The owners of the five-story Opal Hotel at Van Ness and Geary want to tear down the two-story “Motel Opal” addition, which sits behind the hotel along Geary, and build a 13-story residential tower on the Van Ness Corridor lot, reports SocketSite. The new plan for 1055 Geary, across the street from CMPC’s future Medical Office Building, would include up to 120 units (a mix of 48 studios and 72 one-bedrooms) over a common area ground floor that would be shared with the hotel. In addition, plans call for a subterranean garage with 42 parking spots for the hotel and none for the new residences. Plans to convert the existing 165-room hotel into an 87-unit residential building had been explored back in 2003 but fizzled out.

That area of Van Ness is quickly changing. One block up, Woods Bagot is designing a mixed-use project at 1200 Van Ness (Bisnow was the first to unveil the rendering). The project at the corner of Post will include a 265k SF residential, medical office and retail building. The owner bought the site more than 20 years ago and realizes the adjacent Cathedral Hill Hospital will significantly impact the neighborhood. The hope is to develop a complementary healthcare center and social hub for physicians, healthcare workers and nurses with restaurants, retail and a fitness center (a 24-Hour Fitness is there now). [SocketSite]