DM Development Expands Mixed-Use Project to 172 Units in San Francisco

DM Development, representing property owner Empire West Portal LLC, has submitted expanded plans for 85 West Portal Avenue in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood. The updated proposal replaces a vacant theater and an adjacent commercial parcel at 59 West Portal Avenue with a 12-story, 156-foot-tall mixed-use building containing 172 rental apartments, 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and a 36,950-square-foot basement garage.

The project grew from an initial 64-unit concept by incorporating the adjacent site and utilizing San Francisco's Family Zoning plan along with California Assembly Bill 1287 and Senate Bill 423. These density bonus and streamlining mechanisms allow the project to double its base residential density. The development will include 26 deed-restricted affordable units across a unit mix of 21 studios, 52 one-bedrooms, 72 two-bedrooms, and 27 three-bedrooms, plus parking for 89 vehicles and 127 bicycles.

Designed by Handel Architects, the 269,520-square-foot development will feature painted precast concrete and metal panel cladding, incorporating preserved elements of the theater facade. Developers and lenders should note how combining lot consolidation with state density stacking under AB 1287 significantly enhances urban infill yields.