Plans to replace a laundromat in the Mission with a new high-rise, mixed-use development are up for public review at a Planning Commission hearing later this month.

The development at 2918 Mission St. will tear down the 5,200 square-foot, one-story Wash Club Lavanderia and erect an eight-story mixed-use building with 75 residential units and 6,954 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

The laundromat's pending closure would be only the latest in an ongoing trend across the city, including the nearby shuttering of The Wash Quarters on 21st and Valencia St. in July.

The development would replace Wash Club Lavanderia and its neighboring parking lot. | Image via Google

The project site also encompasses a surface parking lot at 2924 Mission St. As currently proposed, the new development would not include any off-street vehicle parking spaces, but it would offer at least 90 bike parking spaces — 76 for residents and 14 for retail shoppers and tenants.

Project sponsor RRTI plans to seek the State Density Bonus to exceed the site’s density limits by up to 35 percent by offering up to 20 on-site affordable housing units.

The proposed ‘base project,’ which could be erected on site without the density bonus, would include 55 residential units, eight of which would be affordable at or below 50 percent of the city's average median income.

In the density bonus plan, the mix of units would be about 20 studios, 23 one-bedroom, and 32 two-bedroom units. A similar mix of sizes would be required for the affordable units.

The development would also include a mural on the northeast side designed with input from the neighborhood.

Last year and into this summer, there were ongoing debates regarding the history of the laundromat building, and whether it qualified the site for preservation.

As Mission Local reported in February, an appeal to the project pointed to the site's use in the 1970s and 1980s as a type of incubator space for community groups, including the Mission Housing Development Corporation and the Mission Child Care Consortium.

Even after the site was determined to not qualify for historic status, the Board of Supervisors in July voted to delay the development further, to analyze the span of the potential shadows cast across the neighborhood by the new development.

Developer Robert Tillman sued the city last month in response to the Board's action, calling it an abuse of discretion and seeking $17 million in damages, according to Mission Local.

Front view rendering of the proposed 2918 Mission St.

In the conditional use authorization application that will be considered by the Planning Commission later this month, the project sponsor is seeking some waivers to zoning code requirements, including private open space and dwelling unit exposure.

According to SF Planning documents, 22 of the proposed units would have private balconies, and a 750 square-foot common terrace area would be available on the second floor.

"For the remaining 53 units, 5,300 square feet of open space is required," according to the conditional use application filed with SF Planning. RRTI seeks a waiver from this additional open space requirement, in order to increase the density of residential units available on site.

The adjacent Osage Alley is used by a preschool, Mission Nursery Children’s Center, which will be involved in selecting the mural that adorns the wall facing the preschool, according to SF Planning documents.

SF Planning is expected to hear public comments on the proposed plan after 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 27, 2018 in room 400 of City Hall.