San Francisco approves extension for 55-story residential tower

California Construction News staff writer

The San Francisco Planning Commission recently approved a four-year extension for 10 South Van Ness, a 55-story flatiron style tower to be built by developer Crescent Heights.

The extension means construction must start by January 2027 or the developer could risk losing entitlements. Also, the commission also increased the unit count by 5 percent.

Previous entitlements would have expired in March 2024.

“We are here because we have a lender who is requiring an entitlement extension in order to close a loan,” Jim Abrams, attorney for Crescent Heights said at a meeting.

While some of the planning commissioners said they were not thrilled with reducing the number of larger units, or extending the deadline, they acknowledged that committing tens of millions of dollars to affordable housing well before starting construction on the market rate project was unusual.

“They are doing everything they can to get this project moving forward by making it financially feasible,” said Abrams.

Several commissioners said they were concerned that the developer has dropped the two and three bedroom units from the original plan.

The project includes demolition of a two-story building. The new building is 590 feet tall would include more than 1,000 residential units  with about 19,000 square feet of retail space and 255 parking spaces.

“The market is certainly driving the bus these days,” said Commissioner Joel Koppel. “I am just glad they are here asking for an extension. The last thing I’d like to see is for the project to be abandoned.”