on ice following a chilly reception at the Board of Supervisors, Prologis’ strategy demonstrates the ongoing hunger for storage and logistics area in The Metropolis. Even though this venture has however to draw in much focus from community and environmental groups, these forms of developments have become political lightning rods somewhere else in the place.
The project, which has been in the works since 2016, still has a lot of hurdles to distinct. The environmental overview approach is expected to very last into the next 50 % of 2023, with multiple chances for community enter together the way. Just after environmental clearance, the project will call for various discretionary approvals from city agencies. Development will acquire an further two and a fifty percent many years.
On Wednesday night, the Setting up Department hosted a virtual data session as the kickoff to the project’s environmental evaluation procedure. The forthcoming environmental evaluation will precisely concentration on air high-quality, targeted traffic, and sound, section consultants mentioned. The presentation went on to describe how the venture intends to completely transform the 4 1940s-era warehouses on the web page into a fashionable logistics behemoth.
The most conspicuous element of the venture is its dimensions. At almost 2.2 million square feet, San Francisco Gateway would be triple the sizing of Amazon’s controversial Showplace Sq. proposal. (For context, Salesforce tower clocks in at 1.6 million square toes.) Amazon hit pause on its challenge previously this thirty day period right after the Board of Supervisors, pressured by arranged labor, passed an 18 thirty day period moratorium on new parcel delivery services in San Francisco.
Prologis’ two, close to-identical structures would be developed for versatile use, perhaps hosting numerous tenants with quite different enterprises. The room could be configured for truck or bus storage, a merchandise warehouse, a very last-mile shipping and delivery heart, or even a investigation lab. Every ground would have immediate vehicle obtain by means of truck ramps at the southern finish of every single framework. The facility would accommodate an regular of almost 2,000 staff each and every day.
Prologis is also proposing substantial modifications at the street amount, making new sidewalks and introducing street trees, and creating adjacent McKinnon and Kirkwood streets one-way to make improvements to truck circulation. The ground degree of the properties would consist of retail and workplace place.
Even with phone calls for comments at Wednesday’s meeting, no users of the general public spoke up.
More than the earlier 10 years, and even much more so because the pandemic-induced e-commerce increase, warehouses have emerged as a single of the most valuable serious estate groups. In the New York space and Southern California’s Inland Empire, warehouse jobs have triggered fiery improvement battles, pitting environmentalists and locals from economic progress officers and consumers demanding at any time a lot quicker shipping solutions.
Considering that last calendar year, the Sierra Club and arranged labor corporations have been fighting quite a few proposed Amazon warehouses throughout the Bay Spot, highlighting the environmental toll of vehicles going to and from warehouses, usually through low-revenue Black and Latino spots.
With its Bayview area, the SF Gateway task is sited in a historically marginalized neighborhood, although it’s quite distant from household spots, unlike Amazon’s proposed facility in Showplace Square.
Whilst it is too early to evaluate the project’s environmental effects, the developer claims that the rooftop solar panels could be applied for electric motor vehicle charging. California rules demand truck brands to step by step phase out gasoline-driven truck sales amongst 2024 and 2045.
Existing warehouse properties on McKinnon Avenue exactly where the proposed advancement would just take position. (Craig Lee/The Examiner)
