Chris Elsey of Elsey Partners
Eighty-eight bunk beds placed in the basement levels of two proposed apartment buildings are included in project plans for San Francisco's Mission District.
- A developer is proposing new housing plans to the city of San Francisco that include 88 50-square-foot underground "sleeping pods."
- The pods, which are essentially bunk beds stacked together dormitory-style, will be located in windowless subterranean basement levels of two proposed apartment buildings in the Mission District.
- The pods would be priced between $1,000 and $1,375 with curtains instead of doors for privacy.
- The units are the latest alternative living setup to be presented to San Francisco to combat the city's housing shortage.
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A developer is proposing a housing project to the city of San Francisco that's a bit outside of the box.
The Kansas-based developer Chris Elsey of Elsey Partners, who runs the company with his twin brother, has plans to build two apartment buildings in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood, which will include 88 50-square-foot underground "sleeping pods" that are essentially bunk beds. The plans need to be approved by the San Francisco Planning Department before the developers can move forward to submitting a building application.
Elsey told Business Insider that he purchased two parcels, which are currently parking lots in the Mission. The buildings would be catty-corner from each other if they are built. The pods will exist in two windowless subterranean levels, in areas of apartment buildings that are usually designated for bike storage and other uses, Elsey told Business Insider.
"Obviously San Francisco has an affordability crisis and typically, below-grade spaces and buildings are used for accessory building uses - that's where the laundry facility or bike parking or vehicle parking, like those things go," Elsey said.
The "sleeping pods" would be priced at $1,000 to $1,375 and stacked bunk bed-style, with curtains in lieu of doors for privacy. On the building's ground level and above, 161 studio units, measuring 200-square-feet and with individual bathrooms and kitchens, will be priced between $2,000 and $2,375.
The prospect of micro-living isn't a novelty in San Francisco, where high housing demand, limited supply, high rent costs, and an influx of young professionals looking to jumpstart their careers have transformed what a living space can look like in the landlocked city - in this case, it's a bunk bed beneath the ground.
Here's what the "sleeping pods" and the apartment buildings would look like.