SAN FRANCISCO | Park Tower at Transbay | 605 FT | 43 FLOORS
 

http://www.socketsite.com/transbay%2...%20Massing.gif
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An Unexpected Transbay Twist And Block Redesign

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April 3, 2014
http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2...ansb.html#more

Information concerning the square footage being proposed for commercial use. Above is the mass-model. Solid proposal renderings will be seen hopefully by June or July.
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Transbay Block 5 Tower Will Be Commercial Not Residential

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April 4, 2014, by Tracy Elsen
http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2014/0...esidential.php

The proposals are in, and there were four submissions:

All four developers have buildings already under construction in Transbay neighborhood. We'll find out who's selected in the next few months.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranci....html?page=all

The Chicago team!

(Golub/John Buck Co, SCB architects)

I sincerely hope they do not win. What would be interesting is a KPF skyscraper in this town. Go team BXP! Though I hope we can see all the designs first before rushing to judgment. Usually office towers of this magnitude make much larger statements than their residential counterparts, so this could be iconic for SF.

Apparently, the Chicago team is the front runner:

$172.5 million is a staggering offer. They're offering about 90% of the $192 million paid for the Salesforce Tower site, even though Block 5 will only have about 50% of the square footage. They're offering almost double the price per square foot compared to Salesforce Tower. By comparison, Block 8, which is also zoned for 550 feet but as residential, went for "only" $72 million back in March.

Designs revealed:

http://transbaycenter.org/uploads/20...esentation.pdf

Backside is boring, but the other side would be one of the more interesting towers ever built in SF. Long ways off for completion.

http://i.imgur.com/eXqNpya.png
http://i.imgur.com/ewrFWo5.png
http://i.imgur.com/AsWP8Fi.png
http://i.imgur.com/iSOukUb.png

The new downtown. Proposed start April 2016, Completion 2019.

I like the back side! I think those terraces are overrated (and same architect is doing the same exact thing for TB Block 7 rising right now).

I basically wet myself when I saw these, pretty amazing architecture going up in a confined area. Tall buildings, too.

this is 550 ft to SF's definition of "roof line" but we know that mechanical + ornamentation (eg glass curtain extended up) can easily bring this to 600 ft, which is where several other buildings in the city are (talk about table top!)

Nice tower San Fran. I look forward to visiting again soon and seeing these towers.

Wow!

I actually prefer the backside in renderings...of course, the finished product may not look that sleek.

I like it, but then again I'm easy. Still remember the time when nothing was getting built.

Is it maybe more silvery than other new towers? I hope so; would help it stand out.

I like the terraces. They've been done before, but not on this scale in this area.

Definitely better from the back side. The terraces are really cool. And maybe just a little bit scary as hell? But from the perspective of the terrace, it would be tough to tell you're about to fall to your death.

Awesome! The exterior (not the shape) reminds me a bit of the Rincon Hill towers, I personally prefer that they change a couple small details/colors/etc so it doesn't look so similar.

This design is already incorporated into steelblue's Transbay video!

http://vimeo.com/70447799

Amazing how quick they move, although it's interesting that they haven't updated Block 8 yet.

^^^Steelblue was hired as an exclusive contractor with TJPA, so I think that makes sense. They have confidential inside scoop I'm sure.

Full redesign.

http://sfocii.org/modules/showdocume...ocumentid=7823

I like the base a lot better, and I think I like the redesign better, however, I did like the Mission St side of the previous proposal.

I approve. Some great height, and infill for the area. Modern, sleek, with profound views of the city. Amazing how many cranes are in this city. The Miami of the West Coast. :cheers:

Agreed. I liked the old view from the north, with the three different heights sticking up. Overall though, I like the new design better, especially the balconies which I think looked awkward on the old design.

Also, the full height (with mechanical) of the new design is 605 feet:

http://i.imgur.com/qHA9zUh.png

http://i.imgur.com/pMyZxiw.png

Source: sfocii.org

I like this redesign--it will definitely stand out on the skyline with those deep etched balconies. I'm also psyched we're getting another 600-footer.

Block 5 has a name now - Park Tower at Transbay...

and a new rendering:

Source: http://news.theregistrysf.com/park-t...san-francisco/

http://news.theregistrysf.com/wp-con...2_Rooftop2.jpg

Love this one

They've also launched a new marketing site with renderings and a video: http://www.parktowerattransbay.com/



http://i.imgur.com/pqXF2BNh.jpg
Source: parktowerattransbay.com

Here's a stunning rendering of the completed Transbay development area with all of the U/C or approved sites:

http://www.parktowerattransbay.com/u...4-11-06_sm.jpg

http://www.parktowerattransbay.com/location

:previous: Very nice!!!

Fantastic overview of San Francisco! Also great addition to the skyline.

As per the rendering above, is the temp transbay bus station going to be a park?

^Part of it will be. There will also be residential on about half of it.

One small correction to the Curbed article ElDuderino posted. This is not exactly correct:
As I understand it, Prop M caps the amount of office space that can be approved in a given year, not constructed. And I think we all know that any remaining square footage that is not allocated in a given year gets rolled into future years. I forget where we are now, but last I recall there was a rather large bank of office space available to be approved at the moment. But there is also a lot of proposed space in the queue as well. I'm just not sure what has already been approved and what the current Prop M balance is.

One other note: Mission Bay office space was approved long ago, so that no longer factors into Prop M going forward. But I don't think that includes the Giants' Mission Rock plans (I could be wrong about that though).

Prop M., Macris and the skyline
 

I like this one. It is somewhat different.
Personally, the 605' Park Tower basically matches the height and bulk of 101 California and the (originally named) SOHIO buildings.

Yet, I think the whole process needs to be re-evaluated.
San Francisco's skyline is too bulky with 350' to 500' buildings.

This one would be awesome if it stood a couple of hundred feet taller
and "slimmer"--breaking up the bulky skyline.

If memory serves, I think the general look and rippling hills bit was the vision of Dean Macris --- and was sculpted by old time politics and policies the likes of Proposition M.

(IMHO) If a person looks at current projects around the world on this website, there's some magnificent and innovative architecture which needs to be incorporated into the rather bland San Francisco skyline.

Prop. M was written at a different time in the city's history and needs to
be revised.

You can see the current Prop M balance here (PDF). During the worst of the Great Recession, the balance ballooned up to 5.2 million square feet in the "bank", and as projects were dusted off, a record 3.6 million square feet of projects were approved during the 2012-13 approval period.

Right now, the balance is about 2.5 million sq. ft. with another 875,000 added to the pot each October 17th. So, there's enough room to approve Park Tower and 50 First Street (about 1.7 million square feet combined) this year. Then it's up to 5M, Mission Rock, and Pier 70 to fight for allocations in future years.

wow, by far the most complete rendering to date

Thanks for the info and the link, minesweeper.

Not to mention Parcel F, though that's a little further out. But it will take a big chunk when its time comes.

They keep omitting 340-350 Fremont though and it's well under way!

^Hmm, I see it in there. It's barely visible peaking out behind 399 Fremont. The proposal that I notice is missing is 75 Howard, though it's moot now.

This was approved by the Planning Commission, and thus received its Prop M allotment, last week. The SF Business Times also has some additional details:

• They list it at 45 floors, but that includes two mechanical floors.
• It will have a concrete core.
• The first 12 floors will be concrete.
• Above that will be steel.
• 2 retail spaces: 4344 sq ft and 4298 sq ft.

Plus they include this updated rendering of the upper level patio spaces:

http://media.bizj.us/view/img/643006...t-60655-pm.png

They now expect to start in November for a 2018 completion.

Awesome! Outdoor areas look nice. Since it looks like they are every 3 floors, I wonder if the two floors above will have access if they are not leased by the same tenant as the patio floor.

Looks like prep work has started. They were tearing up some concrete last week.

You can see the activity on the Salesforce Tower cam. All the trailers were removed on 8/13, and they've been working on the site ever since.

one can only wonder.
if they get this up and built before salesforce and 50 first, maybe they can get it rented-out before them as well.

funny thought,,i feel (well, maybe not) for those who paid a bundle in the millennium tower. i mean, 181 fremont to block the south, salesforce to the east and the park tower to the west.

It's a bummer but people have to realize views aren't guaranteed, even at Millennium prices.

I'm sure this will come online before 50 First, which still needs to complete the approval process (slated for this year, I believe), is a much larger building and will require demolition of existing buildings. Per the published timelines, Salesforce should be available a little before this, even with the delays they've experienced.

What I haven't seen so far is any info on how far down they will need to install caissons and excavate for this. I think there are supposed to be about 120 underground parking spaces, but I don't know how many levels that would be. And this is even farther into the bay fill area, so the caissons may need to go down pretty far as well.

Does anyone know anything about the subterranean aspects of this project? I'm curious to know what's coming.

Just two underground levels, according to the brochure

http://www.parktowerattransbay.com/u...ok_0611_sm.pdf

Thanks! Of course it is in the one document I didn't check on their site. So not as deep an excavation as Salesforce. Plus they are using a stacking system and won't need to excavate the entire footprint of the building. those factors should help the speed of construction a little.

Park Tower's #land purchase has been finalized & #construction is commencing immediately! Learn more at http://www.parktowerattransbay.com #CRE

https://twitter.com/ParkTowerSF

Plans for Transbay's Block 5 have been in the works for a while now, with the development team—a joint venture between Golub Real Estate Corp. and The John Buck Company—proposing a 43-story office tower for the site. Now, the $173 million sale of the site has officially gone through and an October 6 groundbreaking ceremony has been set.

http://sf.curbed.com

There's a crawler crane onsite today. Just another sign that this is getting ready to take off.

Not much to see other than prep for tomorrow's ceremonial ground breaking:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/588/2...0da318bc_b.jpg

Has anyone noticed if the pile driver onsite has been working or is just staged for now?