Background

The SOMA Grand Garage, attached to the SOMA Grand luxury condos, is a mixed commercial/residential facility. With 500 spaces, the garage has reserved parking for 285 condo units, with the remaining spots dedicated to daily and monthly visitors to the neighborhood and local businesses, including an upscale restaurant on the ground level. The garage never closes, operating 24/7/365.

The property is in a challenging environment; a drug treatment center and homeless service centers/soup kitchens are nearby. While the area is transforming from its hardscrabble past of factories and warehouses to high-end restaurants and retail, the neighborhood still suffers from vandalism, burglary, graffiti, and other quality of life crimes.

The Challenge

When Marina Security Services assumed security operations, the garage was suffering from break-ins and stolen vehicles. Transients were lingering around the garage and the homeless were setting up encampments around the building. The methadone clinic a block away was bringing in drug users looking for a place to shoot up. Property ownership feared a loss of sales and bad publicity. Buyers of a luxury condominium with onsite spa services are hardly expected to confront such a negative environment right outside their front door. A security solution was needed to not only impact the building’s property line but also the neighborhood around it.

The Solution

Marina Security brought its senior staff and began immediate patrols of the garage to prevent further criminal activity. They analyzed neighborhood crime maps and expanded patrols from the garage area to include an overlap with the Federal Building and Trinity Plaza to promote a more secure environment.

Our management team met with the SOMA Grand residents to understand their concerns and make them feel more secure. Meetings were organized with the neighbors—Federal Building security team, Federal Protective Services (ICE) staff, Trinity Building ownership, SF Police Department—to develop joint security solutions to improve the neighborhood. Since Marina Security began service at SOMA Grand, there have been no incidents. The extended patrol perimeter creates a buffer zone between the neighborhood and the safe environment that our customers deserve