San Francisco

San Francisco's 'Historic Laundromat' Project Finally Begins Construction

Activists were able to block an apartment project in the city's Mission District by raising an increasingly ridiculous set of objections.

Christian Britschgi | 8.18.2026 3:40 PM

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Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week, we take a look at the final chapter in the long-running development battle over San Francisco's "historic laundromat."

'Historic Laundromat' Project Finally Begins Construction

When I first interviewed Robert Tillman about his effort to convert his laundromat in San Francisco's Mission District into a 75-unit apartment building in 2018, he quipped that "it's taken me longer to get to this point than it took for the United States to win World War II."

At that point, he'd already spent four years in the entitlement process and close to $1 million on predevelopment costs.

Rent Free Newsletter by Christian Britschgi. Get more of Christian's urban regulation, development, and zoning coverage.

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Eight years on from that interview, and 12 years since Tillman initially proposed apartments on the site, the 75-unit project is finally beginning construction.

Observed on my afternoon run:........

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