Central SoMa Mixed-Use Project Gets Approvals

A key addition to San Francisco's Central SoMa area has earned a decisive go-ahead from the city's planning commission.

One Vassar, a 1.5M SF mixed-use project at Second and Harrison streets, received unanimous approval from planning commissioners on Thursday, paving the way for a groundbreaking next year.

The three-building development will include 489 residential units, about 493K SF of office, approximately 42K SF of production, distribution and repair use, 468 hotel rooms and about 37K SF of retail across three addresses. 

The developer, One Vassar LLC, is a Delaware-based corporation registered to 433 California St. in San Francisco. It did not respond to requests for comment.

Almost all of the office component in the project will go up at 400 Second St., where One Vassar will develop a 27-story, 430K SF office building.

Down the street, the developer will build 15 additional stories on an existing building at 645 Harrison St. to make room for a 222K SF hotel, and it will add a 35-story residential building with nearly 500 units. 

One Vassar is slated to break ground on its office and residential buildings in mid-2021, with a finish in late 2023. It plans on beginning construction at 645 Harrison in 2022 for a 2024 completion. 

The project will include 161 affordable housing units or require an in-lieu fee to satisfy the Central SoMa plan's 33% inclusionary housing requirement.

Citywide inclusionary affordable housing fees are set at $210.47 per SF of gross floor area this year. Applied to One Vassar's approximately 461K SF of residential gross floor area, the project would generate about $97M in affordable housing fees.