Stonestown Proposal Includes Mall Expansion, Five-level Parking Garage

By Glenn Gullmes

With memories of the ill-fated multiplex project of a few years ago still fresh in the minds of many Stonestown neighbors, a new mixed-use "Stonestown Village" was unveiled by A. F. Evans Development at a series of preliminary community meetings. So far, neighborhood reaction to the $90 million project has run the gamut from receptive curiosity to angry skepticism.

While supportive of plans to bring a supermarket to the area, some neighbors have expressed apprehension at the proposed 12-story residential tower and its potentially negative effects on neighborhood parking and traffic.

In place of the current multiplex cinema and parking lot west of Buckingham Way, the project sponsor wants to build a village of 329 apartments, including 33 affordable units. The apartment site would include 37 studio units, 140 one-bedroom units, 140 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom apartments. Market-rate rents would range from $1,000 to $2,800 a month.

A separate 36-foot-tall building near St. Stephen's Church would have 85 units of senior-assisted living residences, including 12 units for Alzheimer-stricken seniors.

An 8,000-square-foot public plaza has been included in the Stonestown Village plan to serve as a transition between the neighborhood and the project. The developer has also offered to donate 30,000 square feet of forested land on the western edge of the project site, near Lowell High School, to the SF Recreation and Park Department for the expansion of Ralph Nichol Park. The towering eucalyptus trees on the property reach up to 65 feet, which would provide a partial shield for the 130-foot-tall residential tower. In comparison, the developer noted that the nearby Stonestown apartments were 10 stories tall and the Parkmerced towers reach 12 stories.

To mitigate congestion, a model program has also been proposed to market residential units to local employees, such as SF State University faculty and Stonestown Galleria employees, thereby reducing commuter traffic impacts in the neighborhood.

The proposal also calls for a total of 114,950 square feet of new retail space. Plans for the surface parking lot on the eastern side of Buckingham Way include a small-scale neighborhood grocery store and low-rise neighborhood-serving retail, such as a coffee shop and dry cleaners. Also proposed is a two-story retail addition to the existing Stonestown Galleria, on the mall's western side.

Current surface parking spaces would be replaced by two five-level retail parking structures, resulting in 251 new parking spaces for shoppers.

Stonestown encompasses a total of 40.68 acres. The proposed project site encompasses 13.6 acres, with the proposed apartment site on five acres, the assisted living site on 0.9 acres and the retail/parking component takes 7.7 acres. Long-term lease provisions prevent any construction along 19th Avenue that would block visibility of the mall's major anchor tenants.

With the estimated 12-month preliminary planning process just getting underway, A.F. Evans says construction will be undertaken in phases over a two- to three-year period, with an estimated completion date around 2005 or 2006.

For more information about the proposed Stonestown Village project, call Jane Winslow at 421-5051.

Reprinted from the West Portal Monthly newspaper.