SF Open Studios Hits Dogpatch, Potrero Hill, Outer Mission & More!

View the full Weekend 3 Lineup of Open Studios

SF Open Studios, the oldest and largest open studios program in the country, is an annual, month-long art event in October and November that showcases over 800 emerging and established San Francisco artists in their studios. Last year, 2016, marked the 41st Anniversary of SF Open Studios!  To create the best experience for everyone across the city, this year we have extended the event to five weekends and restructured the SF neighborhood map.  We invite you to explore our city and find amazing art at every turn. You’ll discover an authentic connection to your art community and artwork in myriad forms, from painting, photography, and printmaking to glass, metal sculpture, and more. The event connects collectors with artists for engaging dialog and a glimpse into the life of the working artist; SF Open Studios simultaneously helps artists build their mailing list, gain new admirers, and ultimately sustain a living making art. 

The SF Open Studios event is FREE for visitors.

 

SF OPEN STUDIOS 2017 SCHEDULE:

**This event is FREE for visitors!**

SF Open Studios Guides are now available at Hubs around the city.

The online guide and app will be available by Oct 12.

WEEKEND 1: OCTOBER 14 & 15, 11AM TO 6PM

Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios

WEEKEND 2: OCTOBER 21 & 22, 11AM TO 6PM

Presidio, Richmond, Sunset, West Portal, Ocean View

WEEKEND 3: OCTOBER 28 & 29, 11AM TO 6PM

Dogpatch, Potrero Hill, Bayview, Bernal Heights, Portola, Excelsior, Balboa Park, Visitacion Valley, Outer Mission, Diamond Heights, Glen Park

WEEKEND 4: NOVEMBER 4 & 5, 11AM TO 6PM

Fort Mason, Marina, North Beach, Pacific Heights, Western Addition, Hayes Valley, NOPA, Upper & Lower Haight, Cole Valley, Tenderloin, MIDMA, Downtown, SOMA, Buena Vista, Russian Hill 

WEEKEND 5: NOVEMBER 11 & 12, 11AM TO 6PM

Mission, Noe Valley, Castro, Upper Market

Infinite Appetite, Finite Budget: The Dogpatch

This industrial quadrant is heavy on the artisans and dense with dining options.
by Peter Lawrence Kane via SF Weekly 

Dogpatch Saloon (Christopher Victorio)

The Dogpatch lacks a full-service supermarket. In spite of its rough-and-tumble history and colorful name, it has only a handful of bars. Longtime caffeination spot Dogpatch Cafe shuttered its doors at the end of September. Late-night service and dim sum are a lot scarcer than barbecue or high-end Mexican food. And there’s a very low-rated eatery in SFO’s Terminal 2 that bears the name “Dogpatch” and which — if the disgruntled Yelpers are right — doesn’t even toast its avocado toast.

But with those stipulations, the Dogpatch is one of San Francisco’s quirkier dining destinations. Virtually everything there is to eat can be found directly on, or within half a block of, either Third Street or 22nd Street. And the neighborhood is full of catering companies and culinary artisans, so the clientele tends to be heavy on industry insiders — which means you know the stakes are high.

The Five Heavy-Hitters
Having emerged from a Bernal Heights pop-up, Jordan Keao’s ’āina (900 22nd St.) is simply one of the most exciting restaurants in San Francisco — and considering Hawaiian food often contains little more than a scoop of macaroni salad and a dubious meat product that’s synonymous with unwanted email, that’s saying something. From the Spam bao to a charred octopus luau, dinner is resplendent, but brunch is the real key. Line up early for slow-braised kalbi short rib loco moco and malasadas (those deliciously messy Portuguese doughnuts). 

Just down 22nd Street is the grandaddy of the neighborhood, group-friendly Piccino (1001 Minnesota St.), an ever-elegant, 11-year-old pizza-and-pasta spot with an adjacent cafe that balances rusticity and urbanity. Across the streetcar tracks, Serpentine (2495 Third St.) got a renovation this summer, during which time chef-owner Tommy Halvorson opened up the kitchen and moved the slightly awkward restrooms while rejiggering the menu in a more Southern direction, with mac ’n’ cheese alongside the vaunted steak frites. 

If it’s Southern that you lust for, there’s plenty of barbecue at Smokestack at Magnolia Brewing (2505 Third St.), the sister to the craft brewery’s Haight Street flagship. Kalifornia Kolsch and Proving Ground IPA share space with plenty of cocktails, the brisket is plentiful, and the beans come with burnt ends. But for a true celebrity chef in an industrial setting, go to Alta CA’s second location inside the Minnesota Street Project gallery (1275 Minnesota St.) It’s Daniel Patterson’s temple to the full range of California cuisine, from the burger to the addictive brown rice puffs with avocado and piment d’espelette.

Tri-tip sandwich at Magnolia Brewing. (Eric Pratt)

Classics, Old and New
No tour through the Dogpatch would be complete without oysters, Shrimp Louis, and a beer at The Ramp (855 Terry A. Francois Blvd.), a slightly crusty but always delightful waterfront spot that’s been there since 1950, when the dilapidated pilings probably didn’t look much different than they do today. Considerably newer, and with its finger on the pulse of 21st-century San Francisco, is Glena’s (632 20th St.), a tiny, upscale Mexican restaurant that recently switched from fast-casual to full service. Get the chicken torta and a frozen margarita and feel your worries desaparecen. 

Not far away is another new-ish taqueria: Gilberth’s Latin Fusion (2427 Third St.) Unlike Glena’s, which executes the classics admirably, Gilberth’s is where to head for wild boar empanadas or gnocchi made with epazote. A bit cheaper than the barbecue at Smokestack is one of S.F.’s two locations of Hard Knox Cafe (2526 Third St.), an always-busy joint that serves a lot of Muni employees blackened catfish and Cajun Lucys. For casual Japanese, say hello to the 30-year-old Moshi Moshi (2092 Third St.), the Dogpatch’s home for cold soba and more than a dozen under-$10 small plates.

Long Bridge Pizza (2347 Third St.) does its part to disabuse the world of the notion that S.F. can’t bake a decent thin-crust pie. After a few expansions, nothing’s yet available by the slice, but those pies include the sauce-free Pizza Jacker, which relies on Calabrian chile oil. For an even bigger gut-buster of an Italian lunch, Marcella’s Lasagneria (1099 Tennessee St.) proves how there is one true comfort food in this world, and it’s got Bolognese. Plus, they jar their own sauce. But one of the oldest restaurants in the neighborhood is Just For You Cafe (732 22nd St.), a breakfast-and-lunch diner with one foot each in Mexico and New Orleans. Yes, there’s a hangtown fry and Ritual coffee — and yes, they bake their own beignets.

Glena’s chicken torta (Peter Lawrence Kane)

Where to Booze It Up
Affiliated with Hayes Valley wine bar Pause, Yield (2490 Third St.) is a not-quite-no-frills neighborhood spot with a compact wine list, flatbread pizzas, and Tuesday night trivia. But it’s the duo of dives that echoes the Dogpatch’s working-class past. Between them, Dogpatch Saloon (2496 Third St.) and The Sea Star (2289 Third St.) have been pouring for more than 200 years — and the latter has fancy wallpaper and an $11 “Fuck Trump” special that consists of a shot of Altos Reposado and a can of Anchor Gigantes, $1 of which goes to Planned Parenthood. Third Rail (628 20th St.) is a cocktail and jerky bar(!) run by the Treasury team that practically faces the biggest site of future development in the neighborhood.

Along with Magnolia, there are two proper microbreweries in the neighborhood with dog-friendly taprooms: Triple Voodoo (2245 Third St.) and Harmonic Brewing (1050 26th St.) The former is open seven days a week and lets you bring your own food, while the latter has a Rye Old-Fashioned Pale Ale that’s about as sessionable as they come.

Sweets and Treats
Because the American Industrial Center, a one-time production facility for the American Can Company, now rents space to so many light-industrial artisans, it was inevitable that it would affect the overall character of the Dogpatch, even though the makers are spread across the neighborhood. 

Cheesemaker La Fromagerie (2425 Third St.) and chocolatier Recchiuti Confections (801 22nd St.) are best known for their Ferry Building locations, but each manages a retail location here, as well. Meanwhile, Neighbor Bakehouse (2343 Third St.) serves chocolate claws, kimchi toast, and buckwheat orange financiers out of a different repurposed industrial building. The husband-and-wife duo behind ice cream makers Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous (699 22nd St.) may have no website and challenging hours for non-Dogpatch residents, but their ceaselessly evolving flavors are always worth a visit. Pray for Crema Catalina and Chicory Coffee.

YIMBY-Land: Change Comes to the Dogpatch

But it has to be done smartly to keep the neighborhood livable, according to one activist who champions high levels of growth. 
by Peter Lawrence Kane via SF Weekly

The redevelopment of Pier 70 and other Dogopatch sites may triple the neighborhood’s 2010 population in only a few years. (Daniel Kim)     

“I’m unrepentantly a YIMBY,” says the policy wonk and Dogpatch Neighborhood Association member who simply goes by the moniker McAllen.

He’s an eager tour guide, charting a 4.5-mile walk and allocating very little time to finish it. But walk through the Dogpatch during business hours on a weekday, and it’s unlikely that you will ever move out of sight and earshot of construction equipment. Virtually every neighborhood in San Francisco seizes like an unoiled engine at the thought of massive condo projects going up all at once, but not here. Although the Dogpatch has — has always had — a strong identity of its own, change is afoot on a scale that would be unimaginable in the Inner Richmond and which would invite traffic-blocking protests in the Mission (albeit with good cause).

McAllen’s YIMBYism isn’t the intellectually dishonest kind. He’s not a mindless cheerleader for unlimited growth, and he notes with pride that none of the construction in the neighborhood has replaced any dwellings, so none of the projects that may soon triple the Dogpatch’s population will have directly displaced a single pre-existing resident. He’s also “gone to the mat” at Planning Department meetings to argue on behalf of on-site affordable housings, preventing developers from paying into the in-lieu vortex.

While his advocacy has won him enemies among some of his street parking-protective neighbors, he makes a compelling case that the Dogpatch — defined as everything south of Mariposa Street, east of Interstate 280, and north of Cesar Chavez Street — can and should absorb much of San Francisco’s population growth. And technically, the neighborhood is a little bigger than that. There are a few orphaned blocks between Cesar Chavez and Islais Creek. No one seems to speak up officially on their behalf, but they’re not entirely abandoned, either: The Midway, a venue known for hosting the New Year’s Day rave Breakfast of Champions, is there.

The reasons for the Dogpatch’s position at the center of the construction boom are multifold, and only tangentially related to the excellent weather. In a neighborhood once covered in railroad rights-of-way and production facilities that relied on proximity to the shoreline, the stench of bygone industries long since gave way to reclamation projects. While the railroad industry was once derided as “The Octopus,” a malign, poly-tentacled beast that representative democracy could scarcely keep in check, today there’s a new force to reckon with: the decidedly less mendacious UCSF. The research institution owns a lot of land in the Dogpatch these days, and one of the construction sites will shortly become 550 or so units of graduate-student housing (not far from O&M, two rental buildings on Indiana Street that tenants began moving into over the summer). But whatever the intentions and methods, the hunger for real estate is as strong as Southern Pacific’s.

Tripling the number of dwellings required voter approval, as a result of the 2013 fight over 8 Washington St. — aka the “Wall on the Waterfront.” Passed by a strong majority, 2014’s Proposition F enabled the redevelopment of nearby Pier 70. Formerly a shipyard and later a sort of Tow Pound Beyond Thunderdome — although one with lots of historically significant architecture — the site generated several concurrent projects that promise to restore and expand a derelict shoreline. Together, they’ll create new parks and housing, a Crissy Field-like promenade, and a general sense of knitted-together liveability for what are now vast fenced-off tracts fronting the bay. Moreover, they largely respect the existing building stock, much of which has undergone seismic restoration. It takes a little vision to imagine it all, because there isn’t a clear vista of the entire soon-to-be-transformed stretch of waterfront from anywhere. But McAllen takes us past a century-old ship foundry that’s an active job site once again, having had its roof removed so workers could install steel trusses to protect it from the next earthquake.

San Francisco’s population has reached 875,000, and at current growth rates, it’s quite likely we could hit the 1 million mark before 2030. Doubtless, Airbnb has taken housing out of circulation and unethical landlords continue to keep units off the market for reasons of their own. But even if all the slack and inefficiencies are taken out of the existing stock, we will need more residential buildings to house these future inhabitants. Like a sort of neighborhood-scale Rosie the Riveter, the Dogpatch is flexing its bicep and doing its part.

Of course, to keep San Francisco liveable, we will need extra mass-transit capacity and a second Transbay tunnel, too. That’s another story — although McAllen is giddy at the possibility of a multimodal BART-Caltrain node at Third and 16th Streets. Like the possible removal of I-280 or the burial and realignment of Caltrain’s tracks, it’s one of those things that looks like a pipe dream until suddenly, sufficient political momentum appears and it isn’t. Thousands of future Dogpatch residents will certainly have opinions. They may yet speak as one.

815 Tennessee Website is Live | Dogpatch, San Francisco

First to know! The new website is live.

815 Tennessee is home to an innovative collection of luxurious condominium residences, the latest design-forward project by San Francisco based DM Development. We invite you to explore our new website for the first look at the modern residential interiors, the entry courtyard framed by the building's historic brick façade, and to learn about Dogpatch which the New York Times heralds as "America's next great art neighborhood."

Located at the corner of 19th and Tennessee in historic Dogpatch, 815 Tennessee offers 1, 2 and 3-bedroom luxury residences starting from the mid-$700,000s. Select homes include city skyline and bay views, over 12' pop-up ceilings and private terraces and balconies.

Log into our exclusive Broker Portal to download our first release of floor plans before they are added to the public website and to access renderings and our fact sheet to share with your clients.

An Early Opportunity to Buy 

Now is the time to have your clients prequalify with one of our preferred lenders to secure their opportunity to be one of the first to purchase at 815 Tennessee. Prequalified buyers will be provided the early opportunity to schedule a hard hat tour with the 815 Tennessee sales team and will be prioritized first once sales begin in the coming weeks.

DOWNLOAD PREFERRED LENDER LIST > 

By Appointment Only

Hard Hat Tours Commence Soon
Prequalified Buyers Will Be Notified First

415.221.1815
info@815tennessee.com 

Pier 70 Redevelopment Could Bring 2,150 Homes To Dogpatch

by Nathan Falstreau via Hoodline.com

Proposed Pier 70 redevelopment area. | Google

Plans to redevelop the shipyard at Pier 70—envisioned as an extension of the nearby Dogpatch neighborhood—moved forward after yesterday's Planning Commission meeting. The proposal would bring new residential units as well as space zoned for commercial use. 

“We are in a housing supply and affordability crisis, whenever we have an opportunity with a large site we should think housing first,” said Christine Johnson, a Planning commissioner.

According to an article in the Examiner, developer Forest City is heading up the redevelopment project and plans between 1,100 and 2,150 residential units with 30 percent affordable housing on-site, more than the 18 percent mandated by the city.

The project would also create 1.2–2.3 million square feet of commercial space.

301 20th St. at Pier 70. | PHOTO: GOOGLE

“Ten years of neighborhood planning, community engagement and tremendous public benefits have shaped the Pier 70 project and generated incredible support to get us to this point,” Forest City Senior Vice President Jack Sylvan told the Examiner by way of a spokesperson. 

Pier 70, which has been nominated for Historic District designation as the Union Iron Works Historic District, has been an integral part of San Francisco's history of shipbuilding and industrial commerce.

VIa SF Planning

One of Planning's goals is to maintain the historic integrity of the buildings and ensure they are "artfully repurposed into spaces for local manufacturing and community amenities," according to department documents. 

Planning Commission President Rich Hillis noted at the meeting that developers should not ignore the need for new office space as well. “We can’t just say we need housing, we need to build housing everywhere," he said.

Via SF Planning

While the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) and the Port Commission the project include the maximum number of housing possible, a cap on the amount of commercial space built was stipulated. Any construction beyond would require a future conditional-use authorization. 

Pending final approvals, the project would be built over the next decade in phases. 

“The first phase of the project has a major residential component, as well as historic restoration, waterfront parks and small local manufacturing,” Sylvan told the Examiner. “For later phases, we’ll have to determine what’s best based on what happens on adjacent industrial properties.”

The Port Commission will weigh in on the project at its next meeting on September 12th, but the full Board of Supervisors will ultimately decide the project's fate in October. 

Dogpatch Developer Cuts Plans to Build On-site Affordable Housing In Half

The two residential towers in the Dogpatch will now have eight below-market-rate-units,
instead of the 17 originally proposed. (Courtesy SF Planning)

By Michael Barba via SF Examiner

The developer of two residential towers in the Dogpatch will build less than half of the affordable housing units originally planned for the site because of rising construction costs in San Francisco, according to an attorney for the company.

The Planning Commission first approved plans for the seven-story towers at Third and 19th streets in January 2016. The proposal included 92 market-rate units, 17 below-market rate units and ground-floor retail.

Developer Align Real Estate proposed scrapping the on-site affordable housing units entirely earlier this month and instead paying nearly $11.5 million to the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development in lieu of on-site units.

“The bottom line is the construction costs are starting to drive projects crazy,” Andrew Junius, an attorney representing the developer, told the Planning Commission last Thursday. “These kinds of solutions are necessary.”

But the developer has since agreed to reduce the number of below-market-rate units to eight and pay the remaining fees — likely several million dollars — to MOHCD under a compromise with Supervisor Malia Cohen.

“This is a balanced compromise that acknowledges the rising construction fees in our city but also ensures we continue to grow the diversity that shape and define our neighborhoods in The City, especially in the southeastern neighborhoods,” Cohen’s aide Yoyo Chan told the commission.

The Planning Commission allowed the project to move forward under the compromise.

Under current inclusionary housing requirements, the developer could have paid nearly $11.5 million in lieu of building on-site or built 19 below-market-rate units on site.

Mc Allen, a member of the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association, said at the meeting that the group pulled its support for the project after learning of the change in affordable housing.

“We really want to see it happen, but we feel that the thing that was greatest about this project is that it was going to bring an opportunity for … families who otherwise would not have an opportunity to come to our neighborhood,” Allen said. “When we learned of this modification, we were immediately opposed to it.”

Though developers are allowed to choose their preferred option when it comes to inclusionary housing requirements, there is debate over which is better.

Planning Commissioner Kathrin Moore said the commission favors on-site affordable housing “in order to foster and continue the diversity of neighborhoods.”
 
Planning Commissioner Christine Johnson said that MOHCD, which uses in-lieu fees to build affordable housing around San Francisco, is “funding challenged due to the recent push for on-site.”
“On the other side of that, there are good reasons that where neighborhoods are accepting a lot of new development, the income diversity in those buildings is going to come from having on-site,” Johnson said.

Align Real Estate is also increasing the number of on-site units from 109 to 114 under the latest plans.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from its original version.

Dogpatch Listing: 2546 3rd St, #5 | 3BD, 2.5BA | $1,488,000

2546 3rd St, Apt. 5
San Francisco, CA 94107