Put a new espresso machine in an old garage space, get a Blue Bottle contract, a good stereo system down the street from Moscone Center - will it work.
The urban feel is unmistakeable, just a block from a major freeway on ramp, this place might be exactly what can be afforded for a forever up-and-coming redevelopment area surrounded by new condo structures that are reminiscent of lower profile construction that is going on in every major redeveloped city that is booming with the idea that young professionals need a 900 square foot condo a ten minute walk from the downtown corporate towers that print their paychecks and pay off their student loans.
It is a brave new world in most downtowns. I even saw similar urban renewal in parts of Istanbul this summer, with designs for condo, and multi use six to eight story buildings replacing the older Ottoman tenements that seemed so common a hundred years ago. This part of San Francisco is no different, having been a hub for small workshops - glass, furniture, car repair, and a hefty number of welfare hotels that in recent years have mysteriously burned down. I end up in downtown Los Angeles about four times a year, and the scene is no different. The skid row of old is replete with 10-20 story condos - either converted apartments or newly built condos. The plan is simple - get rid of the older, 100 or so year old buildings in the low rent district and build something that seems to work for most people the first ten years of their professional life, fulfilling their dream to live in a bustling civic center, until they decide to family down. Welcome to south of Market.
The Blue Bottle Macchiatto was great. Gotta go. The constant, rhythmic hum of major traffic never ceased. A great stop if I wanted to escape Moscone for a convention day off for a quick cup of Blue Bottle.
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