I was surprised driving by the new condos being built on the corner of Mission and Cesar Chavez.  The construction of these condos seems to be progressing quickly after a lot of controversy about the use of this site.  Neighborhood housing activists were trying to force the city to build affordable housing on this site.  The developer, who had already purchased the lot, just wanted approval from the city to develop the site. (History on the controversy at SocketSite and BeyondChron.)

The exterior of the building is unremarkable for San Francisco--I've seen much worse and I've also seen much more inspiring new buildings.  What was shocking about this building was the colors selected to paint the exterior.  One would think that using ugly colors (and ones that don't look good together) on the site of a former paint store should not be allowed by the citizens of San Francisco!  I am hoping that the condos are well designed and the interior color pallette is nicer.

When I lived in Boston, I spent many years living in the South End.  When I first moved in during the mid-1980s, the neighborhood was experiencing a bit of a transformation.  Some pioneers had moved into this sketchy neighborhood with blocks of beautiful brick row houses from the Victorian era.  By the time I moved in, the neighborhood was placed in the National Register of Historic Places and the South End Hysterical Society, as it was known, was formed.  They governed way too much.  I am not sure what their official capacities were, but a few people were granted way too much power by the City of Boston and the Planning Commission.  I remember going to a hearing to support a neighbor of mine.  He spent a year, and several hundred thousand dollars restoring a building on our block.  Unfortunately, he missed the memo, and he painted the windows the wrong shade of white.  Imagine my relief when I moved to San Francisco, and saw that not only did people tolerate many shades of white, but that we celebrated gray houses, purple houses and even green ones.

But these new condos?  Paint colors, not so good.