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San Francisco developer to build townhomes instead of urban farm

Group I president Joy Ou and a rendering of 770 Woolsey Street, San Francisco (Group I)

Group I rejected $15M offer from neighborhood group for historic greenhouses in the Portola District

The Real Deal
Oct 28, 2022

Excerpt:

A dream of planting an urban farm in San Francisco has died on the vine after the property owner decided to build homes instead.

San Francisco-based Group I rejected a $15 million offer for 2.2 acres of abandoned greenhouses at 770 Woolsey Street in the Portola District in favor of building 62 townhomes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Urban farm backers envisioned a cornucopia where neighbors could buy produce, children could learn about sustainable farming and the blue-collar neighbors cut off from much of the city by Interstate 280 and Highway 101 could gather.

Dave Gabriner, co-founder of the Greenhouse Project, said it raised $15 million to buy the site, the top price both sides had agreed on in an option deal two years ago that expires this month.

He said the $15 million was twice what Group I paid for the site in 2017. The money came from foundations, donors and the California Department of Natural Resources, which granted the group $6 million.

“It’s unbelievably disappointing that we couldn’t work out a deal,” Gabriner, a Berkeley firefighter, told the Chronicle.

Read the complete article here.