SAN FRANCISCO-Solomon Cordwell Buenz, an award-winning architecture, interior design and planning firm has broke ground on San Francisco's newest sustainable and affordable high-rise: TransBay Block 6.
Mayor Edwin Lee and city Supervisor Jane Kim welcomed the luxury complex to the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood at a Tuesday ceremony arranged by developers Golub & Company and Mercy Housing.
Plans for the 409-unit complex include an apartment tower, townhome residences, a ground-level courtyard and street-front retail, with an targeted opening in December 2015. The affordable housing 8-story building, designed by Santos Prescott and Associates, will offer 70 units of affordable housing through Mercy Housing.
“TransBay Block 6 fulfills a strong demand we are seeing for affordable multi-family, urban housing in San Francisco,” said Chris Pemberton, managing principal of Solomon Cordwell Buenz. “With the SoMa district in mind, SCB designed the complex to not only conserve energy, space and resources, but also create a social community among the residents and promote an environmental-conscious lifestyle.”
Expected to obtain LEED Gold certification, TransBay Block 6 will have numerous notable sustainable features, including:
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Integral sun shading and large operable vents, reducing the building's energy usage while maintaining residents' comfort.
Community gardens throughout the ground level, balconies and rooftop that provide greenery and promote a social, sustainable lifestyle in an urban setting.
Resident-controlled cross ventilation system that incorporates MERV 13-rated filtration, using outside air for healthy indoor air quality. Residents will be able to control the natural ventilation system in their unit, saving on first cost and energy usage over the life of the building.
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Solar thermal panels that contribute to the domestic hot water needs throughout units and building.
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Green transportation options, including bike storage with a maintenance room, a car sharing service and preferred parking for low emission vehicles. Public transportation is also easily accessible from the building's location, an important factor for the neighborhood's fast-growing millennial population.
Sky parks on every third floor allowing for natural ventilation and light in the residential elevator lobbies ascending throughout the tower. These oversized resident balconies also connect the tower to the surrounding area, creating a larger sense of community.
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