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Comment by twakefield | Hacker News Reader

When I walk around SF, I see a lot of underdeveloped spaces...abandoned buildings, abandoned gas stations, huge parking lots full of city trucks. Inexplicably, there's been a huge abandoned building on 18th and Mission (seemingly prime location) for I don't know how long. This article about it is from 2012[1].

So, yes, SF is a small space but it is far from being efficiently (or fully) developed and I think the SF Planning Department and other bureaucracies are partially to blame.

[1] http://missionlocal.org/2012/07/el-chico-produce-store-to-op...

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I think you're exaggerating when you say you see "a lot" of these spaces. There are some. And they're usually vacant for a reason that involves money. Or there's a more serious problem (like contamination).

For example, the reason that space at 18th and Mission was vacant is right there in the article you linked -- the landlord pushed out the previous tenant, and turning it into a grocery store required extensive renovation. It's not as if the space was sitting empty because nobody had a use for it:

"So when the 99-cent store closed — because of high rent, according to neighboring businesses — and the vacant building went on the market in May 2010, he seized the opportunity and bought it two months later."

But yeah, it would have been nice if the new owner allowed someone else use the space while waiting for his redevelopment plans to go through, instead of letting squatters turn it into a drug house.

I agree, there are waaaaaay too many parking lots in SF. If you covered every parking lot in the city with a 4 story multi-use building, what impact would that have?

You'd make it impossible for people to come into the city to work and eat? Or even live there?

I forgot, "with at least one level of underground parking" so there's no net loss in parking spaces

That's incredibly expensive to build.

The ROI on the buildings wouldn't justify it?

It's not. And it is a common practice (or even required) in lots of cities with tight space (e.g. Barcelona).

Yeah, cities that are not in the active earthquake zone lovingly called The Ring of Fire. Remember, the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge cost 1 million per foot of road up to it.

Puzzle parking systems[1] can make it quite affordable.

[1]http://www.auto-parker.com/productDetail.aspx?Id=93&Name=PUZ...

How? You know have a 4 story building that you can sell?

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