According to a Preliminary Project Assessment filed with the San Francisco Planning Department on June 9th, new residential units may be coming to Brannan Street in SoMa.

The site under assessment is located at 755 Brannan Street between two small alleys, Lucerne Street and Butte Place. If the plan goes through, the current 2-story, 12,880 square foot building would be demolished to make way for a new and larger residential building. 

The sponsor of the project is David Sternberg of Sternburg and Benjamin Architects, the firm behind the 198 Valencia St. development near Zeitgeist, which was delayed over concerns that shadows cast by the building would impact the bar's business.

The renovation would be utilizing the State Density Bonus Law, which allows exceptions to height limitations in certain zoning districts of the city. Residential units are in high demand in SoMa, so the original height limitation for the area could be waived to make room for housing. 

The proposed site could allow 44 to 55 units, (depending on the density bonus), 13 of which would include terraces. 32 parking spaces would also be included as part of the unit. A residential lobby would be located on Lucerne Street and some of the units would have their entry ways open directly onto either Lucerne Street or Butte Place. 

In the PPA, Sternburg and Benjamin Architects also included an analysis of how shadows from the proposed development would affect the area, concluding that "no public or private opens space [sic] would receive shadow from the proposed 55-foot-tall building."

Brannan Street is located in what is considered a Residential Enclave District (RED). These districts are described by Planning department as the "low-scale, medium density, predominantly residential neighborhoods located along the narrow side streets of the South of Market SLR district." 

The potential construction of the new housing units would feasibly impact some businesses located around the area, including Brilliant, a STEM education startup. 

Hoodline spoke with an employee at Brilliant, which is located right behind 755 Brannan Street at 15 Butte. However, they had no knowledge of the permit application and hold their lease until 2019.