Sleepy Sunset is Poised for a Boom

It's the largest district in S.F., but the Sunset has long been a suburban zone. That could soon be changing, and we sat down with Supervisor Katy Tang (D-4) at City Hall recently to find out the game plan.

Katy tells us she sees both sides of the equation across S.F., with some not wanting to see any more development and others eager to feed the strong demand. Historically, the western part of the city hasn't seen a lot of development, but she says there could be potential to build 1,000-plus more units in the area.

Katy has built support among her community’s residents and property owners for redevelopment of public and privately owned properties along commercial corridors and transit lines. The catch, of course, is she needs to get the word out to a wide audience of investors and developers. To accomplish this, Katy is calling in the help of OppSites CEO Ian Ross whose Oakland-based company highlights underexposed development opportunities that have local support. She hopes OppSites will help direct real estate professionals to sites where increased density supports her community’s vision. 

Luckily there's an influx of younger families, Katy says, and that means they're more receptive to development. And she's not touching more than 85% of the district, but instead concentrating building along the four major transit corridors. Also a perk: She's not altering height limits, but instead looking at where the existing planning code allows for more density. "You have no idea where you can build up 10 stories on Irving," she says. "Or go up four stories at a 7-11." Construction is a goal across the city, with Mayor Ed Lee wanting to see 30,000 new and rehabilitated homes throughout the city by 2020.