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peanut gallery
Aug 27, 2009, 4:15 PM
OK, but why hasn't anyone seemed to care about any of the history of this building in all this time? It has just sat there vacant and boarded up for years. Further, if it is decided to preserve it for historical reasons, then what? Will it be turned into a museum? Used as a labor hall again? If so, where is the proposal and, more importantly, the money to pay for it?

Even though this building has almost zero architectural value, I'd love to see it preserved for historical reasons if it could be done in a way that improves on what it is today. However, it is far more likely that Hines' proposal will be blocked and it will continue to sit there being an empty ugly nothing for as long as I can envision.

SFView
Aug 27, 2009, 4:21 PM
Can LEED Platinum buildings have {{gasp}} parking? :D

For bikes ;)

Yes. LEED credits can be awared by including at least half of the parking spaces undergound, within a building, or under a roof or deck. An extra point can be given if 100% of the parking is under cover. Other LEED credits can be awarded for providing parking for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles for at least 3% of the full-time estimated building occupants, or 5% of the total parking; alternative-fuel refueling stations for at least 3% of the parking; preferred parking for carpools or vanpools for 5% of the estimated full-time building occupants; and/or bike racks for at least 5% of the estimated amount of building peak users for commercial or institutional buildings.

BTinSF
Aug 27, 2009, 4:28 PM
Even though this building has almost zero architectural value, I'd love to see it preserved for historical reasons if it could be done in a way that improves on what it is today. However, it is far more likely that Hines' proposal will be blocked and it will continue to sit there being an empty ugly nothing for as long as I can envision.

Turn it into a museum of the strike (and which "preservationist" wants to pay for that?) or let Hines have it. San Francisco is full of old buildings in which interesting things happened. But interesting events don't make an interesting building if the building itself has already been extensively altered or is allowed to deteriorate or sit abandoned.

I'm calling this for what it is. A scam to block development . . . any excuse will do. Put a plaque out front like the other historical plaques along the Embarcadero. But you can't shrink wrap 1930s (or 1900s or 1840s) San Francisco.

SFView
Aug 27, 2009, 4:42 PM
OK, but why hasn't anyone seemed to care about any of the history of this building in all this time? It has just sat there vacant and boarded up for years. Further, if it is decided to preserve it for historical reasons, then what? Will it be turned into a museum? Used as a labor hall again? If so, where is the proposal and, more importantly, the money to pay for it?

Even though this building has almost zero architectural value, I'd love to see it preserved for historical reasons if it could be done in a way that improves on what it is today. However, it is far more likely that Hines' proposal will be blocked and it will continue to sit there being an empty ugly nothing for as long as I can envision.

By nature, preservationists will find anything possible to support their cause. Personally, I agree that the proposed building will have much more architectural value and interest than the building that it would replace. Furthermore, with another similar height building already at the south end of the block, the proposed building should not be as out of place in height as some claim. Perhaps, some sort of museum can be placed in the new building as well.

Gordo
Aug 27, 2009, 6:26 PM
I was walking down 3rd St last week and passed a building where I noticed a plaque commemorating the place where Jack London was born (hadn't noticed the plaque before). The building that he was born in was long gone, but the plaque was big, metal, had several sentences about the importance of the site, and caused several people who were clearly tourists to stop and read it. I can't see any reason why something exactly like this plaque couldn't be sufficient to commemorate the history of the union hall.

San Frangelino
Aug 27, 2009, 10:11 PM
http://www.saitowitz.com/portfolio.html
Natoma architects has come interesting new projects listed at their website.

peanut gallery
Sep 2, 2009, 8:49 PM
Remember that John King article awhile back suggesting temporary developments on entitled lots that aren't going to get built anytime soon? Well, there's an actual proposal for one that the mayor's office is behind. From CurbedSF today (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/02/whoa_hayes_green_lots_getting_juiced_with_temporary_retail.php#reader_comments):

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2433/3881076387_af4b11904d_o.jpg

Whoa: Hayes Green Lots Getting Juiced With Temporary Retail
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
by Andy J. Wang

Perhaps fed up with the forever empty lots that sit where the Central Freeway used to stand, the Mayor's Office has dialed up architecture firm envelope Architecture+Design to put together temporary structures on Octavia fronting the Hayes Green. The mixed-use project, which encompasses retail, food, galleries, and gardens, is collectively called "proxy," and is kind of a long-term pop-up retail idea— two to three years goes the thinking. In the meantime, the urban fabric is restored "through a combination of frame, fabric, mesh, wall and volume," all eco-friendly and local and sustainable no doubt. Note also the same firm (which participated in Slow Food Nation not so long ago) has a mixed-use live/work project also on Octavia, though its readiness is also no doubt subject to the big bad economy, just as the Hayes Green lots are. So when does "The Sound of Music" screen?

More renderings at the link. The Sound of Music reference is related to one of them.

BTinSF
Sep 4, 2009, 7:00 PM
Hope Yet for Rincon Hill's 201 Folsom St

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_09_201folsom.jpg
Super old rendering of 201 Folsom, seen here with Infinity design pre-Arquitectonica intervention, via SF New Developments

A pretty old project, 201 Folsom St, is coming out of the woodwork today to get its construction entitlement extended. The project, not unlike much of Rincon Hill in its modern heyday, consists of two residential towers, 350 and 400 feet above an 80-foot podium. It'll have a total of up to 725 units, plus commercial space below. 'Course, it was no small feat that developer Tishman Speyer was able to finish and top off its second tower at the Infinity (see: One Rincon Hill)— and as their reps themselves said, it'll be a good several years before another comparable project will come to market. At least. So it should be no surprise that the neighboring block to the west should be seeking a little bit of a break. Let's see if they'll get it, terms intact, as neighborhood peeps speak out against what they see as parking space overload and "special" zoning. So then, what to do about this empty lot?
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/03/hope_yet_for_rincon_hills_201_folsom_st.php#reader_comments

I'll take this project seriously again when I see a redesign a la Infinity. We all know they aren't going to build the thing pictured above looking like that.

BTinSF
Sep 4, 2009, 7:05 PM
Glass and Steel Land on Historic Brick in South Beach

A slightly bigger 178 Townsend was approved yesterday for the former warehousey area near AT&T Park. The building, developed by Martin Building and designed by Ian Birchall and Associates Architecture, consists of a new six-story building "inserted" within the footprint of an existing brick one, should fit right in with its surrounding (88 Townsend just down the street does exactly the same thing). One planning commissioner did express reservations with the design (largely unchanged from what you see above), saying it represents little more than a facade-ectomy of the current building. Still, it got the thumbs up, with promises to finesse — "model and modulate" — the look a bit more. Some bullet points: 62 feet, 94 units (14 below market-rate), 45 at-grade parking spaces, all-rental, LEED Gold, a day care center, and a "premier retail area" on the ground floor somewhere. The high proportion of affordable units and all-rental approach are designed to grease the tax-credit cogs. Savvy, they are.

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2527/3887540124_6658efb683_o.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2449/3887540188_b5f1f73a1f_o.jpg


Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/04/glass_and_steel_land_on_historic_brick_in_south_beach.php?o=1

I like some facadism--including this.

peanut gallery
Sep 4, 2009, 7:36 PM
I think that would look awesome.

201 Folsom will likely be the parking lot it is for quite awhile. Don't you think we're more likely to see ORH2 or maybe even 45 Lansing before Infinity's cousin?

rocketman_95046
Sep 4, 2009, 8:02 PM
I think that would look awesome.

201 Folsom will likely be the parking lot it is for quite awhile. Don't you think we're more likely to see ORH2 or maybe even 45 Lansing before Infinity's cousin?

I could see 201 Folsom go rental. If that were the case, it may happen earlier than the other two.

peanut gallery
Sep 4, 2009, 8:09 PM
Good point! It's worked in Mission Bay.

BTinSF
Sep 8, 2009, 5:36 PM
201 Folsom: Three More Years To Contemplate And Start Construction

http://www.socketsite.com/201%20Folsom%20Old.jpg

Tishman Speyer has been granted a 3 year extension to start construction on two approved residential towers of “350 and 400 feet above an 80-foot podium, with up to 725 dwelling units, 750 off-street parking spaces, 38,000 square feet of commercial space, and 272 replacement off-street parking spaces for the adjacent USPS facility” at 201 Folsom.

And yes, the placeholder rendering above is rather old.
Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/09/201_folsom_three_more_years_to_contemplate_and_start_co.html

BTinSF
Sep 8, 2009, 5:54 PM
Extra S.F. skyscrapers a mixed blessing
John King Chronicle Urban Design Critic
Sunday, September 6, 2009

If all had gone according to plan, construction cranes still would hover above San Francisco, erecting towers where no towers had gone before.

Instead, for the next few years we'll be contemplating a much different scene: a life-size reminder that skylines are like cities - they grow in fits and starts, and never according to plan.

Viewed from this perspective, San Francisco's four newest and tallest condominium towers aren't simply shafts that scrape the sky. They're cultural markers showing us how downtown is intended to grow - up and out, glassy and sleek. That's the vision of planners and politicians who in the early years of this decade loosened city zoning to allow as many as 15 residential high-rises to emerge from the long-neglected blocks between the Bay Bridge and the Financial District.

What we also see, unfortunately, is the challenge of architecture writ large - the difficulty of getting things right both on the ground and in the air, and the complexity of trying to shift a city's scale without bending it out of shape.

One rincon stands out

The most visible newcomer is 590-foot One Rincon, set atop the summit of Rincon Hill alongside the Bay Bridge. The Millennium Tower at Mission and Fremont streets is taller still at 645 feet, though less prominent, given its location on the edge of the Financial District.

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2009/08/20/ba-mag0906_tower_0500503136.jpg

By comparison, the largest completed complex is modest: the Infinity, a pair of 371- and 421-foot high-rises shaped like suave clovers in aqua-green glass, set one block inland from the Embarcadero on Folsom Street.

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2009/08/20/cm-mag0906_tower_0500503487.jpg

The Infinity offers the fullest sense of what the future might hold for the Rincon Hill and Transbay neighborhoods mapped out by planners in the early years of the decade.

The two clovers - accented by zipper-like processions of balconies - seem to levitate above eight-story bases framed by boxy steel bays. The base forms a solid wall along Folsom Street, lightened by a tall ground floor that will house a restaurant, but it pulls open on Main and Spear streets to allow pedestrians to stroll through a flowing plaza of futurist cool designed by San Francisco's Hargreaves Associates.

The plaza has two levels linked by a black-granite wall that's terraced to allow easy seating, cut by skylights that illuminate a health club below. Metal benches curve around steep vine-shrouded hillocks.

Contemporary chic

Most definitely this is not Herb Caen's San Francisco, and the air of contemporary chic is sure to put off many longtime San Franciscans. But the Infinity ties into its surroundings with a genuinely inviting urbanity, albeit global and glassy in feel.

The problem with the Infinity is that it doesn't know when to stop.

Don't blame the buildings; the development team of Union Property Capital and Tishman Speyer Properties, abetted by Heller Manus Architects, persuaded the city in 2003 to bend neighborhood zoning and allow two towers 82 feet apart. The Rincon Hill plan approved the next year requires 115 feet of separation, as well as towers that are more slender than this pair.

The real-life impact? From many angles the clovers blur into a wall. Two sinuous forms become one broad slab.

And that's exactly what shouldn't occur near the water, in a part of town low-slung until now. This is tacitly acknowledged by Bernardo Fort-Brescia, whose firm Arquitectonica updated the original Heller Manus towers, softening edges and trading glass for concrete.

"I wanted to make the sky flow around the buildings," says Fort-Brescia. "I was trying to strive for less mass."

Missing a twin tower

One Rincon has a different quandary: one tower too few.

The approved project includes the completed tower, now perched in slender isolation at the end of First Street with freeway ramps on two sides and the bridge on the third. Facing west the tower has a bowed form, the verticality emphasized by an elongated aluminum grid; the east-facing facade is flat and nearly all glass. At the Fremont and Harrison corner of the site, an empty lot awaits a 540-foot twin that will be set at a diagonal from its predecessor and, being downhill, will appear 10 stories shorter.

Each of the buildings will soar above anything else allowed in the Rincon Hill district. But here, unlike the Infinity, a developer didn't lobby to bend the rules. Just the opposite: Urban West Associates submitted a design by architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz for towers of 330 and 280 feet. It was city planners who recommended the boost, taking their cue from San Francisco's long-established urban design goal of using buildings to reinforce the topography.

The extra height on Folsom Street, in essence, led to extra height at the top of Rincon Hill.

When (if?) the economy improves and the aesthetic composition is completed, One Rincon won't seem so visually disruptive or out of place. In the meantime, we're left with a rail-thin spike that has been likened to a tall air purifier - a comment snarky but apt.

Compared with One Rincon or the Infinity, Millennium Tower's path was clear. It's at a corner reserved since 1985 for a high-rise; across the street, the new Transbay Terminal is to be accompanied by a skyscraper as high as 1,000 feet.

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2009/08/20/ba-mag0906_tower_0500503024.jpg

Here bravado makes sense, and Handel Architects fashioned San Francisco's most sculptural thrust since the Transamerica Pyramid. Clad in milky blue glass, the Millennium is an upward slice with the northeast and southwest corners notched back to make the tower fold in on itself, culminating in a crystalline crown.

Another optical illusion comes from the aluminum fins that ascend the facade in two diagonal strokes. Viewed straight on they disappear, making the Millennium seem all glass; elsewhere they're as emphatic as a lightning bolt.

Deal trumps design

As skyscraper art this is all good fun - a jolt of drama in a transition zone with too many dull boxes. But the ground-level experience is hobbled by another peril facing projects this size: The deal takes precedence over design.

The complex approved in 2003 was an ambitious mix. Developer Millennium Partners intended for the lower floors to contain a hotel and the upper ones condominiums, while an 11-story annex to the east would hold offices. The different populations would meet in a sky-lit atrium on Mission with a staircase leading to an open-air plaza, both spaces open to the public.

But big deals need big loans, and what finally opened this spring is a conventional package of 491 condominiums that start on the third floor. The hotel didn't pencil out. The "offices" instead are high-ceilinged flats.

The atrium remains - but with no reason for anyone to go inside, it's a cul-de-sac rather than a crossroads.

Another change: Because the entire tower is residential, the second floor is dedicated to mechanical systems hidden behind a metal grill, horizontal and tight.

The issue here isn't that the windowless grill presses down on the ground-floor retail space, a clumsy counterpart to the tower's lithe skyline presence; design details go astray in every building. But when a structure is this large - filling a block along Mission Street - any flaw is magnified.

That's true of all three projects, and all the residential high-rises yet to come.

In districts where several buildings jostle each other on each block, missteps are fine. They become part of the urban mix; the collision of layers is part of the appeal.

But when every newcomer aspires to icon status, there's less room for error. Towers need to command the skyline, they need to enliven the street and they need to know their place.

That's not an easy balancing act, but it's the bar that planners, developers and architects should strive for.

Especially here.

San Francisco isn't like other cities, where the ravages of urban renewal and suburban flight have hollowed the landscape. Even those cities that have staged a comeback often remain terrains you navigate by car, not on foot. Towers sit atop exposed garages or behind parking lots.

But San Francisco, for all its shortcomings, remains a city to be savored step by step, moment by moment. Neighborhoods are defined by their street life. The best ones are richly textured, with visual surprises and unexpected twists. They're places where you want to be, whether you live there or not.

New buildings and districts can add another rich layer to the experience. But we need to keep our standards high. Because with buildings this large, the stakes are high as well.

One Rincon

Address: 425 First St.

The basics: 60 stories, 376 condominiums, no retail or public space. An additional 52-story tower is planned.

Architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates

Skybit: The completed tower in 2008 was selected as one of the world's 28 best new high-rises by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Millennium tower

Address: 301 Mission St.

The basics: 60 stories, 419 condominiums, Michael Mina's RN74 wine bar and a small public atrium.

Architect: Handel Architects

Engineer: Desimone Consulting Engineers

Skybit: At 645 feet, this is the tallest residential tower west of Chicago. It is the only one of the three projects fully designed by San Francisco architects.

The infinity

Address: 338 Spear St.

The basics: 35 and 40 stories, 650 condominiums, a large public plaza. A restaurant by Boulevard's Nancy Oakes opens next year.

Architect: Arquitectonica with Heller-Manus Architects

Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates

Skybit: One of Arquitectonica's early towers, the Atlantis, appears in the opening credits of "Miami Vice."

E-mail John King at jking@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/06/CMAM196MDM.DTL

peanut gallery
Sep 9, 2009, 1:05 AM
ORH is taller than 590'. Isn't it just a little shorter than Millennium? And what's up with the colors in the Chronicle's photos? Millennium is pretty close but the other two are way off.

King's right about his Millennium critique. The street level experience is not great (although it would be fair to wait for retail to move in to make a final judgement of that) and the public atrium is pointless. I walk past it everyday and no one is ever in it. It leads to nowhere and there is nothing in there to draw people to itself so it goes unused.

AndrewK
Sep 9, 2009, 7:24 AM
pretty sure the official height of orh is 641.

BTinSF
Sep 10, 2009, 7:49 AM
I'm posting this photo here because I love it so much and nobody ever looks at the "Completed Buildings" section:

http://www.socketsite.com/555%20Mission%20at%20Night.jpg
Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/09/555_mission_update.html

peanut gallery
Sep 10, 2009, 11:17 PM
I loved seeing that on SccketSite too. It's one of the last renderings before they actually built the thing. I just realized they ended up doing the crown slightly differently. The finished crown is the same height all the way around, whereas this had it step down on the southwestern corner.

BTinSF
Sep 13, 2009, 8:46 AM
The hole at the corner of Golden Gate & Polk where the SFPUC building will hopefully start going up soon is getting pretty deep--looks to me about 3 stories--and they appear to be leveling off the bottom as if it isn't going any deeper. I took these last Sunday when nobody was working (but I didn't get around to posting them until now):

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x128/BSTJr/IMG_0264.jpg?t=1252831415

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x128/BSTJr/IMG_0265.jpg?t=1252831492

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x128/BSTJr/IMG_0260.jpg?t=1252831552

BTinSF
Sep 13, 2009, 11:39 PM
:previous: It seems I was right. They've dumped some gravel on that ramp of dirt going into the pit to stabilize it and they've taken away all the heavy equipment. So I guess the excavation is over.

I previously posted the reporting that the Board of Supes approved construction of the new building, but I'm guessing that means at least a few months delay while they bid out the contracts, order materials and so on. During that period, I guess we'll have just a hole.

WonderlandPark
Sep 14, 2009, 1:43 AM
Good god, is ORH 641' or 590'? Wasn't this settled a while ago?

SFView
Sep 14, 2009, 3:51 PM
:previous: I thought it was. ORH height: First floor to top, or entry level to top - you pick...

BTinSF
Sep 14, 2009, 7:43 PM
Hayes Valley Affordable Housing Scores $10M in Stimulus

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2624/3910929976_f69cc64b6c_o.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3522/3910930032_50ff8d29c4_o.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3137/3910930052_e791044e29_o.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2480/3910147717_dcd6000026_o.jpg

Federal stimulus dollars are headed toward one of the old Central Freeway parcels, an affordable housing project on the southeast corner of Fulton and Gough. According to City Insider, $10 million will be funneled to Parcel G, which will become a David Baker-designed, five-story building with 120 studios for low-income, formerly homeless people, plus "community serving" retail on the ground floor. Note the courtyard and open-air stairs. Trés L.A.!
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/11/hayes_valley_affordable_housing_scores_10m_in_stimulus.php?o=1

"Tres L.A."? Maybe. But it resembles old-style high rise public housing a little too much for my taste.

BTinSF
Sep 14, 2009, 7:52 PM
SoMa Grand Team Has Another Lovechild On the Way

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2630/3919792777_1a68e7077b_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3441/3919792725_2dc0cd0f4b_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3440/3920576436_563c3259d6_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2466/3920576508_b8d9cd7aeb_o.png

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2441/3920576636_cc0e180ec0_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2474/3920576340_529d2789e6_o.png

Last week saw a step forward for a major project comprising a total of 450 new residential units at Folsom and 5th, just a couple blocks from the Intercontinental Hotel. Currently a parking lot between Folsom and Clementina, and a warehouse just north of Clementina, a proposal last year would have leveled all of it to put in two brand new 9-story buildings. However, determining the warehouse to be contributing to a historic area, the development team decided instead to keep the warehouse and propose adaptively reusing it instead (gluing new stuff on the old, SoMa-style). The team, AGI Capital Group and Architecture International— the same one that brought us SoMa Grand at 1160 Mission— presented the project at 900 Folsom and 260 5th as it stands to the Planning Commission on Thursday. As yet, there's no approval or disapproval, and the project, as you can see above, appears to still be evolving. And quite fond of pastel colors.
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/14/soma_grand_team_has_another_lovechild_on_the_way.php?o=1

Jerry of San Fran
Sep 14, 2009, 11:51 PM
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/11/hayes_valley_affordable_housing_scores_10m_in_stimulus.php?o=1

"Tres L.A."? Maybe. But it resembles old-style high rise public housing a little too much for my taste.

I am always amazed at the so-called low income housing in San Francisco. I consider myself to be low income but never qualify for housing.

BT - it is public housing. Former street people are not likely to be able to pay the full price for the studios.

I would like to have seen more upscale housing in Hayes corridor, being that the neighborhood is somewhat chic now.

BTinSF
Sep 15, 2009, 2:20 AM
I am always amazed at the so-called low income housing in San Francisco. I consider myself to be low income but never qualify for housing.

BT - it is public housing. Former street people are not likely to be able to pay the full price for the studios.

I would like to have seen more upscale housing in Hayes corridor, being that the neighborhood is somewhat chic now.

They definitely won't be paying full price. But I wasn't referring to the reality but to the design. The building LOOKS like some of the old high rise housing we tore down (except shorter).

BTinSF
Sep 18, 2009, 9:24 AM
I believe this project qualifies for a thread as a "highrise" but I won't yet start one without the actual facts on height, number of floors etc. If anybody has them, please do the honors.

Still, it'll be nice to have a new tall one under construction in SF again:


Cathedral Hill Hotel Will Be a Hospital in 5 Years

The yellowing Cathedral Hill Hotel on the corner of Van Ness and Geary's scheduled to close forever on Oct. 31, paving the way for California Pacific Medical Center to get the wheels turning on their brand-new Cathedral Hill Hospital. The CPMC, who unabashedly says in its Facebook tagline it's the "coolest hospital in SF, possibly the country and even the world!", will tear down the hotel and put up a $1.7 billion, 555-bed acute and women and children's care hospital, designed by architecture firm SmithGroup. Across the street will go a smaller medical office building, which means the days are numbered also for those furniture liquidators and Peruvian restaurant Fina Estampa. The hospital will be shooting for a LEED Silver rating, and CPMC's looking at a late 2014 or early 2015 opening.

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3467/3928588343_84ae12fb3f_o.png

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2455/3928588311_e4d3fb3156_o.png

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2423/3929371906_9ca8f60cb8_o.png


Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/17/cathedral_hill_hotel_will_be_a_hospital_in_5_years.php?o=1

San Frangelino
Sep 18, 2009, 3:26 PM
via: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/09/21/story2.html?b=1253505600^2118941

Friday, September 18, 2009
November ballot measure seen as pivotal to Mid-Market area's improvement
David Addington’s vision hinges on fall vote
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

The owners of the Mission District restaurant Foreign Cinema plan to open a three-level, 255-seat eatery in the long-vacant Warfield office building at 988 Market St., the latest in a series of leases bringing a glimmer of hope to a long-depressed stretch of Market Street.

For Mid-Market impresario David Addington, who owns the Warfield Theater as well as 988 Market St. and 1020-1028 Market St., this would be the third recent deal on the troubled block. In July, Addington opened Show Dogs, a gourmet sausage and beer cafe at 1020-1028 Market St., in partnership with the Foreign Cinema owners. Last week, he signed a 15,000-square-foot lease at 1020-1028 Market St. with Dick Blick’s Art Supplies, an Illinois-based national retailer that will move from its current location on Van Ness Avenue.

“It was a strip club, a porno store, and a pot store. Now we have a national art supply — that is a big step in the right direction,” said Addington.

Addington hopes the leases reflect Mid-Market momentum that will help build support for Proposition D, an initiative on the November ballot that would create a special sign district for 52 buildings along two blocks of Market Street between Fifth and Seventh streets.

A former retail developer in Georgia, Addington moved to San Francisco in 2003 to attend law school. He soon was drawn to the seedy edge of the Tenderloin, where he saw potential in the bones of the rundown theaters that had thrived there until the 1970s. In 2005, he bought the Warfield Theater and office building for $12 million and also snapped up 1028 Market St. for an undisclosed price. The property is assessed at $6.8 million, according to city records.

The new Warfield restaurant, in which Addington is a partner, will also be a big investment. Addington, who is financing the build-out of the space, said it would include a basement level speakeasy-style bar, which will be connected to the Warfield Theater, as well as outdoor seating atop a steel-plated canopy 18 feet above the street.

The restaurant and other businesses would potentially get a boost if Prop. D passes. The initiative would amend a 2002 ballot measure that banned new general advertising in the city and allow property owners to create a network of digital signs that could generate money to restore Mid-Market’s historic theaters, create a ticket booth at the Powell Street turnaround and fund arts education in the Tenderloin. The measure has the support of six supervisors, including Board President David Chiu, but is opposed by advocacy group SF Beautiful.

Both the Warfield Theater and the Golden Gate Theater opened in 1922 and San Franciscans flocked to movie palaces like Market Street Cinema and the Lesser Nickelodeon, both of which now operate as strip clubs. The street started to decline in the 1960s when a beautification law forced building owners to remove signage and suffered even more during the long construction of BART in the 1970s. Addington said recent focus on the neighborhood from City Hall and the police department is helping.

“The police are here in a big way, the city is in here in a big way, and Prop. D is a game changer,” said Addington. “Prop. D will change this neighborhood back to what it was in 18 or 24 months, and people from all over the world will be drawn here because you won’t see anything we do here anywhere else in the world.”

If enough tourists are drawn west down Market Street, eventually there will be enough visitors to justify converting adult business like the Market Street Cinema back to a regular theater.

“The biggest difficulty in talking to tenants is how do I get people at Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom and the cable car turnaround to know I’m here and walk a few blocks,” said Addington. “The truth of the matter is for most retailers you can’t do it today.”

Market Street Association President Carolyn Diamond, who is a sponsor of Prop. D, called the proposition, along with the Addington’s restaurants, “a first step.” But she cautioned that this is not the first time she has been optimistic about the neighborhood before having her hopes dashed.

“It takes somebody to lead that parade, and you hope the rest of the band will follow,” said Diamond. “People have had great ideas over the years, and were not able to make them reality.”

peanut gallery
Sep 18, 2009, 4:39 PM
BT - I don't have any confirmed info but looking at the rendering, it appears to be about 15 floors. I think that would be in the ballpark of the 200' level.

BTinSF
Sep 18, 2009, 5:34 PM
I think it's more than 15. The section at the corner of Geary and Van ness appears to be 15 (counting floors in the rendering) but the other section seen in the first rendering seems to stick up another couple of floors. I think I remember reading it was going to be something like 20 or 21 but I could be wrong.

WildCowboy
Sep 18, 2009, 6:21 PM
Looks like 290 feet:

http://www.cpmc.org/plans/links/0810Info_CH2.pdf

peanut gallery
Sep 18, 2009, 8:06 PM
There you go. It's well over 200' and thus qualifies for its own thread.

peanut gallery
Sep 18, 2009, 8:07 PM
BTW, I meant to mention that I think it's pretty slick looking, especially for a hospital.

BTinSF
Sep 19, 2009, 3:06 AM
Thanks to WildCowboy I'm going to go ahead with a thread then with what we know.

BTinSF
Sep 19, 2009, 3:47 AM
Remember CityPlace? It's Still Coming to Market Street

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_09_cityplace.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3066/2659191554_64ac1dd3a7_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3264/2658365035_16f227e8d7_o.png

Speaking of Mid-Market transformations, don't forget CityPlace, the five-story mall headed for the bombed out site of St. Francis Theatre at 965 Market St (more pictures here). The project's website, by now getting pretty crusty, still says, "If City approvals are secured in a timely fashion, construction on the project can begin in fall 2009 and will be completed in fall 2011." Well, that didn't quite happen, did it? Anyhow, fall 2009 is nigh, and a representative for developer Urban Realty informs us that the draft environmental impact report is still on its way, perhaps to be submitted by this fall. Everything else on their end is in tip-top shape, which means Urban Realty, who owns several other properties on Market, is still a go on CityPlace. Oh, how the suspense kills.
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/18/remember_cityplace_its_still_coming_to_market_street.php#reader_comments

BTinSF
Sep 19, 2009, 3:51 AM
USF's $60 Million Science Center Increases Their Self-Esteem

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_09_usf.jpg

The University of San Francisco's set to put together a $60 million addition to their campus, the Center for Science and Innovation. The building on one hand is meant to "raise people's view of where we are academically," and on the other should lend a much-needed architectural morale boost to the campus's aging buildings. It's designed by NBBJ, and, crucially, there's a walk-on roof/upper plaza. Not too shabby.
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/18/usfs_60_million_science_center_increases_their_selfesteem.php#reader_comments

Friday, June 27, 2008
University of San Francisco to break ground on $60M science center
San Francisco Business Times - by Ron Leuty

The University of San Francisco plans to build a 60,000-square-foot science center on its main campus, the latest upgrade of the school's aging facilities.

The $60 million Center for Science and Innovation would be built at the south end of the 42-year-old Harney Science Building, near the school's War Memorial Gymnasium off Golden Gate Avenue.

Construction of the building, designed by the architectural firm NBBJ, is slated to begin in May 2010.

USF has raised $18.5 million for the project but still is trying to line up naming rights for the building, which could bring in another $20 million or more, said David Macmillan, vice president for university advancement. It also is promoting naming rights deals for individual floors (about $2 million), general-use classrooms (about $600,000), biology, environmental science, physics and chemistry labs (about $750,000), and public spaces (about $125,000).

The cost of the project has escalated from an initial $30 million in 2003 to $60 million today due to higher materials costs and other construction costs, Macmillan said. "Science labs are among the most expensive facilities," he said.

The center's fundraising drive follows a successful $178 million, five-year USF campaign that wrapped up last year that funded the expansion and renovation of several projects on the school's main and Lone Mountain campuses. That included the estimated $30 million renovation of the former Campion Hall, renamed Kalmanovitz Hall with a $10 million gift from the Paul and Lydia Kalmanovitz Foundation.

In recent years, USF also has expanded its School of Business & Management with the construction of the four-story Malloy Hall and remodeled Kendrick Hall for the Koret Law Center.

The Center for Science and Innovation would integrate lectures and laboratory work with 20 classroom labs designed for 30 to 50 students each, Macmillan said.

USF has 8,500 students and all undergraduate students are required to take science courses.

"The building, combined with the opening of Kalmanovitz Hall (in September), will raise people's view of where we are academically," Macmillan said.


rleuty@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4939
Source: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/06/30/story6.html?t=printable

BTinSF
Sep 22, 2009, 7:55 AM
Nob Hill Cala Foods On Its Way Out for 100+ Condos

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_09_cala.jpg

The city's last Cala Foods, in Nob Hill, closes on Dec. 31 this next year— to be replaced by six to eight stories of 107 condos with ground-floor retail, including a new grocery store. The development team is none other than the one that's bringing Upper Market the Whole Foods condos at the old S&C Ford dealership: Prado Group and cradle-to-cradle eco-design firm William McDonough + Partners. At the moment, Cala shoppers are on the edge about losing their supermarket, and have also raised concerns about the affordability of whatever new grocer will take its place (they're lookin' at you, Whole Foods). But this is not all unexpected. A year ago, a property management guy was quoted as saying Cala was pulling in $23 mil a year— but the money Prado was forking over was "too good to refuse," given the huge lot that Cala sits on. So when are the condos coming? Assuming permits by summer 2010, Prado aims for construction in 2011, to be done by summer 2012.
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/09/21/nob_hill_cala_foods_on_its_way_out_for_100_condos.php#reader_comments

No renderings I can find but I love to see them if anyone else can find some.

Basically all of Nob Hill and the TenderNob will miss this Cala. Even I dropped in for some things last week because it was close to where I was eating dinner.

peanut gallery
Sep 24, 2009, 7:23 PM
This is a really great project for the waterfront, the Exploratorium and for patrons/neighbors. I hope it comes together.

http://www.socketsite.com/Piers%2015-17%20Aerial.jpg
photo source: SocketSite (http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/09/forward_progress_for_san_francisco_piers_15_17_and_70.html)

Article from today's San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/24/BA3619RKTF.DTL#ixzz0S3MZ0sWb):

Exploratorium a step closer to waterfront site
John Coté, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Exploratorium is a step closer to getting a new home now that the city's Port Commission has approved a 66-year lease to move the interactive children's science museum to the waterfront, making it just a short walk from the Ferry Building.

The lease deal for side-by-side Piers 15 and 17 marks a major milestone for the proposal to move the renowned museum from the Palace of Fine Arts to the Embarcadero, where it would be readily accessible to pedestrians and ferry, BART and Muni passengers.

"It's such a great location," said Jennifer Sobol, project manager for the port. "It will be so easy for schoolkids and families to get there."

The site would be three times larger than the Exploratorium's current home and would have an observatory, indoor and outdoor exhibits, classrooms, a theater, a cafe and a remake of the popular Tactile Dome, where visitors feel their way through the exhibit in total darkness.

The project, which officials say would pay for the much-needed repair of port property while continuing to rejuvenate the waterfront, has strong backing from Mayor Gavin Newsom and has been three years in the making. The proposal still needs the backing of the State Lands Commission, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and Board of Supervisors.

"We're looking forward to a 2012 opening," Exploratorium spokeswoman Leslie Patterson said.

The deal, approved unanimously by the Port Commission this month, calls for the Exploratorium to shore up and then build its museum on Pier 15, which is in danger of being totally unusable unless it gets $29 million in substructure repairs.

In exchange for rehabbing waterfront property, the museum would get a 50-year rent credit at Pier 15, Sobol said. Project construction costs are estimated at $175 million.

The museum would pay annual rent of $783,000 on Pier 17, which would be upgraded and house the Exploratorium's office operations, port officials said. The museum also would have the option of expanding the Exploratorium to Pier 17.

As part of the deal, Bay Delta Maritime, the port's tugboat contractor, would move its operations from Pier 15 to 17.

After months of prodding port officials, Newsom said he stands "ready to do whatever possible to ensure this project is completed."

BTinSF
Sep 25, 2009, 4:36 PM
SFMOMA gets Fisher art collection
Kenneth Baker, Chronicle Art Critic
Friday, September 25, 2009

Doris and Donald Fisher have found a home for their monumental art collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art that will keep it in the city and elevate SFMOMA to one of the world's leading showplaces of late 20th century art.

Placing the Fishers' collection of 1,100 contemporary artworks - one of the finest in private hands anywhere - at the museum will put SFMOMA in the league of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London and enhance the city as a destination for art lovers internationally.

A partnership agreement between the Fishers and the museum would bring under SFMOMA's roof key works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Richard Serra, Roy Lichtenstein, Alexander Calder, Ellsworth Kelly, Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn and Chuck Close. Market prices for such works make them unobtainable by museums except by donation. Even in today's lukewarm art economy, the Fisher collection probably would be appraised in nine figures.

Bitter opposition

The fate of the collection came into question this summer after bitter local opposition caused the Fishers to withdraw their 2007 proposal to build their own museum in the Presidio, a national park.

"To lose this would have been devastating," Mayor Gavin Newsom told The Chronicle Thursday.

However, adding the Fisher collection to SFMOMA would require expanding the museum, which involves city permits, an environmental review and design plans, and the removal of a century-old building and a fire station. The process could draw neighborhood and political opposition and most likely would take at least two years.

Newsom said he and others are working to fast-track the permitting process.

Incorporation of the collection into SFMOMA promises to enhance the cultural profile of the city itself.

"It certainly has that potential," Dan Goldes of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau said. "Eighty percent of tourists to San Francisco are repeat visitors, so ... things like this become vitally important in how we market the destination as one that's continually renewing itself and staying vibrant."

After the Presidio plan foundered, rumors began circulating that other cities were bidding for the collection. As the Fisher family reportedly considered building or refurbishing a venue South of Market, they were already in conversation with the museum.

"It's a handshake deal at this point," said SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra, "but it's based on months of discussion and on the Fisher family's long history of helping to take this museum to the level where it is today. ... There's a lot of trust in place."

The agreement with the Fishers comes as SFMOMA prepares to celebrate its 75th year in 2010.

Standing ovation

"It received a long, standing ovation from the board," said Benezra of the proposed arrangement, after he presented it Thursday to the museum's trustees. "But we have a lot of work to do to make this a reality," adding that SFMOMA is developing a new, ground-up business plan. "We have to demonstrate to ourselves and to the family that we can build something we can sustain."

Donald Fisher serves on the SFMOMA board. He and Doris and their son Robert, whose interest is photography, have long devoted time, energy and resources to the museum. The Fishers had no comment Thursday on the agreement.

The partnership presumes the success of expansion plans announced by SFMOMA in April. Estimated to cost $60 million, the museum's plan calls for a new wing that would extend south to Howard Street and would add 100,000 square feet of gallery and public space, nearly tripling what now exists.

A 'partnership,' not a gift

The museum already owns most of the land eyed for the extension. SFMOMA calls the latest Fisher family benefaction a "partnership" rather than a gift, but the plan calls for interweaving works collected by the Fishers into displays of the museum's own holdings, "where it makes sense," Benezra said.

The Fisher family will form a trust, renewable in 25 years and administered in collaboration with the museum, to care for the Fisher collection. The Fisher Trust, which apparently will own the collection, will consult closely and continually with SFMOMA's curators and conservators, as the collections' contents cut across art media.

SFMOMA already has on its calendar a summer 2010 exhibition in its existing space devoted to the Fisher collection. The event will make the public aware of a collection known firsthand mostly by art world insiders.

Some works in the collection: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/09/25/MNVC19S49B.DTL&o=0

Chronicle Urban Design Writer John King contributed to this report. E-mail Kenneth Baker at kennethbaker@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/25/MNVC19S49B.DTL

peanut gallery
Sep 25, 2009, 7:44 PM
Good solution - that's the best place for it. I wonder where they'll put the new fire station. Perhaps one of the lots on Fremont that never managed to get off the ground. That would still give them quick access into the financial district.

CityKid
Oct 4, 2009, 3:11 PM
So much cool stuff going on in SF! I love it.

BTinSF
Oct 8, 2009, 7:51 PM
Someday, maybe:


Fox Plaza's Baby Brother Passes the Wind Test

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_foxplaza.jpg

Archstone Fox Plaza's little brother, the 11-story mid-rise condo addition that would take the place of the short brown edge currently there, has cleared yet another hurdle, though it's not in the clear yet. According to City Insider, the Board of Supes unanimously rejected an environmental appeal that "warned of dangerous wind impact from the side-by-side towers." In fact, city planners said that two wind assessments predicted the "wind problem" might even be improved by the new addition. As noted last time, the building, developed by Archstone Smith and Presidio Development Partners, is planned to be 120 feet tall and have 250 residential units. Another hurdle on the horizon: an appeal of the Planning Commission's previous approval of the project.
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/08/fox_plazas_baby_brother_passes_the_wind_test.php#reader_comments

peanut gallery
Oct 8, 2009, 9:01 PM
This will so improve the aesthetics of that intersection. I hope it gets done.

Hey CityKid! It's been awhile; good to see you again. How's Brooklyn treating you?

BTinSF
Oct 9, 2009, 6:18 AM
Build it now!


Rendering Reveal: "Affordable Upscale" at Mission and 10th

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2622/3993281715_09fd422804_o.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2606/3993281739_fd659e3605_o.jpg

Architecture firm Heller Manus has been keeping pretty busy in the SoMa area along 10th, having designed both 1415 Mission (SW corner, 10th & Mission), above, and the 720-unit Crescent Heights tower that never happened. In any case, the images you see now show 14 floors and 117 units of "affordable upscale urban condos" with commercial use on the ground floor— and the same color as the Fin just kitty corner! Developers R&K Investments are also planning 147 parking spaces. The project now has a website up that acknowledges 1) concerns over potential wind impacts (just like the Fox Plaza project!), and 2) that the area is a "neighborhood in transition." Just puttin' it out there.
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/08/rendering_reveal_affordable_upscale_at_mission_and_10th.php?o=1

tommaso
Oct 9, 2009, 3:19 PM
Build it now!


Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/08/rendering_reveal_affordable_upscale_at_mission_and_10th.php?o=1

Will someone create a thread for this proposal please. Thank you. :)

peanut gallery
Oct 9, 2009, 4:12 PM
I'm not sure it will meet the minimum 200' requirement for its own thread.

This would replace the small parking lot on that corner and apparently the red garage as well. Transition is right. This area certainly can become much more densely populated, especially if some of these proposals get off the ground.

CityKid
Oct 9, 2009, 5:46 PM
This will so improve the aesthetics of that intersection. I hope it gets done.

Hey CityKid! It's been awhile; good to see you again. How's Brooklyn treating you?

I'm enjoying it as much as a law student can. I live where downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, and Brooklyn Heights all come together. It's a cute area and has been a very easy transition from living in the Polk Gulch.

How's the bay?

BTinSF
Oct 9, 2009, 5:51 PM
I'm not sure it will meet the minimum 200' requirement for its own thread.


I'm sure it wouldn't. 14 floors residential shouldn't be more than 150 ft. (maybe plus some equipment on the roof).

Gordo
Oct 9, 2009, 6:23 PM
This would replace the small parking lot on that corner and apparently the red garage as well. Transition is right. This area certainly can become much more densely populated, especially if some of these proposals get off the ground.

Agreed. This area, more than just about any other in the city, is just screaming for more density. The area could end up being quite nice if all of the proposals that have come through ever get built.

peanut gallery
Oct 19, 2009, 3:33 PM
According to CurbedSF (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/16/rendering_update_somas_1415_mission_gets_a_new_chassis.php), there's a new rendering for 1415 Mission, which is posted above.

New:
http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_1415mish.jpg

Old:
http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2622/3993281715_09fd422804_o.jpg

I like the old one better. One of the commenters on CurbedSF said this is by Heller Manus.

BTinSF
Oct 20, 2009, 1:52 AM
One of the commenters on CurbedSF said this is by Heller Manus.

They are both by Heller-Manus I think--I know the old one is and the new one looks even more like their work (meaning I'm with you--I like the old one better).

BTinSF
Oct 20, 2009, 3:45 AM
Curbed Guide: Central Freeway Developments
Friday, October 16, 2009, by Andy J. Wang

When part of the Central Freeway got messed up in the '89 earthquake and ultimately removed in 1992, Hayes Valley got a rare stab at redevelopment— an effort that's arguably one of San Francisco's most significant long-term projects of late, notable both for its scale and for being, well, north of Market Street. Empty lots where the freeway once snaked now carve out a visible scar in the landscape, especially viewable in aerial photos. Those lots have been designated by the city with the letters A through V, about half of which will end up going toward affordable housing. The cash flow for new construction, however, has since slowed to a trickle, putting large, dazzling projects on hold. Instead, empty lots are begetting humbler ideas that propose temporary solutions: a communal farm, a two-year pop-up retail project. 'Course, there's still lots more for Curbed to visit— tips, renderings, and updates to the inbox!

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_parcelmap.jpg

Parcel P: Central Mews
Developer Build Inc. planned up to 239 residences in their proposal, which broke the design up among various architects to avoid a "standardized solution." The unifying theme: a "central mews" that stretches between Laguna and Octavia, functioning as a "common green and a pedestrian spine." As long as the lot lies empty, however, an idea being tossed around is to turn the lot (along with the one north of it up to Fell) into a communal farm. Moo?
http://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3470/3946469441_395d6b9fbf_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3102/3946469341_2b2354cf80_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2457/3946469389_8da51bc9da_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2507/3946469407_b6818cc8c9_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2449/3946469419_76b9fc3ab2_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3516/3946469435_e14bbf5f97_o.jpg


Parcel I: 401 Grove
Designed by Solomon E.T.C.: two buildings totaling 70 dwelling units, most of which will be 2-bedroom units. An L-shaped hugs the corner of Gough and Grove, and a straight one along Ivy street to the south. The L-shaped one: five stories tall, with ground-floor retail and four stories of residential, with the straight one on Ivy standing at three stories, all homes.

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_goughgrove.jpghttp://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_goughgroveviews.jpg


Parcel V: Octavia Gateway
Architect Stanley Saitowitz's answer to the challenge of developing arguably the most important Central Freeway parcel to give way to new homes: several big spaces are "carved" out of the residential building, creating "rear yards" that are visible from every residence. There will be 49 apartments, of which there are two designs: L-shaped 2-bedrooms that hug a "yard void," and studio flats. And then there's that below-grade, apparently women-only spa. Words escape us.

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2612/3919248726_d2ffe2d1d6_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3489/3919248110_c35dbb6c6a_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2629/3919248254_84bbcf76a7_o.pnghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3462/3918463247_11cbcaba18_o.png


Parcel G: Affordable Housing
A David Baker-designed, five-story building with 120 studios for low-income, formerly homeless people, plus "community serving" retail on the ground floor.

http://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2480/3910147717_dcd6000026_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2624/3910929976_f69cc64b6c_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3522/3910930032_50ff8d29c4_o.jpghttp://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3137/3910930052_e791044e29_o.jpg


Parcels M + N: Cellular Units
Designed by Envelope A+D, it's comprised of several "basic cellular units," which can stay separate or aggregate to create larger units, either horizontally or vertically (up to four units!). And check those folding louvers outside for endless family fun! Just keep in mind that it'll be many a year before the money pipes start flowing again for construction; that's what the Proxy thing's all about in the first place.

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2458/3903052224_5d81b0a37a_o.jpghttp://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2444/3902274605_cbbc4e98d3_o.jpghttp://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2631/3903052292_78a70490ee_o.jpghttp://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3563/3902274723_bafccc763b_o.jpg


Parcels K + L: Pop-Up Community
Temporary structures fronting the Hayes Green: the mixed-use project, which encompasses retail, food, galleries, and gardens, is collectively called "proxy," and is kind of a long-term pop-up retail idea— two to three years goes the thinking. In the meantime, the urban fabric is restored "through a combination of frame, fabric, mesh, wall and volume," all eco-friendly and local and sustainable no doubt. Note also the same firm (which participated in Slow Food Nation not so long ago) has a mixed-use live/work project also on Octavia, though its readiness is also no doubt subject to the big bad economy, just as the Hayes Green lots are. So when does "The Sound of Music" screen?

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2433/3881076387_af4b11904d_o.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3529/3881076471_7b30e72dd1_o.jpghttp://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3455/3881874490_c14261681a_o.jpg


Parcel Q: Octavia Court
Under construction now, Octavia Court is will be 15 units of low-income rental housing for the developmentally disabled, on top of an arts program space.

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2008_01_OctaviaCrt2.jpghttp://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2008_01_OctaviaCrt3.jpg

Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/16/curbed_guide_central_freeway_developments.php#Map

viewguysf
Oct 20, 2009, 3:48 AM
They are both by Heller-Manus I think--I know the old one is and the new one looks even more like their work (meaning I'm with you--I like the old one better).

I also agree with the two of you, but with the way things have been going, it probably won't look like the renderings anyway. :sleep:

BTinSF
Oct 21, 2009, 3:48 AM
1415 Mission's diagonal across the intersection neighbor finally got it's red stripe!

http://www.socketsite.com/1390%20Mission%2010-19-09.jpg
Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/10/1390_mission_gets_its_red_green_and_yellow_on.html

peanut gallery
Oct 21, 2009, 3:54 AM
At least one color on this ended up as bright as was promised in the rendering.

peanut gallery
Oct 21, 2009, 6:17 PM
Yet another Saitowitz-designed proposal, this one in the Mission. From Curbed SF (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/21/rendering_reveal_saitowitz_replacing_a_mission_gas_station.php):

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2542/4032492138_584bb4cd7a_o.png

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2524/4032492200_43db5deac5_o.png

Rendering Reveal: Saitowitz Replacing a Mission Gas Station
Wednesday, October 21, 2009, by Andy J. Wan

Last year, the owner of 1501 15th St, at the southwest corner of 15th and South Van Ness in the Mission, sought approval with the city to build a two-story building on the site of his gas station, converting his business into a car wash. The Planning Commission handed down a denial, and perhaps it was shortly thereafter that plans drastically changed for the site— perhaps into what we have above! The designs, by the ever prevalent Stanley Saitowitz, are for a six-story, 40-unit building with 32 parking spaces, and look something like the design for 130 Dore in SoMa, but with more windows. Recall if you may that Saitowitz has also designed a six-story residential building for the corner of Mission and 17th. At this rate, the Mission might start resembling SoMa more and more.

More renderings and the corner as it currently looks at CurbedSF (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/21/rendering_reveal_saitowitz_replacing_a_mission_gas_station.php).

Gordo
Oct 21, 2009, 6:29 PM
^I like that one, though I'm not convinced the little courtyard areas that open up to the street (behind glass? Or fences? Can't tell - look like chainlink fences on one side and either taller fences or glass on the other) are a great idea.

fflint
Oct 21, 2009, 6:37 PM
^I ride by that site on my way home every day. It would be a nice addition in terms of additional housing and in terms of re-establishing the streetwall, but this particular rendering seems sterile and oddly blank.

Gordo
Oct 21, 2009, 6:44 PM
I've noticed that most of the renderings from Saitowitz tend to completely leave out any indication of where a garage entrance will be or what it will look like. Both this one and the one from a week or so ago on Mission have no indication (from the rendering) that a garage opening even exists.

Gordo
Oct 21, 2009, 7:00 PM
Looks like the new SFPUC building will actually start going up next week :cheers:

Construction set to begin for green new city building
By: JOHN UPTON

10/21/09 9:00 AM PDT
Construction of a new San Francisco Public Utilities Commission building is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

The new building at 525 Golden Gate Ave. and Polk Street is planned to be an environmentally-friendly new digs for SFPUC staff.

SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington and Mayor Gavin Newsom are scheduled to ceremonially break ground on construction of the new building at 1 p.m.

“The new SFPUC headquarters will be a world-class energy and water-efficient structure that exemplifies the highest standards of sustainability and set an example for the green building movement,” SFPUC spokesman Tony Winnicker said in a statement.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/under-the-dome/Construction-set-to-begin-for-green-new-city-building-65127227.html

BTinSF
Oct 21, 2009, 7:07 PM
:previous: Thanks, Gordo. As you may know, I'm now in AZ but that building is only a block from my SF condo and I'm very interested in it.

peanut gallery
Oct 21, 2009, 7:34 PM
^I ride by that site on my way home every day. It would be a nice addition in terms of additional housing and in terms of re-establishing the streetwall, but this particular rendering seems sterile and oddly blank.

My first impression as well. If they use the right material, like a nice stone, it would really help though.

And "Yeah!" to the PUC building getting started next week.

Gordo
Oct 21, 2009, 7:41 PM
:previous: Thanks, Gordo. As you may know, I'm now in AZ but that building is only a block from my SF condo and I'm very interested in it.

I'll try to get some pics of it for you next month. I haven't mentioned this on here yet, but my wedding is this weekend followed by a two week honeymoon, so this past weekend my fiancée and I bought a fancy new camera to learn how to use in Australia :)

fflint
Oct 21, 2009, 7:54 PM
^The excavation has been happening over there for quite some time.

peanut gallery
Oct 21, 2009, 8:22 PM
Congratulations, Gordo! That's great news, and a 2-week vacation in Australia sounds like a perfect way to start your marriage. Have a good trip!

Gordo
Oct 22, 2009, 1:27 AM
Thanks pg. We picked Australia because it's the only continent (well, aside from Antarctica) that neither of us had been to. Should be fun :)

BTinSF
Oct 22, 2009, 4:42 AM
^The excavation has been happening over there for quite some time.


Yeah, I've posted pics of that. But in mid-September they finished digging and kind of mothballed the job, removing all the heavy equipment. I actually had walked by and asked some of the Webcor workers if they were doing more than excavation and they said, "No"--only the hole.

I read and posted that the Supervisors approved construction of the new building but it wasn't clear WHEN they would start it. So it's nice to know that apparently they will start building soon.

BTinSF
Oct 22, 2009, 4:45 AM
Thanks pg. We picked Australia because it's the only continent (well, aside from Antarctica) that neither of us had been to. Should be fun :)

It's not a continent but I can't imagine going to Australia and just flying over New Zealand. Per square mile, New Zealand has got to be the most beautiful place on earth.

But Australia is big and there's a lot to see in 2 weeks, so maybe you better plan another trip to the Antipodes soon.

Gordo
Oct 22, 2009, 4:51 AM
It's not a continent but I can't imagine going to Australia and just flying over New Zealand. Per square mile, New Zealand has got to be the most beautiful place on earth.

But Australia is big and there's a lot to see in 2 weeks, so maybe you better plan another trip to the Antipodes soon.

Yeah, New Zealand's definitely on the list for a future trip. My parents visited some friends down there a couple years ago and never seem to stop talking about it.

Jerry of San Fran
Oct 22, 2009, 9:57 AM
Gordo - Wish you a very happy & long marriage and a great trip to the Australian continent! Antartica is one continent I definetely do not want to visit. I've been to eastern Australia and enjoyed. They do not talk like Croker Dundee in the big cities! Some interesing architecture to see.

BTinSF
Oct 22, 2009, 5:56 PM
Could this ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/22/MN0H1A8PEI.DTL ) be why nothing seems to be happening at the CCSF Chinatown Campus site?

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2009, 3:54 AM
This may not be a historic construction project but I think it's great news for the City:

Lowe's Has Finalized A Lease And Broken Ground On Bayshore

http://www.socketsite.com/Home%20Depot%20SF%20Lot.jpg

The tentative lease signed by Lowe's for the old Goodman Lumber Bayshore Boulevard site early this year has been finalized. And construction on the 107,000-square-foot store should start soon has begun with an expected opening as early as August 2010.
Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/10/lowes_has_a_lease_and_plans_to_soon_break_ground_on_bay.html

Finally San Franciscans doing significant renovation projects don't have to give their business (and sales tax dollars) to a store in the suburbs.

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2009, 3:57 AM
And the news that matters most to me:

http://cdn1.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2615/4032529835_71ec9b16dd_o.jpg
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/21/shovel_meets_dirt_for_sf_pucs_civic_center_headquarters.php?o=5

525 Golden Gate Avenue "Officially" Breaks Ground

http://www.socketsite.com/525%20Golden%20Gate%20Avenue.jpg

Put on hold in 2008 due to rising costs and lower than expected efficiencies, earlier this year a plugged-in tipster caught the crews laying the foundation for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s new "Ultra-Green" headquarters at 525 Golden Gate Avenue.

Yesterday the ceremonial "ground breaking" took place. Expect an opening early 2012.
Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/10/525_golden_gate_avenue_officially_breaks_ground.html

PS: I think that "plugged-in tipster" was moi. :blush:

Gordo
Oct 23, 2009, 4:16 AM
Thanks Jerry :)

BT - Yeah, I'm glad to see the Lowe's break ground too. It's still surprising to me that Home Depot walked away from it after all of the work they did. I expect this location to be an absolute gold mine for Lowe's.

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2009, 4:35 AM
:previous: I recently read Lowe's too is cutting back their expansion plans. I was afraid the SF store might have hit the cutting room floor. But we lucked out.

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2009, 2:58 PM
YES!!

Friday, October 23, 2009
Target could be bull’s-eye for Metreon
Retailer takes aim at San Francisco
San Francisco Business Times - by Sarah Duxbury

http://assets.bizjournals.com/story_image/469621-600-0-1.jpg

Metreon owners Westfield and Forest City have recently pulled back on several preliminary lease deals at the center and are said to be negotiating to lease an entire floor to Target.

“Westfield has gone silent on numerous deals on the second floor to make way for a single tenant,” said Matt Holmes of brokerage Retail West.

Westfield is in the process of a much-anticipated repositioning of the retail center at Fifth and Mission streets, after buying the struggling project in 2006. The new Metreon is a key part of the revitalized Yerba Buena culture district.

If the Metreon lands Target, it would be a coup after planned headliner Tavern on the Green filed Chapter 11 last month. It would also mark a stark departure from their stated reimagining of the Metreon as a food and culture-centric locale dominated by local stores rather than chains.

Holmes said his firm was working with the Museum of Craft + Design to lease space at the Metreon, but was told two weeks ago that Westfield would not sign a lease. The founders of the Pop Art Museum, which had a signed letter of intent to take up to 50,000 square feet of the second floor, said Westfield halted lease discussions in July. And Rhonda Diaz, a broker with Terranomics, said that preliminary negotiations between Westfield and an entertainment client interested in over 25,000 square feet fell apart in recent weeks.

Target interested in San Francisco

Target has had an on-again, off-again quest for a downtown San Francisco store site for several years. A party with direct knowledge of their search confirmed the discussions with the Metreon and said “they are further along than they have been.” But the source cautioned that there is no deal yet. Target said in an email that “at this time, it would be premature to confirm any specific plans.”

Westfield declined comment on the terminated lease discussions, or its negotiations with Target or other prospective tenants.

Rumors of Target’s interest are circulating widely among retailers who have signed up for space at the reworked Metreon, where Westfield plans to break ground on an extensive renovation in January.

“As far as bringing people to the center, of course, it’s hard to beat,” said Thomas Lefort, an owner of Bay Bread, which will open one of its popular Boulanges in the Metreon. “But it’s not what we were told to expect for that space. I’m not sure what I think about it.”

The roughly 70,000-square-foot second floor of the four-story, 360,000-square-foot structure had been designated by Westfield for primarily cultural uses.

“It’s disappointing because Westfield went so over the top, in my opinion, on selling their merchandising plans and a point of differentiation for the Metreon, and what comes out of it is really a big box and an extension of San Francisco Centre,” said Holmes. “We have the mall moving south right now.”

Part of redevelopment area

The Metreon’s land is owned by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. Bringing in a big box retailer wasn’t what the agency expected under Westfield’s lease, but it would probably be permissible, said Amy Neches, manager of project area planning and development at the redevelopment agency.

Westfield and Forest City bought the Metreon in 2006, months before they completed their expansion of San Francisco Centre. Metreon had struggled since opening in 1999; only its movie theaters ever succeeded. In 2008, the owners said they would bring in up to 165,000 square feet of new retail, move the main entrance to the middle of Fourth Street and redesign the building to make it more open and customer-friendly. Tavern on the Green would have taken the fourth floor for a 40,000-square-foot restaurant. The redevelopment agency approved those plans in March 2009.

“They talked about how different they were going to be … but at the same time, I understand it,” Holmes said of going with a blue-chip tenant in this economic climate.

Prospective tenants disappointed

Some of the thwarted tenants who thought they had a lock on the Metreon are less sanguine.

John Atanasio and Robert Imber, co-founders of the Pop Art Museum, started looking at the Metreon in February for a museum they conceived as up to 50,000 square feet of gallery space for artists like Warhol, Haring and Rauschenberg, as well as space for up-and-coming contemporary artists, classrooms, interactive studios and a retail store.

The Pop Art Museum got a signed letter of intent just after receiving its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status on May 29, Imber said, but a lease never followed.

Westfield and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi were critical to obtaining that 501(c)(3) status. Atanasio and Imber said that Westfield wrote two letters to the IRS on the Pop Museum’s behalf, including one dated May 15 that urged the federal agency to grant the museum nonprofit status no later than June 1, “or the museum may lose the opportunity to secure the Museum’s flagship location at Westfield Metreon,” according to a copy of the letter viewed by the Business Times. Westfield also wrote an earlier letter April 8 that said it was working on a lease with the museum.

“The meetings we had, we met their criteria, we fully believed we had the space,” Atanasio said.

In July, Westfield suddenly changed what it said it was looking for, Imber said.

“Things were promised and pretty much at the 12th hour were grossly changed,” Imber said.

sduxbury@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4963
Source: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/10/26/story2.html

Gordo
Oct 23, 2009, 3:19 PM
^Interesting. That would be a pretty small Target if it's only the full second floor. I guess some type of "mini-Target" concept. I'll take it, but I guess a part of me is still hoping that we get a full-size Target in that potential new development between 5th and 6th on Market.

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2009, 7:01 PM
According to Socketsite ( http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/10/mayor_newsom_double_dips_for_sf_general_hospital_additi.html ), the new SF General broke ground yesterday:

http://www.socketsite.com/SF%20General%20Hospital%20Rendering.jpg

Completion expected in 2015.

More:

S.F. breaks ground on new General Hospital
Heather Knight, John Coté
Friday, October 23, 2009

Less than a year after 84 percent of city voters passed a bond measure authorizing the $887 million to rebuild San Francisco General Hospital, the city's only trauma center, ground was broken on the project Thursday.

Those wielding the fancy gold shovels to mark the occasion included Mayor Gavin Newsom, Public Health Chief Mitch Katz and hospital CEO Sue Currin. The latter addressed a large crowd of hospital staff including rows of doctors in white coats beforehand, saying the 125-year-old institution that was founded to address the city's tuberculosis crisis would be around for decades to come.

"We've been here for AIDS, we've been here for swine flu, and we'll be here for every other crisis," she said, adding she has a unique perspective on the place since she first entered its doors as a trauma patient injured in a mugging. "And now I'm the CEO, and I'm so glad to be here."

But not everybody at the gathering was happy. Dozens of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 members who work at the hospital showed up in their purple shirts handing out information about their recent layoffs and pay cuts. According to their flyers, they want people to call the mayor and supervisors and "tell them you care about patient care at San Francisco General Hospital ... not just new buildings!"

The new, nine-story hospital with 284 acute-care beds will be built amid the hospital's historic red brick buildings along Potrero Avenue. It is expected to open in time for the 2015 deadline set by the state for hospitals to meet seismic requirements.

- Heather Knight
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/23/BADI1A901V.DTL&type=printable

peanut gallery
Oct 23, 2009, 10:56 PM
I knew you'd be excited by that Target news, BT. :)

Lowes recently opened a store in SSF just off 101. With the location of this new one, it seems they are slowly creeping into the city.

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2009, 10:58 PM
:previous: Creeping? Lowes is building the SF store now. See above (or maybe I'm just not getting what you are saying).

peanut gallery
Oct 23, 2009, 11:24 PM
By "location of this new one" I meant the SF one they are building. I said creeping because it's been a long time coming and they first built in SSF, now in the southern part of the city itself. Something about that just felt like creeping to me. It was a dopey post.

And thanks for the info on City College. I added it to the thread on the new campus (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=159669).

WildCowboy
Oct 24, 2009, 1:18 AM
I feel like CityPlace would have been a better place for Target, but of course that doesn't appear to be starting construction anytime soon, so I guess sooner is better than later.

I liked the tenants being bandied about for the Metreon and thought they'd be very appropriate for that location, bridging the museum district with the mid-to-high-end shopping district.

BTinSF
Oct 24, 2009, 1:25 AM
I liked the tenants being bandied about for the Metreon and thought they'd be very appropriate for that location, bridging the museum district with the mid-to-high-end shopping district.

Yeah, but Tavern On The Green, the biggest one (they were going to take the whole top floor) went bankrupt after NYC declined to renew their lease on Central Park.

Gordo
Oct 24, 2009, 1:40 AM
I'm still just trying to figure out how they're going to do it. The second floor can't be much more than 50-60,000 square feet. That's half or less than the size of one of their typical stores. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

WildCowboy
Oct 25, 2009, 2:36 AM
Yeah, but Tavern On The Green, the biggest one (they were going to take the whole top floor) went bankrupt after NYC declined to renew their lease on Central Park.

I was thinking more of the Pop Art Museum and the Museum of Craft and Design, as well as the smaller eating establishments. Heck, Tavern on the Green had said they were still very much planning to come to the Metreon even if they were forced to shut down the original location...not that I believe them.

I'm still just trying to figure out how they're going to do it. The second floor can't be much more than 50-60,000 square feet. That's half or less than the size of one of their typical stores. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The article posted by BT says that the second floor is about 70,000 sf. Targets are usually 95,000+ sf. They do have some multi-level stores that have allowed them to squeeze into small urban footprints, but it doesn't seem like that would be possible at the Metreon. They've got the theaters above them and the first floor really needs to be essentially entirely devoted to the restaurant concept if that's going to work.

BTinSF
Oct 27, 2009, 5:19 AM
Tavern on the Green had said they were still very much planning to come to the Metreon even if they were forced to shut down the original location...not that I believe them.


That would be pretty unlikely--they may not even own the rights to the name any more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE59M43Y20091023

BTinSF
Oct 29, 2009, 4:13 PM
Rendering Reveal: More Affordable Housing for Mission St.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, by Andy J. Wang

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_1036mission.jpg

Tenderloin Neighborhood Development's planning another development outside of its hood with a 13-story, 100-unit building in SoMa that'll fill in an empty parking lot and house the low-incomers. About 20 percent of the units will be allocated for the homeless, while the rest is for very low-income families. The building at 1036 Mission is designed by Solomon E.T.C., who's also doing the large, market-rate Central Freeway project at 401 Grove St. Clearly, the economic downturn has spiked a good number of market-rate projects, but the nonprofit developments continue unabated— there's another TNDC development in the works just down the street at 1400 Mission, while the family housing project at 1390 Mission has just about wrapped up. Oh, let's not forget the "affordable upscale" going in at 1415 Mission, too.

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_1036missionexisting.jpg


Source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/28/rendering_reveal_more_affordable_housing_for_mission_st.php#more

peanut gallery
Oct 29, 2009, 4:51 PM
That is hideous. Like one of the commenters at CurbedSF said, it looks like a jail. I'd love to see another surface lot bite the dust (especially in that stretch of Mission, which is littered with vacant lots) and getting people off the streets is a good thing. But geez...

BTinSF
Oct 29, 2009, 6:51 PM
To the contrary, I think it looks very Miami Beach Deco--which I like. Of course it probably should be pink or turquoise.

peanut gallery
Oct 29, 2009, 8:24 PM
Maybe I'll share that impression on the finished building. I like the look you describe. I'm just not seeing it in this rendering.

Remember 1844 Market? I had forgotten about it, but according to CurbedSF (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/29/constructionwatch_zen_rentals_next_to_lgbt_center_get_going.php), construction is moving along, including installation of the tower crane:

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/2009_10_bayrock.jpg

ConstructionWatch: Zen Rentals Next to LGBT Center Get Going
Thursday, October 29, 2009, by Andy J. Wang

Hard to believe, but the very large, very vacant site at 1844 Market St, next to the LGBT Center, has actually been stirring for a few months now: dirt movers, a crane, the works! This, after snail's pace progress on the empty lot finally halted at one point and went toward a strange "ramshackle cabana" installment, as we reported in July of last year. A quick refresher: developer BayRock Residential and Christiani Johnson Architects are bringing an eight-story, 113-rental-unit building to the site, complete with ground-floor retail and "Zen Garden, roof deck with city views and lush courtyards." This past spring, the SF Business Times reported that BayRock was eager as hell to unload their failed Trader Joe's condo project on Van Ness and Sutter— having chopped their asking price for the site from $18 million to a paltry $8 million.

AndrewK
Oct 30, 2009, 3:21 AM
i think it could better achieve some of that art deco look that they appear to be going for if they removed those excessive horizontal shades on the windows. i think that is the most prison-inspiring aspect of the design.

nequidnimis
Oct 30, 2009, 5:28 AM
i think it could better achieve some of that art deco look that they appear to be going for if they removed those excessive horizontal shades on the windows. i think that is the most prison-inspiring aspect of the design.

But then, where would the pigeons sit?

AndrewK
Oct 30, 2009, 6:49 PM
good call. guess the slats stay.

fflint
Oct 30, 2009, 7:06 PM
I've been riding by 1844 Market a lot, and it is definitely moving forward.

viewguysf
Nov 1, 2009, 4:32 AM
I was thinking more of the Pop Art Museum and the Museum of Craft and Design, as well as the smaller eating establishments. The article posted by BT says that the second floor is about 70,000 sf. Targets are usually 95,000+ sf. They do have some multi-level stores that have allowed them to squeeze into small urban footprints, but it doesn't seem like that would be possible at the Metreon. They've got the theaters above them and the first floor really needs to be essentially entirely devoted to the restaurant concept if that's going to work.

I agree with you--while I very much want to see Target in San Francisco (and preferably one on mid-Market), I think that the Metreon is an extremely inappropriate place for them.

A second SF store at Geary and Masonic would be a real bonus too.

viewguysf
Nov 1, 2009, 4:36 AM
That is hideous. Like one of the commenters at CurbedSF said, it looks like a jail. I'd love to see another surface lot bite the dust (especially in that stretch of Mission, which is littered with vacant lots) and getting people off the streets is a good thing. But geez...

It looks a lot better than some of the other projects we've been stuck with...

Jerry of San Fran
Nov 4, 2009, 11:17 AM
Interesting. I don't associate the shades above the windows with a prison. Being that the apartments will be south facing I see it as a way to shade from the sun and keep the units cooler - a green building. Also, they will help prevent a downdraft.

Considering the other hideous low income buildings that have been built this design has some hope of being better.

BTinSF
Nov 5, 2009, 5:43 PM
In light of the new posting guidelines, this may be unsatisfying but it's worth clicking though on the link for lots of renderings and good news:

CityPlace: 7 Juicy Stories of "Value" Retail for 2012
Thursday, November 5, 2009, by Andy J. Wang

It's coming! CityPlace, the five-story mall brought to Mid-Market by Urban Realty, which is also the landlord for Ross just up the street. The draft environmental impact report went up yesterday, describing in full detail the project, which will be located at 947 Market St. CityPlace will require the demolition of three currently vacant buildings, and will actually have seven levels of retail, including a mezzanine and basement level, plus two underground parking levels. Urban Realty's also considering a frontage on the building's backside facing Stevenson St, with an area reserved for small stands, like newsstands or flower kiosks. The building design, by Gensler, is shooting for LEED Gold . . . . :notacrook:
http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2009/11/05/cityplace_7_juicy_stories_of_value_retail_for_2012.php#more



Curbed further says construction is due to START next spring (2010) with COMPLETION in 2012.

Hard to believe but wonderful if true.

peanut gallery
Nov 5, 2009, 7:21 PM
I'll second that. I was checking it out earlier. Definitely worth heading over to check out the plans.

If they are going to start in Spring, the EIR review/approval process would last about 5-6 months. Does that seem possible? What do you think about adding that much retail space? Think the market can absorb that much more supply? This is supposed to be lower-end retail I think. If so, maybe that's a non-issue.

BTinSF
Nov 5, 2009, 11:26 PM
What do you think about adding that much retail space? Think the market can absorb that much more supply? This is supposed to be lower-end retail I think. If so, maybe that's a non-issue.

If they actually do sign up some "lower end" stores of the sort that San Francisco has very few of, yes--I not only think the market can absorb it but I think the place could be crowded because there's so little of that already in SF. I'm thinking places like Steinmart, maybe a "dollar store" (Family Dollar, Dollar General), TJ Maxx, Shoe Pavillion (which recently closed down the street), BevMo, possibly even Kohl's and/or Target (if they don't do to the Metreon). Or . . . {{{{drumroll}}}} W_l-M__t ( http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/411869ca-bc03-11de-9426-00144feab49a.html ). Don't say that name out loud PLEASE.

By the way, while I'm thinking of controversy, 2 floors of underground parking on SF's main transit route? As contrarian as I am when it comes to SF's hate of the private motor vehicle, even my eyebrows raised at that one. Anybody here think they can get away with really building it with that garage in there? Don't get me wrong--I'm hoping they can because I want the place to be a success and revitalize Mid-Market (even without billboards)--but what I want is rarely the way things go in SF.

But think of it: Chain stores AND parking. Wow.