This 69,600-square-foot retail and office mixed-use project will breathe new life and opportunity to the prominent corner of Grant Avenue and Sutter Street. 300 Grant is inspired by, and transcends from, this visual past. While the original buildings held no historic significance and were demolished, the site is located within San Francisco’s Kearny/Market/Mason/Sutter Conservation District. The forthcoming ground-up building is designed to complement the surrounding architecture, yet stand out as a distinct and unique structure within the vibrant district. Grant achieves the goals set forth in the conservation district by developing a design that is both contemporary and cutting edge while simultaneously adhering to the classical proportions so prevalent in the neighborhood. In 2004, the original developers commissioned design studies for this site, located on the edge of San Francisco’s historic retail district of Union Square. Over the last sixteen years, the changing of hands, changing of design direction, and changing of the San Francisco economy molded the building’s potential future. In 2014, the new owners restarted the project, envisioning a mixed-use retail and commercial office that would stay below the high-rise life safety requirements of the building code and welcome retail and technology company tenants. The six-story building will house three levels of office space above three floors of prime retail space in the city’s premier shopping destination. Floor-to-ceiling windows will bathe the interiors with natural light while horizontal scrim with a terra cotta finish wrapped around the top four floors will provide a sense of privacy and sunlight diffusion. In an effort to meld the public realm with the private sector, the formerly underutilized side alley, Harlan Place, will be transformed into a publicly-accessible parklet complete with permanent and temporary seating and a wind-generated public art component created by a local artist.