SAN FRANCISCO-West Bay Builders has acquired a small industrial parcel in the South Beach area here on which it is planning to erect a residential condominium building. The Novato-based developer says the 0.67-acre property at 72 Townsend St. eventually will be home to a nine-story, 74-unit condominium development with street-level retail.

The development site is located between Second and Colin P. Kelly Jr. streets. The existing facade of a 31-foot-tall, 28,175-sf historic building on the site will be incorporated into the new 147,320-sf, 99-foot-tall structure, according to Grubb & Ellis Co., the brokerage firm involved in the transaction.

The existing building, which is vacant, is known as the Hooper's South End Grain Warehouse building. It was constructed in 1874 and survived the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed most of the area immediately north of the site.

The area has undergone a substantial transformation over the past 20 years as numerous high-intensity residential developments have been built. The completion of the San Francisco Giants' 41,000-seat ballpark in 2000 also has contributed to the evolution of the area's character.

West Bay's proposed project would be smaller than the existing buildings across the street from the project block. Those buildings include the 130-foot-tall South Beach Marina Apartments (414 units), the 14-foot-tall Towers at Embarcadero South (233 units) and the 170-foot-tal Brannan towers (336 units).

Edward Suharski of G&E in San Francisco office represented the seller, Lambert Development LLC. West Bay represented itself.