The long-shuttered Empire Theater in West Portal is facing the wrecking ball and a rebirth as a nine-story residential building.

The arts venue at 85 West Portal Avenue is slated for demolition, and local builder DM Development is plotting to build 64 residential units across nine floors at the site, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

DM is acting as developer for a group led by Jesse Appleton, whose family has owned the theater for more than 100 years. Appleton and a partner bought it in 2021 from other family members following longtime operator Cinemark’s abandoning its lease and closing the theater, ripping out seats, screens and projectors in the process.

When Mark MacDonald reflects on the founding of DM Development, he traces it back to a serendipitous encounter in 2008 at an Urban Land Institute seminar. Having just graduated from business school, MacDonald had spent years in the high-tech world at Oracle, wielding his Stanford engineering degree in the heat of the dot-com boom. But despite the prestige and innovation of the tech industry, something was missing.

“I wasn’t exercising my passion for design,” he recalls. “Real estate development was the perfect way to combine that love of design with my aptitude for math and engineering.”

At that seminar, MacDonald met Danielle Dignan, an experienced developer already building small-scale projects in San Francisco. Together, they represented a balance of theory and practice, MacDonald with his analytical background and Dignan with her hands-on construction experience. Within months, the pair launched their first project, marking the birth of DM Development, a company now known for merging cutting-edge design with social impact.

Mark MacDonald is eyeing his next apartment project in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Normally, the CEO of DM Development would be preparing to build almost 170 units of market-rate housing at the 321 Florida St. site, tapping into the city's tech-fueled rebound. San Francisco has become the epicenter of the AI boom — and the nation’s hottest rental market. Rents across the metro have jumped 4.7% over the past year, while prices in the city itself have spiked 11.5%, according to Apartment List.

But across San Francisco, a deeper shift is underway. Market-rate projects are stalled while affordable housing is accelerating. In one of the nation’s most expensive cities, investors want higher returns than new construction can deliver, even as rents rise.

For the first time Mark MacDonald could remember, getting new housing approved wasn’t the problem. When his firm DM Development identified a site in Potrero Hill for a new apartment building in 2019, the entitlement process took only six months, thanks to new streamlining laws.

But for the next five years, MacDonald struggled to get anyone to loan him the money for construction. So the parcel and its historic train sat still.

It wasn’t just him. A perfect storm of exploding costs, high interest rates, and declining rents has stalled housing construction across the Bay Area. This has forced some Bay Area developers — whose projects are instrumental in building the hundreds of thousands of homes mandated by the state — to look beyond the conventional lending market to jump-start frozen projects, at the risk of a business model built around scoring quick sales and cashing in on limitless rent growth.

Photo ops of besuited politicians leaning on shovels aren’t something San Franciscans see very often these days.

Despite a dire shortage of affordable housing, almost no cranes hover over the city's skyline, as a combination of high costs and red tape has discouraged developers from building even market-rate housing.

But this week, a group of local officials and developers assembled to tout the official groundbreaking of an 11-story affordable housing project that was conceived five years ago as something else.

San Francisco's housing landscape is poised for a significant shift with the groundbreaking of the 300 De Haro Street affordable housing project in Potrero Hill. State Senator Scott Weiner, DM Development, and MRK Partners, who are at the helm of the venture, were present at the party ceremony, per SF YIMBY. Set to be the largest affordable housing development to rise in the city within the past five years, the 11-story structure will usher in over four hundred units, catering to those earning 30% to 70% of the area’s median income.

Construction has officially started for the 11-story infill at 300 De Haro Street at the bottom of Potrero Hill in San Francisco. The groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday morning with State Senator Scott Weiner, the project team, and community members in attendance. Once complete, the triangular development will add over four hundred units of affordable housing overlooking 16th and De Haro Street. DM Development and MRK Partners are jointly responsible for the project.

 

California's housing shortage took an entire generation to create, and here in the Bay Area, much of the blame lies with state rules that allowed cities to refuse new development. But now, even with those regulations being relaxed or eliminated, developers say market forces are preventing any housing booms from happening.

Elected officials and builders met Monday for a groundbreaking ceremony. A new 10-story development at 300 De Haro Street will add 425 units of 100 percent affordable housing to San Francisco, designed specifically for working people with middle incomes. It's something that's desperately needed, but under the previous rules, it may not have been possible.

"We would not be standing here because the project wouldn't be entitled, most likely," said Mark MacDonald, CEO of DM Development. "Development in San Francisco is challenging. There's a lot of hurdles. So, a lot of projects either are delayed or are never built."

San Francisco officials are touting an affordable housing project that is finally breaking ground in Potrero Hill after being in development for five years.

Construction is underway at 300 De Haro St., which was one of the first privately funded mixed-income housing projects in San Francisco to make use of Senate Bill 35 in streamlining its approval process.

Construction work is officially underway on a long-awaited 11-story affordable-housing development in Potrero Hill that is considered an early application of a landmark California law intended to streamline housing production.

A new affordable housing project broke ground Monday in San Francisco.

The project, which was initially planned as a mixed-income property at 300 De Haro Street in Potrero Hill, will now be 100% affordable housing.

"This is more than just housing," DM Development CEO Mark MacDonald said. "It's about opportunity for the young workers, service professionals and middle-income earners who are vital to our city."

Mark MacDonald was at a loss. Like market-rate developers across San Francisco, his approved 425-unit mid-rise building at 300 DeHaro in Potrero Hill was stuck, victim of the familiar combination of high interest rates and construction costs. The cost of the project had doubled since he bought the site in 2019, and with San Francisco struggling to recover from the pandemic, the pension funds and banks that typically bankroll such projects were missing in action. But, rather than wait for the economics to make sense, MacDonald did something he had long wanted to do: He got into the affordable housing business.

Shovel is hitting dirt at 300 De Haro Street, where an 11-story building consisting of 425 280- to 300-square-foot studios is being constructed. The residences will be “both furnished and unfurnished; furnished units providing queen-sized Murphy beds which convert from a sofa and coffee/dining table, with all units including kitchenettes, an ensuite bathroom, and a work area,” according to DM Development.

San Francisco housing permits surged this summer to their highest level in months, the latest sign of renewed market momentum. The jump was driven by 641 units authorized in June, led by two large affordable-housing projects: 425 units at 300 De Haro St. and 102 units at 1123 Sutter St.

Located at 4400 Fox St. on 41 acres in Globeville, Fox Park will bring more than 6 million square feet of residential and commercial space, as well as 14 acres of parks and open space.  In addition to the World Trade Center Denver, Vita Fox North LP is working with the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, Denver Botanic Gardens, Zocalo Community Development, Virgin Hotels, Trammell Crow Company, DM Development and Buckingham Companies.

 

A pair of developers won preliminary approval to build a 24-story apartment tower south of the 101 Freeway in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Planning Commission approved plans by San Francisco-based DM Development and Alex Massachi of Massachi Industries, based in Hollywood, for a 128-unit building at 1725-1739 N. Bronson Ave., Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

A new high-rise apartment tower may soon overlook the 101 in Hollywood. DM Development and Alex Massachi of Massachi Industries are proposing a 128-unit apartment building at 1717 Bronson Avenue, according to plans filed with Los Angeles City Planning. Twelve of the units will be set aside as affordable.

Office Untitled Architecture & Design and Marmol Radziner teamed up to design a California Modernist sanctuary at The Harland, one of the newest and most expensive collections of fully-serviced luxury rentals in Los Angeles.

By Lauran Waxman, Staff Reporter, San Francisco Business Times

DM Development has proposed a 450-unit group housing project on Potrero Hill, saying it will provide needed middle-income housing in the neighborhood.

The San Francisco company filed an application for the $160 million project at 300 De Haro St. on Monday. The developer is working to acquire the site, now home to a one-story, 17,000-square-foot industrial building.

By John King

S.F.’s Dogpatch is an urban design test lab. Check out what’s new.

The days when it was a raffish enclave far off the map - south of SoMA, and then some - are long gone.

The Dogpatch district now includes cocktail bars, artisanal crafts, and the Minnesota Street Project arts compound that debuted in 2016. A decade-long building boom has culminated in nearly a dozen new housing complexes since 2018.

The most recent changes offer a provocative case study in how neighborhoods can accommodate growth as they evolve. It helps that the architectural batting average for new buildings here is higher than average (no home runs, perhaps, but several solid doubles). More important, planners and residents have used the building boom to improve the public landscape, adding everything from mid-block alleys to a waterfront park.

The combination makes for a great excuse to explore a part of town you may or may not know. As these eight stops show, many of the recent changes are for the better — though there’s more that needs to be done.

By Mark MacDonald

In 2020, the luxury condominium, multifamily and co-living markets here in San Francisco, as well as largely across the country, were adversely impacted by the temporary exodus from urban centers as a result of the pandemic. But, as cities reopen, we are starting to see the beginnings of the next upturn.

Joint Venture of DM Development, Urban Land Development, and Urban Land Capital to Bring 168 Apartments Plus Retail Art Space and Underground Parking to Former Parking Lot

Four exquisite new condominium residences officially hit the San Francisco market this week as DM Development unveiled the Penthouse Collection at Union House, offering some of the city’s most spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and other iconic cultural landmarks.

By Allie Shiell for Archello

Global design firm Handel Architects in collaboration with upscale property developers DM Development have recently completed Union House, a 7-storey luxury housing development in San Francisco.

Josh, Matt and Heather Altman, the stars of BRAVO’S Million Dollar Listing LA and founders of The Altman Brothers at Douglas Elliman have joined the sales team for the new West Hollywood luxury development. Developed by Faring and DM Development with architecture by Office Untitled and interiors by Marmol Radziner, The Harland-West Hollywood includes 37 luxurious townhomes and flats at 702 N. Doheny Drive, between Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards.

By Ted Andersen, Reporter, San Francisco Business Times

San Francisco-based DM Development said Wednesday that its latest project — a $120 million Cow Hollow condo community dubbed Union House — has just finished construction and is nearing 30% sold.

Located at 1515 Union St., the 41-unit Union House set a San Francisco real estate record in May for the highest price-per-square-foot achieved in 2020 when it sold a penthouse residence at $3,015 per square foot.

By Nancy A. Ruhling

Los Angeles’s latest crop of luxury condos and townhomes places a priority on private outdoor space, exploiting views with balconies and terraces that bring a breath of fresh air into their design. “Luxury developments are alive and well in Los Angeles, and they are becoming more opulent, said Sandra Eaton, regional director-West Coast Compass Development Marketing Group. “Buyers are looking for separate entrances, rooftop gardens and rooftop pools and finishes that are exquisite and streamlined.”

By Wendy Bowman

Impeccably designed residences combine with curated amenities and services to create the ultimate urban living experience.

Every Halloween for the past 25-plus years, L.A. families have been flocking to a vacant lot on N. Doheny Drive to pick up pumpkins, enjoy pony rides, and flaunt costumes at seasonal site Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch. Now taking over at the coveted urban locale—where West Hollywood meets Beverly Hills, just steps from Robertson Boulevard, the Pacific Design Center and the Sunset Strip—is the luxe new mid-century modern residential development The Harland West Hollywood. The striking Office Untitled-designed building encased in wood, concrete and bronze metal features 37 homes clustered around a private, lushly landscaped center courtyard, along with a 9,300-square-foot amenity suite boasting a curated collection of social, lifestyle and wellness offerings.

By V.L. Hendrickson

These luxury buildings—many hotly anticipated—will open around the world next year.

Luxury living today means modern, clean design, five-star service and curated wellness amenities. Whether it’s a record-setting tower or a villa in a boutique development, new developments are staffed around the clock, offering a range of services from refrigerator stocking to personal training to reservations at the nearest private airport.

Residences feature top-of-the-line finishes and calming color schemes, plus open floor plans and indoor/outdoor spaces. And, of course, views are always in style.

Opening over the course of 2020, these projects create a resort-like atmosphere while still offering all the comforts of home.

By John King

12 structures and spaces that redefine San Francisco — and the lessons that they teach

Choosing the word that sums up the evolution of San Francisco’s urban landscape these past 10 years is easy: profound.

After that things get real difficult, real fast.

Architectural trends can seem irrelevant in a region where the demand for housing is so strong and so many familiar haunts have been transformed. But if we ignore how our surroundings are treated, the physical qualities that make this place memorable could be undermined.

With that in mind, here’s my take on the city’s urban design high points since 2010. San Francisco is being remade before our eyes. Pausing to take stock can help raise standards in the decade to come.

By Fiona Kelliher, Reporter, San Francisco Business Times

Over 200 new apartments could hit San Francisco’s Design District.

San Francisco-based DM Development has submitted a pre-application for 204 rental units at 300 De Haro St., which now houses several small restaurants. The project would rise to 13 stories and include 6,200 square feet of ground-floor retail.

By Blanca Torres, Reporter, San Francisco Business Times

San Francisco’s supply of new condos is quickly dwindling as buyers snap up homes on the market.

The city is down to less than 500 new condos available for purchase — a 34 percent plunge compared with this same time last year, according to Polaris Pacific, a condo marketing and research firm.

“There’s not a lot to sell in San Francisco at the moment,” said Miles Garber, vice president of research for Polaris Pacific.

Faring and DM Development announce that sales have launched for The Harland – West Hollywood, a luxury collection of 37 sophisticated residences with architecture by R&A Architecture + Design

and interiors by Marmol Radziner, prominently located on the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Featuring luxurious flats and townhomes at 702 N. Doheny Drive, between Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards, The Harland’s sales and marketing are exclusively handled by Douglas Elliman Development Marketing.

By Philip Ferrato

At the edge of Beverly Hills, a collection of luxury flats, townhome and penthouses in West Hollywood by two of LA architecture’s most notable practitioners– Marmol Radziner and R&A Architecture and Design– unsurprising since innovations in residential architecture practically began in WeHo with Rudolf Schindler and Richard Neutra after a brief flyover by Frank Lloyd Wright, touching down at the Hollyhock House.

Everybody’s got a dream in Los Angeles. Whether you’re a Hollywood hopeful, a movie-maker or a high-flying shaker, we all need an apartment where to rest our heads – a spot to kick it, where we can be ourselves. From the polished pavements of Century City to the sandy sidewalks of Downtown, LA’s luxury residential blocks are rising faster than reputations – and from the penthouse terraces, you might just be able to make out your name in lights. Roll-up to our line-up of Gaggenau-kitted, Kvadrat-curtained, Laufen-trimmed paradises in the sky – there’s no place we’d rather be.

Sales have officially launched for the much anticipated luxury development, The Harland West Hollywood, a collaboration between Faring and DM development and architecture by R&A Architecture + Design. Comprised of 37 sophisticated residences with interiors by Marmol Radziner, the poperty is prominently located on the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Featuring luxurious flats and townhomes at 702 N. Doheny Drive, between Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards, The Harland’s sales and marketing are exclusively handled by Douglas Elliman Development Marketing.

Four-story development nears completion on Doheny.

by Steven Sharp

R&A Architecture + Design has unveiled The Harland - a series of 37 signature residences in West Hollywood. With interiors by Marmol Radziner, R&A designed an undulating facade along Doheny Drive that is sure to become the next modernist icon of Beverly Hills. The seemingly floating flats offer expansive indoor and outdoor space that makes each unit feel like a private residence.

Susan de Franca says go with your gut, and keep your home for the long haul if possible.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

Susan de França is the CEO of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing and has 30-plus years of experience in the real estate business.

Since joining Elliman in 2011, she’s been responsible for myriad new development projects, including the Edition West Hollywood, Jean Nouvel’s Monard Terrace in Miami, 565 Broome and 87 Park—both Renzo Piano projects in Manhattan—as well as 432 Park Avenue, also in Manhattan.

By Rebekah Bell

Located just blocks from the glitz and glamour of the Sunset Strip and Beverly Hills, the Harland-West Hollywood represents a new take on California modernism. Developed by Faring and DM Developments, the 37-unit building features one-, two-, and three-bedroom townhomes and penthouses with mid-century-modern flair. Sales have officially launched for the residential oasis, which features architecture by R&A Architecture + Design Inc. and interiors by Marmol Radziner.

Julie Littman, Bisnow Bay Area

New neighborhoods are rising up around San Francisco, creating vibrant communities of office, residential and retail on previously vacant land. But for areas like Mission Bay, what ended up getting built was far from what was originally conceived, panelists said during Bisnow’s recent Future of SoMa, Mission Bay and Dogpatch event.

By Bill Cary, Mansion Global

A roundup of what’s coming to the market

By Blanca Torres, Reporter, San Francisco Business Times

After sales launched two months ago, buyers have already snapped up a third of the condos in 815 Tennessee — the only new condo project on the market in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood.

Some homes in the $60 million, 69-unit complex, from DM Development, are priced starting at $885,000 for a one-bedroom and $1.1 million for a two-bedroom. While the average unit runs around $1,300 per square foot, some have gone for $1,700 per square foot, said Mark MacDonald, principal with DM.

By J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle

In October 2013, developer Crescent Heights announced that New York celebrity chef Suvir Saran would open an 8,500-square-foot restaurant on the ground floor of NEMA, a 700-unit apartment complex at 10th and Market streets.

“I can’t begin to express my excitement about launching a restaurant in San Francisco and in the NEMA building particularly,” Saran said at the time.

But the restaurant never opened. About 18 months after the announcement, Saran pulled out, citing “unanticipated complications and endless delays.”

Fourth Hayes Valley Development from DDG and DM Development

Parcel T, the latest addition to DDG and DM Development’s collection of distinctive mixed-use developments in Hayes Valley, sets 27 residential units over two commercial spaces and is crafted to engage and enhance the neighborhood.

By Julie Littman, Bay Area, Bisnow

More for-sale housing is on its way to San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. DM Development will develop 815 Tennessee with financing partners Grosvenor Americas and First Republic Bank. The five-story, 69-unit building will open for sales in fall 2017 and be completed early in 2018. One-, two- and three-bedroom units will be available.

San Francisco real estate developer DM Development announces the newest addition to its growing, design-driven portfolio of projects, 815 Tennessee. The 5-story, 69-unit building will be open for sales in the Fall of this year and will be completed in early 2018. The project, which is located one block from the bustling Third Street corridor in Dogpatch will offer one, two and three bedroom units, a 4,500-square foot roof deck, ample parking, bike repair and storage areas, and a staffed lobby with a feature custom lit art wall.

By The Editors

The Architect’s Newspaper (AN)’s inaugural 2013 Best of Design Awards featured six categories. Since then, it’s grown to 26 exciting categories. As in years past, jury members (Erik Verboon, Claire Weisz, Karen Stonely, Christopher Leong, Adrianne Weremchuk, and AN’s Matt Shaw) were picked for their expertise and high regard in the design community. They based their judgments on evidence of innovation, creative use of new technology, sustainability, strength of presentation, and, most importantly, great design. We want to thank everyone for their continued support and eagerness to submit their work to the Best of Design Awards. We are already looking forward to growing next year’s coverage for you.

 

By Roland Li

Mark MacDonald co-founded San Francisco-based DM Development in 2010 with Danielle Dignan. The company develops residential buildings across San Francisco, including high-end projects at 8 Octavia Blvd., 400 Grove St. and 450 Hayes St. It currently has six buildings under construction or proposed in the Marina, Dogpatch and Hayes Valley neighborhoods. MacDonald spoke to the Business Times about how he chooses development sites and the firm’s focus on design.

You started your career in tech and worked at Oracle. Why did you switch to real estate? Working in tech was very exciting and rewarding, but I wanted to do work that was more tangible, where I could fulfill my passion for design. So I went back to business school mid-career and made the transition to brick and mortar. I founded DM Development with my partner Danielle.

By Kevin Troung

A 430-foot residential skyscraper at 45 Lansing St. known as Jasper looms high over its neighbor, a Union 76 gas station on the corner of First and Harrison in San Francisco.

The filling station appears small and out of place among the highrise towers that have been springing up around it. However it won’t be that way for long: In June, Dallas-based Mill Creek Residential Trust received approvals to build a 14-story, 180-unit residential project on the gas station site.

Service station sites have become increasingly hot commodities in San Francisco’s current development boom for developers willing to deal with the environmental challenges that come with building on the parcels. There are currently more than two dozen gas station sites in San Francisco that are under construction or proposed as spaces for residential projects. Most are being envisioned as mid-rise condo developments in a city where the median sale price for condos are breaching $1 million, according to data from Paragon Real Estate Group.

By Lisa Brown

SAN FRANCISCO—The result of winning a highly competitive selection process with Chevron to acquire, remediate and build on two sites, DM Development aims to catalyze redevelopment of the northern gateway and provide housing to a neighborhood with historically low inventory.

With housing at a premium, new developments take many twists and turns to get to approval stage. And, some are lucky enough to nab prime real estate with enough dogged determination. Two sites of that type are poised for much-needed housing in the Marina.

Positioned at the intersection of San Francisco’s most sought-after neighborhoods– the Marina, Cow Hollow, Russian Hill and Pacific Heights–2465 Van Ness is just blocks from the city’s northern waterfront, between Union and Green Streets. 2301 Lombard is located between two popular shopping and dining streets, Chestnut and Union in the Cow Hollow, Marina and Pacific Heights neighborhoods.

By Kevin Truong

Two shuttered Chevron stations in San Francisco’s swanky Marina district are being gassed up for new lives as luxury condos.

DM Development, a San Francisco-based real estate firm, is developing the locations at 2465 Van Ness Ave. and 2301 Lombard St. The two buildings were designed by Handel Architects, the firm behind some of the highest-profile luxury residential towers in the city.

“We viewed these sites as really prime residential opportunities in some of the most sought after and iconic neighborhoods in San Francisco where very little high-density development is possible,” said DM Development Managing Partner Mark MacDonald.

Transformation of former Chevron service stations into luxury residences will provide new housing options in coveted neighborhood

San Francisco real estate developer DM Development announces the acquisition and development of two residential projects in San Francisco’s desirable Marina District – 2465 Van Ness between Union and Green Streets and 2301 Lombard between Pierce and Scott Streets. The result of winning a highly competitive selection process with Chevron® to acquire and build on both sites, DM Development aims to catalyze the redevelopment of San Francisco’s northern gateway and provide housing options to a neighborhood with historically low residential inventory. Following the company’s transformative developments in Hayes Valley at 450 Hayes, 400 Grove and 8 Octavia, the Van Ness and Lombard properties are the latest projects in DM Development’s growing San Francisco portfolio, which also includes residential projects at 815 Tennessee and 2290 3rd Street in Dogpatch, and 311 Grove and Parcel T in Hayes Valley.

 

400 Grove introduces 34 residences in the heart of Hayes Valley, continuing the neighborhood’s rise as a vital, walkable neighborhood. Its prominent site at the corner of Grove and Gough streets, is one of several sites created by the removal of the Central Freeway in 2003, as part of a bold initiative to reconnect Hayes Valley with surrounding neighborhoods.

Its faceted facades echo an earlier tradition: the classic San Francisco bay windows prevalent in the area. The facets angle windows capturing views of Hayes Valley’s bustling street scene and surrounding hillside neighborhoods. Most of the studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom residences have light from two sides and an individual expression from the street, with the amenities associated with urban living.

 

US studio Fougeron Architecture has completed an urban residential building in a San Francisco neighbourhood that features faceted facades covered with grey rods (+ slideshow).

Called 400 Grove, the building is located in the heart of Hayes Valley – a formerly rundown district that has been transformed since an elevated freeway there was razed in the 1990s. The area is now filled with upscale restaurants and boutiques.

The structure occupies a prominent site on the corner of Grove and Gough streets, which is one of several buildable sites that was created by the removal of the highway. Cultural venues and public transit stations are within close proximity.

By John King

Visit any prosperous American city today and you see boxy cartons filled with new housing above shops that are devoid of conviction or flair — the formulaic spawn of dutiful planning and the bottom line.

That’s why San Francisco’s Hayes Valley is so heartening and so important. A half-mile stretch of land once covered by a freeway today serves as an emerging showcase, a test lab of imaginative urban architecture and ground-level innovation.

Though not every newcomer is a classic, the ambitions on view offer a primer that other neighborhoods would do well to follow. The look is contemporary but the styles vary widely — the common thread is a generosity along the street and an embrace of the district’s eclectic tone.

You know where you are. You’re in no hurry to leave.

By Brock Keeling, Curbed San Francisco

Ground zero in one of the city's most popular neighborhoods

The sleek new 450 Hayes mammoth (i.e., the new complex next to former Flippers Burgers), which has drastically and dramatically changed the landscape of Hayes Valley's main drag, is open for business. And one of its penthouses is up for grabs.

Before we get to the penthouse, let's discuss the building itself. Designed by Handel Architects, the structure features plenty of wood, stone, and brass.

Prime Hayes Valley address is a premier property for DM Development and DDG

DM Development and DDG have reported strong activity following the recent launch of sales at 450 Hayes, the much-anticipated four-story, mixed-use condominium development, in the very heart of Hayes Valley. The brisk sales reflect significant early interest from buyers in this rare, prime location.

Designed by Handel Architects for DDG and DM Development, 450 Hayes introduces a collection of 41 distinctive residences including modern townhouses and one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, many with private terraces. The modern townhouses represent the next generation of urban residences, blending soaring 25-foot-high ceilings in the living and dining areas, private entrances, and master suites with private courtyard-level terraces and modern free-standing tubs.

By Annie Sciacca

The first in a slew of restaurants to land at new developments in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley neighborhood opens today.

Little Gem, a restaurant from former Thomas Keller Restaurant Group COO Eric Lilavois, and partners John DiFazio and chef Dave Cruz, opens today at the ground floor of 400 Grove, a collection of condos.

Little Gem’s counter-service menu will consist mostly of dishes that are free of gluten, dairy and refined sugar, and it will focus on produce, meat and fish that is seasonal. It will also serve wine, beer, smoothies and locally roasted coffee.

Lilavois’ team tapped Boor Bridges Architecture — behind such projects as Sightglass and Trou Normand in San Francisco — to design the interior of the 75-seat restaurant.

The restaurant is the first to open out of a group of eateries headed to Hayes Valley in group of housing developments from developer DDG and DM Development.

By Cory Weinberg

The future has come into focus for a deserted Chevron station in San Francisco’s upscale Marina District and it looks familiar to many San Franciscans: luxury condominiums.

DM Development– the builder of boldly designed condo projects like Stanley Saitowitz’ 8 Octavia– filed a preliminary proposal this week for a seven-story, 41-unit condo building at 2465 Van Ness Ave. The gas station closed six years ago due to poor financial performance.

By Yosh Asato

Twenty-six years ago this October, the San Andreas Fault jolted awake, rocking the San Francisco Bay area. At magnitude 6.9 and lasting roughly 15 seconds, the Loma Prieta earthquake was significantly milder than the fault’s previous major event, the great 1906 earthquake, yet damage from the 1989 quake, estimated at $6 billion by the U.S. Geological Survey, reached throughout the region.

Transportation infrastructure proved especially vulnerable to the quake’s destructive force. More than 60 miles (97 km) north of the epicenter, the gaping upper deck of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, where one person died, and the collapsed Cypress Street Viaduct in Oakland, where 42 people perished, became iconic images of the event. In San Francisco, the earthquake crippled two major freeway structures, giving the city an unexpected opportunity to turn back the clock on one of the most contentious periods in its development.

What followed was an unusual turn in San Francisco’s history of activism: a neighborhood called for greater density, less parking, contemporary design, and more affordable housing—and became a model for forward-looking neighborhood redevelopment.

By Paolo Lucchesi

Last week, in profiling Petit Crenn — opening today, August 11 — we mentioned the surge of forthcoming restaurants en route to Hayes Valley, like Kim Alter’s forthcoming Gough Street project and Gabriela Camara’s quickly approaching Cala.

Tack on another high-profile newcomer:

This winter, Adriano Paganini will open a restaurant at the new mixed use building under construction at 450 Hayes Street.

Paganini — who owns a handful of restaurants in the city, including the newly three-starred Belga, Lolinda, Beretta, Delarosa and more — is keeping the exact concept of the Hayes Valley project under wraps.

He will take the ground floor space, with the stated goal of opening a restaurant that will not duplicate any of his other restaurants or anything else in the neighborhood. He does tease that he wants it to become more of an everyday neighborhood spot than many of the nearby newcomers that have become destination-worthy.

by Stefanie Tuder

He's calling the to-be-named concept "casual" and "affordable."

Adriano Paganini, the man behind popular SF restos Belga, Super Duper Burger, Uno Dos Tacos and more, will strike again this winter with a new Hayes Valley restaurant.

Though he's staying tight-lipped on the details, his team says it's "an entirely new concept for our group, as well as for the Hayes Valley neighborhood." And given the current  influx of new restaurants (and their varied concepts) to that neighborhood, it will be interesting to see which direction Paganini's new spot will take. New projects include Dominique Crenn's Petit Crenn and Gabriela Cámara's upcoming Cala, as well as a yet unnamed project from Kim Alter (Haven, Plum).Paganini said his team is developing the restaurant after feedback from neighborhood locals that they wanted a more casual, affordable spot that's not just for special occasions.

By John King

Like any consumer product, buildings designed but not yet built may have an expiration date. The longer that construction is delayed, the more likely that a new architect will be brought in to freshen things up. Or the original design will be retained but watered down to trim costs.

What a relief, then, that San Francisco’s most highly anticipated residential building so far this decade looks even better in real life than on paper.

The building is 8 Octavia, a long wedge of concrete and glass softened by aluminum blinds of icy blue. It begins where the Central Freeway touches down, at the junction of Market Street and Octavia Boulevard, and it stands as an eye-catching symbol of the city’s changing map as well as our growing acceptance — at least in certain neighborhoods — of buildings that exult in the here and now.

Grosvenor Americas (Grosvenor), a property development and investment company with specialist expertise in Structured Development Financing, today announced it has provided financing for DM Development's residential developments at 815 Tennessee Street and 2290 3rd Street. DM Development’s proposed project at 815 Tennessee Street of 69 residential condominiums – 59 market rate and 10 below market rate – will include one-, two- and three-bedroom homes with an average size of 832 square feet. The property is immediately accessible to public transportation and will offer parking. “Grosvenor tailored the financing structure to suit our needs and offered us the ultimate flexibility we were seeking,” added Mark MacDonald of DM Development. “As an experienced developer they understand what makes projects successful. We are pleased to be working with them on two new significant development projects in the vibrant Dogpatch neighborhood as we bring much needed housing to a highly desirable part of the City.”

Here are ten of the most noteworthy new projects unveiled this year—from Studio Gang's supertall in Chicago to a five-story condo project in San Francisco. We covered them all, big and small.

By Damion Matthews

The striking new condo development at 8 Octavia recently held a grand opening celebration attended by figures from the worlds of design, art, architecture and real estate.

Designed by San Francisco starchitect Stanley Saitowitz, the eye-catching building features a facade of slim, vertical louvers which are electronically controlled from within the individual units.

By Emily Landes

The first few condos from the Stanley Saitowitz-designed 8 Octavia started coming to market in July, and are already breaking pricing records for Hayes Valley, according to a recent post from SocketSite. The developer told the local real-estate blog that the condos have been selling for over $1,300 per square foot for the top-end units on the upper floors of the 47-unit development, with about one-third of the brand-new building’s 40 market-rate units now in contract. (The other seven will be sold through the city’s below-market lottery system.)

By Alexandra Lange

When a section of the earthquake-damaged Central Freeway came down in San Francisco, local advocates saw a chance to create a template for a stronger neighborhood. Buildings along the newly created Octavia Boulevard by several architect-developer teams include retail and affordable housing, and take advantage of the area’s walkability and public transportation. Their design does not mimic historical architecture but offers distinctive character: contemporary, delicate in its details, referring to San Francisco Victorian bays and pastels without imitating them.

The newest, 8 Octavia, an eight-story condominium by Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architects, opening this month, has a facade of operable, white louvers, making a changing pattern across the simple surface and a virtue of its long, narrow site.

By Philip Ferrato

In a city best known for its charming pastel Victorians, the buildings of Stanley Saitowitz are among the most visually challenging in San Francisco.  The scrim of opaque, pale green louvers– electronically controlled from within the individual units– will give 8 Octavia Boulevard an ever-shifting facade, day and night.

By John King

Even as two large residential projects near completion along Octavia Boulevard, change is coming to three smaller city-owned parcels on what is emerging as San Francisco's showcase of contemporary architectural design.

The buildings would replace a trio of thin vacant lots with a procession of five-story buildings with residential units above shops. They'll also fill the most conspicuous remaining void along a boulevard that replaced an elevated freeway torn down with fanfare in 2003.

The largest site of the three is on Octavia between Page and Rose streets, an alleyway. It will be sold to a team that includes DDG and DM Development; for this project they took the name Linden Partners, based on the nearby alley where their office is.

This project is more conventional, with 26 compact condominiums facing the landscaped boulevard. The design, though, has a hint of a fan being unfurled in slow motion, a shuffle of white bays angled to capture views of the city's topography.

"We're trying to retain the vernacular of the Victorian bay, but transform and abstract it," said DM Development's Mark Macdonald of the design by Edmonds + Lee, in another shout-out to a style of architecture that is more familiar to many San Franciscans than modern looks taking shape along Octavia.

By Blanca Torres

In many cases, developers found that it was easier to find sites, entitle and finance small to medium condo projects that will start sales before the year’s end. That includes buildings such as the 47-unit 8 Octavia in Hayes Valley, Trumark Urban’s 27-unit Amero project in Cow Hollow, the 26-unit 870 Harrison in SoMa, the 33-unit 35 Dolores from Lightner Property Group and the 39-unit Millwheel project in the Dogpatch that started sales earlier this month.

In total, those projects represent a few hundred units — not much compared with Bosa Development’s 267-unit Arden in Mission Bay and Tishman Speyer’s 656-unit Lumina in Rincon Hill also launching sales in 2014. Still, smaller projects fill a niche in the market.

“These boutique properties bring new homes into more established neighborhoods,” said Paul Zeger, a principal with Polaris Pacific, a condo marketing and research firm. “The scale is designed to complement the existing streetscape and to engage the neighborhood amenities.”

Throughout the condo market, high buyer demand and low inventory are pushing up prices toward averages of more than $1,000 per square foot, far above developers’ projections when they entitled their sites.

In Hayes Valley, developers DDG and DM Development plan to launch sales this month at 8 Octavia, a building designed with a modern aesthetic also by Saitowitz. The developers began work on the project back in 2006 after city officials requested proposals for properties in the place of the former Central Freeway.

“Our interest in Hayes Valley was really the opportunity to try and transform a neighborhood,” said Mark MacDonald, principal with DM Development. “It is an exciting opportunity to take something that been sitting vacant for a longtime and bring something new and fresh.”

The developers of 8 Octavia are still finalizing their prices for the units, but expect them to be above $1,000 per square foot. The building has 32 two-bedrooms with the remaining 15 consisting of studios, one-bedrooms and three-bedrooms ranging from 400 to 1,800 square feet.

“I wish I could say we had the foresight to know we’d sell the units over $1,000 per square foot back in 2010,” MacDonald said.

The developers are also working on two other projects in Hayes Valley including 400 Grove, which is under construction, and 450 Hayes, which will start construction later this year. Combined with 8 Octavia, DM And DDG plan to deliver a total of 150 units in Hayes Valley by the end of 2015.

By 7x7 Editors

San Francisco, CA — DDG and DM Development broke ground today on 400 Grove, the second of three condominium projects planned for Hayes Valley by the development team. Designed by award-winning Fougeron Architecture, 400 Grove will introduce 34 residences at the corner of Grove and Gough Streets, continuing Hayes Valley’s rise as an active, walkable neighborhood.

“Hayes Valley is already one of San Francisco’s most desirable neighborhoods thanks to its human scale and eclectic mix of businesses,” said Mark MacDonald, co-founder of DM Development. “400 Grove extends that intimacy and energy northward, further fulfilling the city’s vision for the Market-Octavia area.”

By Hayden Dingman

In the second half of the 20th century, San Francisco began to emerge as an important cultural and economic center of the country. It was a time when the region gained its own prominence in creativity and design and started to influence not only the Western United States but also the nation as a whole. Today, the city by the bay is again creating a certain cultural gravitas as it exports its influential design more broadly across the globe, and its architecture will play an important role in that transition.

“We’re inspired by some of the great architecture in other cities both nationally and internationally and, I think, saw a great opportunity to bring some of that to San Francisco,” says Principal of DM Development Mark MacDonald.

DM Development, co-founded by MacDonald and Danielle Dignan, is quickly making a name for itself as the premier design-first firm in San Francisco. DM has partnered with DDG, another design-first real estate investment and development company based in New York and San Francisco, to bring about a trio of Hayes Valley projects that are utterly unlike the Victorian homes and Bay windows aesthetic for which the city is famous.

By J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Business Times

DM Development and DDG Partners are fast becoming the kings of condo development in Hayes Valley.

On July 11 the San Francisco-based boutique developer, along with New York-based collaborator DDG Partners, won unanimous approval for 450 Hayes St., a 41-unit project that is being designed by Glenn Rescalvo’s group at Handel Architects.

By Anna Marie Erwert, SFGate

Spurred by the red-hot demand for new housing, developers are moving into Hayes Valley in a big way. DM Development’s 8 Octavia Blvd complex will bring 49 new homes to the area; their 400 Grove St. project will add another 34; and their mixed-use development at 450 Hayes will include “50 high end homes” perched atop commercial space.

DM Development and DDG have begun construction on the anticipated condominium community 8 Octavia in Hayes Valley. 8 Octavia will further transform the Market-Octavia area that began its renaissance when the Central Freeway was torn down in 2002.  Designed by the award-winning Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects, 8 Octavia features 47 residences and serves as a welcome sign along Octavia Boulevard, the pedestrian-friendly corridor that replaced the Central Freeway.

“8 Octavia is another vital cornerstone of the Market-Octavia plan, and will be an integral asset to one of our most vibrant neighborhoods,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. “I’m thrilled to see it under way.”

“We wanted the building to have landmark qualities and fit into the fabric of the neighborhood,” says Mark MacDonald, co-founder of DM Development, who is working in partnership with DDG. “We believe Stanley’s design achieves both goals.”

Danielle Dignan, co-founder of DM Development, added “the building also incorporates important energy efficiency and sustainability features, including exterior louvers that allow residents to manage interior temperatures.”

8 Octavia is a public-transit-first community, with a central location near major BART and San Francisco Muni hubs, close to The Castro, The Mission, Duboce Triangle, Civic Center and the Mid-Market district.

By J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Business Times

The Ivy Street project, which will be completed in the fall, is the first of six market-rate projects in Hayes Valley that will start construction over the coming year, a burst of residential building that will bring 450 units and more than 1,000 new residents to the area. That is a lot of housing for an enclave that has added just 158 new condominium units over the past 10 years. The majority of the developments will be on formerly city-owned parcels along Octavia Boulevard that were freed up when the elevated Central Freeway was knocked down.

Three of the projects will be the work of San Francisco-based DM Development and its New York partner DDG Partners. The first of these will break ground next month: 8 Octavia, the Stanley Saitowitz-designed 48-unit project at Market and Octavia Streets. Then by next summer, DM Development plans to start work on 400 Grove, a 34-unit project that the Planning Commission approved on Jan. 31. Finally the company is hoping to win approvals this spring for 450 Hayes St., a 41-unit project being designed by Handel Architects. In addition, Equity Community Builders and Farrallon Capital Management are working on a 72-unit rental project that will be developed along with a new clubhouse for the Boys & Girls Club.

Finally, AvalonBay is pulling permits to build 180 rental units on Parcel P, the largest of the city-owned sites along Octavia Boulevard from the freeway demolition.

“There are a number of for-sale projects in Hayes Valley, but we think given how vibrant this neighborhood has become there will be strong demand for well-designed housing,” said Mark MacDonald, a partner with DM Development.

By Chris Ryan, San Francisco Magazine

Last summer, David Baker’s snappy zinc and lime green Richardson Apartments at Fulton and Gough ushered in a new era of architecture in Hayes Valley. Art has long been part of the neighborhood’s persona, but now it’s scaling new heights. Even playgrounds are looking slick, like WRNS Studio’s vibrant blue-paneled Hayes Valley Playground (Hayes and Buchanan sts.), complete with living roof. And this spring, revered architect Stanley Saitowitz’s latest residential project, 8 Octavia (it looks like a glowing iceberg with fins), will break ground on the corner of Page Street. “People here aren’t just accepting of avant-garde architecture—they’re pushing for it,” says 8 Octavia developer Mark MacDonald.

By John Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle

The Planning Commission Thursday unanimously approved plans for a 48-unit condominium development at 8 Octavia Blvd. that will include two ground-floor retail spaces along Market and Octavia. The buildings, which are stepped up from Octavia Boulevard, range in height from eight stories on Market Street to five stories on Haight Street.

By J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Business Times

DM Development, which already owns two Hayes Valley sites with New York-based DDG Partners, has taken control of a third in the neighborhood: Octavia Gateway at 8 Octavia St., which is slated for 51 units.

DM Development principal Mark MacDonald expects that 8 Octavia will be the first of the group’s trio of Hayes Valley projects to be built. The prior developer, AkS Development and Stanley Saitowitz’s Natoma Architects, had filed plans on the development. DM Development and DDG Partners are moving forward with the Saitowitz design.

“We are very excited about the building. It will be a gateway to San Francisco, one of the first buildings that anyone arriving from the 101 will see,” said MacDonald. “We hope that it will demonstrate that San Francisco has an openness and progressiveness when it comes to architecture.”

By J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Business Times

San Francisco residential development startup DM Development is betting its future on Hayes Valley.

The new company, founded in 2010 by Danielle Dignan and Mark MacDonald, has teamed up with boutique New York developer DDG Partners to pay a combined $8 million for two dirt parcels in Hayes Valley. The sites, 450 Hayes St. and 400 Grove St., could support a combined 85 units of housing.

By Robert Selna, Chronicle Staff Writer

A developer has agreed to pay several million dollars for property inherited by the city of San Francisco when the Central Freeway came down, suggesting the area's real estate is heating up again following a recessionary slump.

The two parcels sit between Octavia Boulevard and Gough Street, one on Hayes Street, the other two blocks north. As part of a city auction Oct. 26, the developer paid $5 million for one 17,000-square-foot plot and $3 million for another that is 11,000 square feet - more than the minimum bids of $4.4 million and $2.95 million, respectively, set by the city.

According to city officials, the buyer is DM Development. The company could not be reached for comment, but it is widely believed that it plans to build housing on the land.