City Heights Apartment
San Francisco, California

On the fringes of both the Van Ness Corridor and the Union Square Downtown, City Heights brings 185 new units of market-rate rental housing to an old San Francisco neighborhood of mostly mid-rise apartments built in the first quarter of the century. This infill building extends through the block and fronts on both Post Street to the south and Sutter Street to the north, each face continuing the fabric of the street by incorporating existing neighborhood patterns: a pronounced street-level base containing a large entrance, windows set in projecting bays and an overhang cornice along the top. The design was developed working directly with the staff of the City Planning Department of San Francisco. An open space garden between two buildings preserves the existing central green belt pattern of the block. Health facilities and meeting rooms are located off the garden.

The eight and nine-story structure is concrete construction utilizing 8-inch thick post-tensioned slabs in order to minimize the floor-to-floor height. The complex is a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Parking for 104 cars is located underground and at the first and second levels. Retail space is introduced at street level as an extension of the commercial orientation of Sutter Street. The building was designed by LDA Architects working with Lyman Jee as production architect and developer.