A Case Study of San Francisco's Evolution—at 10th and Mission

John King writes about a specific corner of San Francisco emblematic of the fundamental nature of the city's recent changes. According to King, "if one spot in the city convinces me that these changes run deeper than the usual cycles of boom and bust, it’s the corner of 10th and Mission streets."

"Here, at an intersection where the only real sign of life for decades was the procession of highway-bound automobiles, construction crews are at work on two squat housing towers that together will hold 325 residential units. Already to the north is NEMA, where a daunting 754 apartments opened a year ago and rental prices for a studio apartment start at $3,255."

One cause identified for the revitalization of 10th and Mission is the location of Twitter, which is now located at 10th and market. King notes, however, that affordable housing policies also had a hand in the overhaul of the intersection. "The spark that brought the corner to life wasn’t Twitter, or NEMA, but a gilt-edged project in another part of town: Lumina, a pair of luxury condominium towers now rising at the base of Rincon Hill. That project includes a requirement for 163 units of affordable condominiums, and developer Tishman Speyer approached TNDC about the 10th and Mission site."