Without retail Mission Bay missing neighborhood feel

Fourth Street in Mission Bay has been billed as the emerging neighborhood's answer to Cortland Avenue in Bernal Heights or Clement Street in the Richmond.

But five years after the first residential tower opened at 1201 Fourth St., residents of the new San Francisco neighborhood still have no place to buy an apple, a pair of socks or a half-gallon of milk - never mind a steak or a bottle of Pinot Noir.

Retail specialists say it's the old chicken-before-the-egg conundrum. Few savvy retailers - except the sort of national chains that nobody in the neighborhood wants there - have the patience and money needed to build businesses before the neighborhood fills out.

But as residents grab new units in Mission Bay as quickly as they become available, some are starting to question whether Fourth Street will ever offer the eclectic mix of working, living and shopping that animates a city neighborhood - while others see a brighter future.

"I'm concerned about" Fourth Street, said Retail West Partner Matt Holmes, who represents retailers ranging from startups to Whole Foods. "I see retail spaces sitting in the shadow of these large buildings, without difference or distinction. They look like office buildings that have drooped down to the street."

Mission Bay South - a neighborhood bordered by Mission Creek to the north, 16th Street to the south, the bay to the east and the Caltrain tracks to the west - now has 1,497 completed housing units. About 90 percent of these are occupied. There are 575 rental units, 491 condos and 431 UCSF student housing units. An additional 1,045 units are under construction, including 149 affordable units, 263 condominiums and 633 market-rate rentals.

It's likely that within the next 12 months Mission Bay South will have between 4,000 and 5,000 residents. That is in addition to a $1.6 billion UCSF hospital, opening in 2015, and a corporate roster that includes Old Navy, FibroGen and Cisco.

But retailer brokers say some relief may be on the way.

Los Angeles-based Primo Hospitality Group is moving ahead with a 7,500-square-foot cafe and marketplace in Channel Mission Bay, a 315-unit apartment community being built at the corner of Channel and Fourth Street.

Primo operates two cafes in Los Angeles, one in Hollywood and one downtown. Both offer an extensive menu: salads, pizzas, gelatos, wraps, frittatas, crepes, rice bowls and smoothies.

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Without retail Mission Bay missing neighborhood feel