On the development front, the massive news of the week has been the unveiling of the proposals for Seawall Lot 337, the virgin territory (currently a parking lot) ripe for picking behind the ballpark in China Basin. Team Curbed has been all over the proposals throughout the week (there's even a vote for the favorite design, so do exercise your democratic rights). For now, we thought it useful to parse through the four proposals from a restaurant angle, because if Seawall Lot is indeed going to be the next big development in town, restaurateurs and locals alike may want to want to take note of the opportunities available.
1) The SF Giants' Plan: From the looks of things over at Curbed, not only is this plan easily the frontrunner, it's coincidentally the one with most intriguing restaurant plans. There will be 400,000 square feet of retail space, including restaurants. All restaurants will be relegated to historical Pier 48 (see above), along with water taxis & excursion boats, port history walk, outdoor seating/ viewing , exhibits, conferences, events. Just imagine: a Pier 39-type place, sans crappy eateries and tourists.
2) Boston Properties et al. Plan: The second plan gets points for plopping down restaurants along the transit lines, but is still vague: "Exciting new retail, restaurant and commercial uses that reflect the character of San Francisco will also be strung along the transit line and along the street frontages which will help create a critical mass of activity in the district. The community performance space will help add a 24-hour element, by bringing yet another evening attraction to the district, which will complement the activities already available at AT&T Park."
3) Build Inc. et al. Plan: Makes no specific mention of restos. Does indicate retail space (and an affinity for colored pencils), but offers no concrete figures in terms of size, placement, etc. For our purposes here, useless.
4) Federal Development et al. Plan: The mantra here is an environment that combines local amenities and destination dining: "On the one hand we would like to incorporate small scale neighborhood-serving retailers providing service to those who live and work in the immediate area. This would include a coffee shop and a unique mix of eateries for both the lunch and dinner crowd. This smaller scale retail will be built on be built on Third Street and on either side of an extension of Owens Street into the site, turning the corner of Third into the new section of Owens Street."
Much, much more on the entire Seawall Lot extravaganza can be had at Curbed SF. And don't forget to vote for your favorite.
