The 'historic laundromat' found on the Mission District site of San Francisco finally has a new owner. The saga closed when Robert Tillman, the 13-year owner of the laundromat, closed a sale with Lawrence Lui of the Stanford Hotels group. According to Mission Local, the sale went for an amount suggested to be around $13.5 million.
Lui was not immediately available to disclose the details of the deal, but information on Robert Tillman revealed that the approval of the site was a five-year process. The place was being prepared for an eight-story, 75-unit building. These, however, has definitely upped the value of the property. It was the reason behind the amount agreed upon by both parties.
The purchase marks the final chapter in what had been dubbed a "planning and development" scandal that was revealed in the city of San Francisco. Faced by concerns about a 90-percent market drop surrounding the Mission, Tillman dared to build on his own terms, stubbornly disagreeing with various local groups about the Mission and the laundromat.
Another housing project is on the news for all the wrong reasons. According to Biz Journals, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission had rejected a project which was going to put a 63-unit complex at the1052-1060 Folsom St and 190-194 Russ St sites. There would also be a new mixed-use building to go along with it.
The problem with that is that the project would have encroached into a part of the Victoria Manalo Draves Park, which is a two-acre open space. It is located next to a public K-8 school, the Bessie Carmichael school. Dennis Richards, a Planning Commission member, said that it was wrong because the neighborhood is a low-income one, with the park being the only one located in the said neighborhood which the residents can enjoy.
The development happened and cited the case of the 2918 Mission St case, which is now in the hands of Lawrence Lui. During the time, the "historic laundromat" sale was vetoed following a 4-3 vote against the project. It was also going to 'shadow' a neighboring preschool, but it seems that things have since changed.
It appears that the "historic laundromat" created history for the wrong reasons as well. Tillman isn't exactly loved by the community, seeing his plans and this won't endear him to the neighborhood even more. Lui's sub-company, Cresleigh Development, will be in charge of the said project.
