SAN FRANCISCO | Projects: Under Construction, Approved, and Proposed

[craeg]

whats up with 301 mission? Is it not going to be torn down to make way for the 301 mission highrise?

[rocketman_95046]

^ yes it is. thats why they are calling it a reduction in available office space.

[Benhamin]

Wow! San Fran sure has a lot of awesome projects going on right now, I had no idea. Thanks for the info, and keep up the good work!

[Marvel 33]

Very nice projects SF

[FourOneFive]

^ yes it is. thats why they are calling it a reduction in available office space.

Yeah, I can't believe offices still occupy 301 Mission. I wonder if they've cleared out.

BTW, has anyone seen the Watermark tower rising near the Bay Bridge? It may only be 22 stories, but it will sure be prominent when it's completed next year!

[EastBayHardCore]

FourOneFive: You're right, that Watermark tower sure will be prominent when it's completed. My one gripe though is the above ground parking :( Talk about a great location though. I hope they have some thick windows on the apartments facing the bridge though, I'd imagine it can get pretty loud on that bottom deck with all the echos of engines. BTW nice new renderings of the cruise ship terminal and other projects! I always miss the updates because its just an edit and not a new post :D

[FourOneFive]

^ thanks tekno. i try to go back and edit this thread whenever we get new information on SF. check back often!

re: the parking lot around the watermark tower. i've read that after the tower, park, and cruise terminal are completed, the parking lot will be turned over to residential uses (mid-rises and another shorter residential tower- 13 floors). they just wanted to build the tower first, so its condo sales could be used to fund the cruise terminal.

here's the rendering of the terminal. notice that the parking lot is gone.

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2000/02/16/mn_waterfront-piers30-32.jpg

[EastBayHardCore]

Ahh good eye, that sounds reasonable to me.

[FourOneFive]

New developments on the Daniel Libeskind designed Jewish Museum in San Francisco:

A museum dedicated to life
New scaled-down design keeps Jewish art edifice on 2007 target
- John King, Chronicle Urban Design Writer
Wednesday, February 2, 2005

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/02/02/BAGIGB49QR1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/02/02/ba_museum.jpg

Stripped down but still ambitious, the new design for San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum by acclaimed architect Daniel Libeskind is nearly complete -- and the long-awaited complex could open by the end of 2007.

The current plan for the project, which was presented Tuesday to the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission, would transform the shell of a 1907 power substation in the city's Yerba Buena district into a $43 million, 60,000- square-foot museum. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2006, with a target opening date late in 2007.

The new approach scales back a larger and costlier design that was unveiled with fanfare in 2000 only to spend the next years in limbo. But what hasn't changed is the exuberant nature of the design - and the participation of Libeskind, who has become one of the world's best-known architects in the years since his selection by the museum in 1998.

"It's like an old friend, the San Francisco project. We've known it for six years," Libeskind said last month in New York, where he relocated his office from Berlin in 2003 after being selected to craft a master plan for renewing the World Trade Center site in New York. "We've got at least 20 models of it in our office."

The refined design of the museum features the jagged, tumbling energy that is Libeskind's trademark. A 60-foot-high cube, clad in blue metal, twists out sharply from the west side of the old substation, jutting toward a public walkway being built between Mission and Market streets.

The cube in turn rests against another new piece of the building -- a long, thin rectangle that angles upward as it runs nearly the entire length of the substation, filled with gallery space poised above the brick shell of the original landmark.

Viewed from above, the two shapes are an abstraction of the Hebrew phrase "L'Chaim" -- "To life." This fundamentally joyous message is at the heart of the museum's vision, officials say.

The idea of life "reflects the museum's commitment to providing contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas," said Connie Wolf, the museum's director.

For all its drama, the new design is restrained, compared to what was approved in 2000 after Libeskind was selected for the job.

The first design called for the new spaces to be clad in gold rather than blue, with a more elaborate set of shapes careering up and out from the shell. But that design also contained 100,000 square feet and was tailored to a $60 million budget -- numbers that stalled progress in the aftermath of the 2001 recession and a failed merger with the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley.

The reduced size posed no real problem, said Libeskind, who also stressed that "L'Chaim" has guided the design all along.

"The building has become more delicate," he said. "The older design coped with a lot of space requirements. It's more elegant now, more organic, and it's the right scale for the power station."

Libeskind, 58, also has museums under construction in Denver and Toronto. He won critical acclaim for his Jewish Museum Berlin, with its slanted floors and dead-end corridors, which were designed to convey the dread of the Holocaust. For the San Francisco project he is working with local firm Chong Partners in a joint venture.

The San Francisco design has not sparked controversy, unlike other high- profile designs here by international architects. But preservationists are upset with the recent addition of a parking garage below the site.

The garage was added to provide additional parking for the adjacent Four Seasons Hotel -- a garage that also extends below a new public square and a proposed Mexican Museum. During construction, the Redevelopment Agency allowed the southern wall of the power station that faces Mission Street to be suspended in air and propped up while a hole was dug underneath.

This also meant removing many of the bricks and all the interior trusses from the long-vacant power station, which is a national landmark. They are to be restored as part of the museum's construction, officials say, but critics say the landmark shouldn't have been taken apart so drastically to begin with.

Tuesday's visit to the Redevelopment Commission -- as well as a community presentation planned for next week -- in part aims to counter skepticism that the plans will become real. Both the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Mexican Museum were given sites along Mission Street across from Yerba Buena Gardens as part of the city's effort to create a full-fledged arts district downtown. They would join the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as well a city-owned gallery and theater.

While the Mexican Museum remains stalled, the Jewish Museum efforts revived last year. The board of trustees is chaired by Roselyne Swig, a well- regarded philanthropist and community leader; the museum itself was founded in 1984, and continues to present exhibits in its small space at 121 Steuart St.

The new schedule calls for Libeskind and the museum to finish design work this year. Construction should start within 14 months and be complete by the end of 2007. The museum will include a gallery space, classrooms and an auditorium as well as the two staples of new museums: a book shop and cafe.

[FourOneFive]

An overblown article from yesterday's San Francisco Examiner. The towers are nothing new; we've known about them for over a year. But the Examiner decided to proclaim the plans by putting it squarely on the front page.

Rincon Hill primed for soaring towers
55-story building set for residences.
By J.K. Dineen
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, February 4, 2005 11:26 AM PST
E-mail this story | Print this page

http://www.pmainc.com/images/One-Rincon-Hill_01.jpg

In what would be among the tallest residential towers west of the Mississippi, a developer is proposing a pair of soaring, pencil-thin structures city planners tout as the crown jewels of the new Rincon Hill neighborhood plan.

Developer Michael Kriozere, who developed the Towers at Embarcadero South, wants to build 700 units of condos in two glass-and-aluminum skyscrapers on the corner of First and Harrison streets. The plan calls for a 55-story building, a 45-story building, and 14 garden townhouses. actually they're 61 and 49 story towers

The only taller residential tower on the West Coast would be the 58-story building at 301 Mission St., which is currently under construction. 301 Mission is a mixed use development with a hotel component

The towers, spread 115 feet apart, would sit on the modest apex of Rincon Hill and would shoot up by the Bay Bridge's onramp. Each story would contain just 9,800 square feet, making them the skinniest skyscrapers in The City, according to developer spokesman David Prowler.

"They are as clean as clean gets," he said.

The building would occupy a 50,000-square-foot lot where a three-story Bank of America office building now sits. Project attorney Steven Vettle said the developer was careful to buy enough land to allow the buildings to breathe, he added.

"The cleanliness of it appeals to me," Vittle said.

City Planner Marshall Foster said the towers conform exactly to The City's new Rincon Hill neighborhood plan. Under the plan, which calls for 3,900 new Rincon Hill housing units, floor plans must be less than 10,000 square feet and spaced 115 feet apart. They must provide all parking underground.

"We think that, generally speaking, it's a model for the kind of thing the plan is trying to do," Foster said. "It's an example of the benefits of having a clear set of rules that minimize bulk and minimize shade and preserve views and openness."

Gabriel Metcalf, deputy director of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, agreed.

"For people who like the way Vancouver looks, these are the buildings that most resemble Vancouver-style high-rises," Metcalf said. "We think this is a great building topography for San Francisco."

The developer goes before the Planning Commission on Feb. 17 and is hoping to break ground this summer.
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One Rincon Hill will replace the Bank of America Clocktower atop Rincon Hill now.

http://www.pbase.com/antonio3783/image/29888080/original.jpg

[Fabb]

The only taller residential tower on the West Coast would be the 58-story building at 301 Mission St., which is currently under construction.

But the first post of this thread mentions a possible start of construction later in the year.

I'm confused.

[FourOneFive]

^ Sorry, I haven't had a chance to update the first post yet. craeg informed us yesterday that the developers are currently demolishing the current buildings on the site now. So, technically 301 Mission will *actually* begin construction in a few months (maybe next month).

I'm meeting a friend tomorrow to go running along the Embarcadero before the Super Bowl. Maybe I'll bring my camera a snap a few shots of the 301 Mission demolition and maybe the construction of the Watermark tower.

[FerrariEnzo]

Libeskind is THE Jewish museum man isnt he.

[Fabb]

craeg informed us yesterday that the developers are currently demolishing the current buildings on the site now. So, technically 301 Mission will *actually* begin construction in a few months (maybe next month).

That's a good news.
The article contains so many inaccuracies that I'm glad to have a confirmation.

[FourOneFive]

The Watermark (220', 22 floors) under construction on the Embarcadero. The sale of the condos within the tower will fund the construction of a waterfront park across from the site as well as a new cruise terminal for San Francisco.

http://www.pbase.com/antonio3783/image/39474187/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/antonio3783/image/39474188/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/antonio3783/image/39474190/original.jpg

As for 301 Mission, I didn't take any pictures, but I did drive past the site. It looks like they're gutting the interior.

[mpls]

The Watermark (220', 22 floors) under construction on the Embarcadero. The sale of the condos within the tower will fund the construction of a waterfront park across from the site as well as a new cruise terminal for San Francisco.

...

interesting, so is the city building/developing this project?

[EastBayHardCore]

Has there been any discussion of 555 Mission recently? It says it was put on hold due to high vacancy, but iirc the market has been steadily picking up.

[craeg]

The are demolishing the buildings onsite. I wouldnt be surprised though if that was to put in a surface parking lot.

[FourOneFive]

Rincon Hill update:

the final certification of the EIR (with changes to the city's general plan) goes before the planning commission on thursday, april 14th. if it passes, it goes before the board of supervisors in may. apparently, the first towers out of the gate once the EIR is certified will be one rincon hill.

new tidbit: there is still controversy surrounding 375 and 399 fremont. apparently, the proposed projects will be *grandfathered* by the planning department because they've been sitting in the pipeline for so long. rather than allowing two separate towers (375 fremont at 300' and 399 fremont at 350'), the towers will be combined into one 400' tower. the new tower with its accompanying midrise buildings will allow both developers to build nearly the same amount of units proposed in the two separate projects. residents are complaining though that the tower is inconsistent with the proposed Rincon Hill plan because four towers (the 2 avalon towers, the approved 325 fremont, and the proposed 375-399 fremont tower) will sit on the block bounded by fremont, harrison, beale, and folsom. in addition, the proposed tower will only be spaced 82.5' from the proposed 340-350 fremont, and will sit far closer to the existing avalon towers.

[fflint]

Mayor pushes downtown plans
Pending proposals in S.F. would add 11,000 housing units

Dan Levy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, March 24, 2005

http://sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/03/24/bu_newsom.jpg
A conceptual rendering of the Transbay Terminal redevelopment area shows high-rises that could include many new housing units. Courtesy of San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.

Mayor Gavin Newsom called Wednesday for a "renaissance of housing construction" in downtown San Francisco and South of Market, saying the city is on the verge of approving three major neighborhood plans that could create 11,000 new housing units.

At a City Hall news conference, Newsom said proposals for Rincon Hill and the Transbay Terminal and Mid-Market redevelopment districts would also generate $3.2 billion in construction and create 1,800 jobs.

"These are opportunities to revitalize areas of the city that have been utterly underused," Newsom said. "They will transform San Francisco's sluggishness as it relates to housing."

All three development proposals have long been on the drawing board and are working their way through the city approval process.

But this is the first time Newsom has publicly put the prestige of the mayor's office behind them. The mayor brought together leaders from the Planning Department, Redevelopment Agency and mayor's office of housing to make his announcement.

San Francisco has a severe housing shortage and some of the highest home prices of any city in the nation. The median price for new and existing single- family homes and condos in San Francisco was $699,000 in February, according to research firm DataQuick. In the Bay Area, the median price was $549,000.

Only 13 percent of Bay Area residents can afford to buy a median-priced home, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors.

The neighborhood plans are intended to "substantially address the need" for more housing, including affordable housing, Newsom said. About 2,500 of the 11,000 planned new units are meant for affordable housing.

The Transbay redevelopment plan could be heard Tuesday at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, and the Rincon Hill plan will be heard April 14 at the Planning Commission.

The Mid-Market plan is still months away from Planning Commission review.

All of the proposals include frameworks for commercial and retail space, design controls and open space.

Matt Franklin, director of the mayor's housing office, said the city's inclusionary housing law will require developers to sell or rent between 12 and 17 percent of their units at steep discounts.

For instance, a developer would have to sell a unit to a family of two making $76,000 a year for $282,000, Franklin said. A family of three making $85,500 a year could buy a unit for $325,000, and a family of four making $95, 000 could buy one for $367,000.

Under the plans, the city would also find developers to build 1,100 rental units that would be envisioned for people making 60 percent of median income.

Newsom said the neighborhood plans are intended to help reduce risk for developers. "We hear from the private sector that they're ready to move, but then all of a sudden, the rug is pulled out from under them," he said.

Dean Macris, the city's new planning director, said six proposals totaling more than 1,800 units are planned for Rincon Hill.

"There's no reason to believe that some of them won't be heard this year (at the Planning Commission) and get their approval," Macris said. "That moves them into the position of starting construction next year, and by the end of 2007, we should be realizing some of these units.

"If the market stays as it is today, and many people think it will, the flow should be on its way."

[Marvel 33]

^ 11,000 Housing Units? Wow, that should be great news for San Francisco. However, only 2,500 of the 11,000 units are for affordable housing so I wonder how much impact this project would actually have in the cost of housing as a whole. I'm sure the rest of the 8,500 units that are not affordable housing will probably go for...$700,000; 1 mil, 2 mil. That's not much help!

[J Church]

that's 8,500 buyers who won't be living in or competing for housing elsewhere in the city.

[tuy]

Basic Economics.

An increase in Supply helps meet Demand and keeps prices lower.

[bayrider]

well if supply meets demand, then the market is at equilibrium, if u want prices to drop, u gotta increase the supply above the demand level ;)

[EastBayHardCore]

^ Better to do that than to screw everything up with requirements absurd amount of "affordable housing". Honestly, if I can afford a 2 million dollar condo, i don't want some people stringing along with 25k a year and 4 kids in my building, sorry.

[Lemonhead]

Sorry if I sound really dumb, cause I haven't been following the thread too closely, but will San Francisco get a new tallest soon, or anything higher/as high as the Bank of America building? Just curious :) SF looks like it has some great projects coming along!

[Fabb]

Everything is in the first post of this thread, last updated on 03-16-2005.
The tallest UC is St. Regis Museum Tower (height: 484', floors: 42)
The tallest approved is 311 Mission Street (height: 625', floors: 58)

[fflint]

There has been talk of a tower connected to the new Transbay redevelopment that may be allowed to soar up to 850 feet, but that's only talk at this point.

[FourOneFive]

In this week's San Francisco Business Times:

Mission Bay home run
Burst of building to add more than 1,500 units
Lizette Wilson

Mission Bay is getting taller.

Three residential towers are under construction now at San Francisco's newest neighborhood, with another four scheduled to break ground this summer and five others on the way. By 2007, they will add 785 more units available for purchase, and another 745 for rent -- a massive transformation for the once-barren railroad yard.

"This time next year and especially two years from now, it will really feel like the next new neighborhood of San Francisco," said Mike Ghielmetti, president of Signature Properties which has completed one condo project, is building another, and is closing escrow this month on a third parcel slated for condo development, all in Mission Bay. "From an urban-planning standpoint, it's a very walkable and livable community," he said. "It seems so simple, but it's actually pretty rare."

Fresh residential development is significant not only because it adds critical mass to the burgeoning neighborhood -- anchored with retail, including Safeway, Borders Books and Amici's Pizza -- but also because it adds to the city's anemic stock of new housing.

Projects now under way:

Signature Properties is driving piles at 235 Berry St. This 99-unit condo development at Fourth and Berry streets will be similar to Signature's first Mission Bay neighboring development at 255 Berry St., albeit slightly smaller. The 235 Berry project is slated for completion in summer or fall of 2006.

Mercy Housing's Mission Creek Senior Community is under construction now at Fourth and Berry streets and should be completed by December. The 140-unit complex will be rented to low-income seniors and house a new branch of the San Francisco library on the ground floor. Residents will begin moving in January 2006.

AvalonBay Communities recently completed the pile work for its Avalon Bay II market-rate rental community at Fourth and King streets. The 313-unit complex, which will have a 16-story tower and a seven-story midrise component, is slated for completion in early 2007, with some units becoming available in late 2006. The complex will have an indoor basketball court, rock climbing wall and other amenities.

"The two communities will be operated together, so we wanted to try something different," said AvalonBay's Senior Vice President of Development Steve Wilson, confirming mass excavation will begin in two weeks.

Added AvalonBay Construction Manager Duane Carlson: "This project will be another crown jewel for us."

This summer even more work is slated.

Urban Housing Corp., a division of Marcus & Millichap Companies, expects to break ground July 1 on a 194-unit rental complex. The property, located at 355 Berry Street, will be as tall as six stories and is slated for completion May 2007.

Opus West Corp. expects to break ground on a seven-story building this summer at 325 Berry St. The 110-unit condo development will be market rate and is slated for completion in 2006, with occupancy slated just before the new year.

Signature Properties will close escrow on a third parcel this month and plans to break ground there this summer. The 16-story tower will have 260 units and should be completed during the spring of 2007.

Said Signature's Ghielmetti: "Once we close, we like to move pretty quickly."

Fall construction will include two Redevelopment Agency sites on Berry Street -- developers will be selected this June -- and the 236-unit rental project by the Related Companies.

Bosa Development Corp., which owns seven parcels south of the channel, will break ground on its first complex, with 98 condos, this fall. It will break ground on a neighboring 319-unit condo complex in 2007, and then develop one parcel a year.

IntraCorp is also progressing with its plans. The Canada-based company recently acquired a parcel across the street from Opus West on the 300 block of Berry Street. The group plans to break ground on its 275 condo project -- divided into 17. 7 and 6 story towers, this February.

The final residential parcel -- located between Mission Rock and China Basin Street on Fourth Street -- was recently acquired up by the Fingers Companies.

The surprise bid by the Houston-based luxury home developers jolted others already developing at Mission Bay who also aggressively pursued the parcel.

"We really wanted it. It's urban, it's infill, it's entitled," said Dan Deibel, director of development for Urban Housing. "We love the area. The future of S.F. is shaping up right there."

With Fingers grabbing the last parcel, allocation of sites for private-sector residential development is now complete. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency controls an additional nine parcels south of the channel, but can't proceed with plans to develop affordable housing until neighboring market-rate projects, like those by Bosa, receive building permits.

Lizette Wilson covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.
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[kazpmk]

Excavation has begun apparently on 300 Spear.

Image by naughtyins0mniac (SSC)(Posted APR 2 2005)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/naughtyins0mniac/f_r_i_s_c_o/92dd859b.jpg

The pic is from April 2, so hopefully someone could take a photo of the site now and see if there is increased activity.

Here is another rendering from SSC posted by 612bv3

http://63.240.68.122/FirmFiles/25/images/300tsp-ms-northwest2.jpg

[FourOneFive]

News on the InterContinental Hotel/ 888 Howard from the San Francisco Business Times:

New financing unlocks plan for S.F. hotel
Ryan Tate

http://www.hornbergerworstell.com/portfolio/port_images/big/bigii/IntercontComp.jpg

The developers behind a long-delayed $195 million Intercontinental Hotel adjacent to the Convention Center in San Francisco said they have finally landed the financing to proceed with the project.

Leonard E. Blakesley Jr., executive vice president of Continental Development Corp. of El Segundo, declined to identify his financial backers until all documentation on the deal is final. He said the cost of the four-star property will surpass the original $175 million estimate by about $20 million and that he plans a room rate "substantially in excess" of $225 per night.

Continental launched the project nearly seven years ago as a bid to turn a surface parking lot at Fifth and Howard streets into a 550-room, four-star hotel. With partner Hampshire Properties Inc. of Mill Valley, which co-developed the San Francisco W Hotel, the firm won approval from the Board of Supervisors in November 2003.

Despite those hard-won entitlements, the firm had not secured funding for the project, a tough nut when room rates at the time had fallen to $144 from $146 in 2002 and $170 in 2000, according to PKF Consulting.

Those rates edged up last year, as did occupancy. All told, the revenue per available room rose $9 per night throughout the city in 2004.

Much of the strength in the market has come from convention business, which in 2003 and 2004 produced room night bookings on par with the dot-com era. And that business, in turn, has been goosed by brisk business at Moscone West, a 300,000-square foot convention center addition that can hold smaller events on shorter notice.

The Intercontinental Hotel is slated to go in adjacent to Moscone West, positioning Blakesley said is essential to the property's success.

"Things are doing much better, otherwise we wouldn't be going forward there," Blakesley said. "That whole convention area is where the real life of San Francisco is now."

Blakesley said about one third of his guests should be conventioneers, another one third people in town on business and another third tourists. The biotech development at Mission Bay should help draw the business crowd, while tourists will like the proximity of a smattering of museums, including the Jewish, Mexican and African Diaspora museums, and the Bloomingdale's development two blocks up on Market Street.

Down the street at Mission and Steuart, Joie de Vivre Hospitality is aiming for an initial room rate of $225 to $250 per night for its four-star Hotel Vitale on the waterfront. But the Intercontinental won't open until summer 2007, Blakesley said, a year later than originally planned. By then, prices will likely have changed, and the Vitale's rate may be closer to $275 per night, the long term goal for the property.

Blakesley said he was not worried about competition from the luxury St. Regis Hotel, a 260-room property expected to open this summer on Mission Street. That five-star property is going after a different set of guests, Blakesley said.

Ryan Tate covers hospitality for the San Francisco Business Times.

[EastBayHardCore]

That rendering in the top right must be OLD because isn't that the proposed hotel over the new Bloomingdales that I see off in the distance?

[FourOneFive]

yeah, the rendering to the upper right does appear old. this architect also designed the now dead bloomingdales hotel, so they probably wanted to save money by including both in the same shot.

[FourOneFive]

update:

1160 mission street (235'/24 floors)
- received final approval from the planning commission

http://agicapital.com/outreach/mission/images/missionwebready.jpg

631 folsom (209'/ 21 floors)
- approved by the planning commission

http://www.malcolmproperties.com/images/631folsom_04a1.jpg
http://www.malcolmproperties.com/images/631folsom_overall_04a1.jpg

[FourOneFive]

anyone have new construction pics of SF's skyscrapers? it looks like the watermark has been topped off and its exterior appears to be completed. also, is the new federal building topped off yet?

[EastBayHardCore]

You're right the Watermark is topped off, it still has a while to go before the inside is complete though, and last week the red construction elevator was still on the west side of the building. As for the new Fed Building, I was by it about a week ago also. It seems to be topped of, if not then its just a story away. I believe they have also start putting on some of the facade on the lower levels. Oh, lastly Bloomingdales is coming along NICELY! The Mission st. side looks great, I'm more curious about how the restored Market st. facade will look though.

[rocketman_95046]

anyone have an update on 300 spear?

[Xeelee]

beatiful projects. too bad we cant have anything like this in Houston.

[kazpmk]

anyone have an update on 300 spear?

It began construction according to Emporis and page one of this forum.

[rocketman_95046]

^yea but does anyone have any new pics;) :yes::???:

[craeg]

I just walked by the site this morning, and its nothing more then a fenced off maybe two foot deep hole in the ground. Not even any equipment on site.

[EastBayHardCore]

^ Yea it's been like that for probably over a month hasn't it? I can't see I've seen any activity since they did the digging of that hole.

[FourOneFive]

From this week's San Francisco Business Times:

State Fund scraps new headquarters
Cost, competition sink project
Chris Rauber

The State Compensation Insurance Fund has jettisoned plans to build an 11-story headquarters in downtown San Francisco that was once expected to help revitalize the mid-Market corridor.

Officials at California's largest workers' compensation insurance company cited increasing competition in the workers' comp realm for their decision, along with escalating construction costs. However, money worries don't appear to be an immediate problem: In March, State Fund reported 2004 net income of $909 million, up from $712 million in 2003, on premium volume of $7.9 billion. Reserves jumped 22.5 percent.

State Fund originally hatched plans in late 2002 to complete a 268,000-square-foot structure by November 2005, adjacent to its current headquarters building at 1275 Market St. That deadline was later pushed back to June 2006, said Jim Zelinski, a State Fund spokesman.

The proposed new headquarters building would have housed 800 employees and cost $82 million, according to early estimates.

Some saw the planned building at 55 Ninth St. as a potential anchor of new development in the troubled mid-Market area, which has battled blight for decades. Some preliminary work was completed early in the process, but the project has been in limbo for some time.

Abrupt disclosure
State Fund officials abruptly disclosed June 15 that they'd decided not to move forward with the project, citing major changes in the California workers' compensation market, one day after a San Francisco Business Times reporter asked questions about the project's status.

When the new structure was originally envisioned, the quasi-public State Fund was tallying unprecedented growth as many private insurers bailed out of the California comp market. The resulting rapid premium growth swelled the company's ranks, creating cramped working conditions, according to State Fund.

About 1,500 employees work in its current 350,000-square-foot headquarters; 800 or so work in leased space in other San Francisco office buildings.

But recent workers' comp reforms stabilized soaring costs, inspiring many private carriers to return to the California market or increase their presence here. In response, State Fund's board of directors decided last week to abandon the building project. Construction costs, particularly the cost of steel, also drove the decision.

"This move reflects our commitment to make decisions that serve the best interests of the organization, our policyholders and their injured workers, and the California economy," Jeanne Cain, chair of State Fund's board, said in a statement. She said the fact that the new building is no longer needed underscores that a central goal of the comp reforms -- "reducing costs and bringing carriers back into the California market" -- has been successful.

Keeping options open
James Tudor, the company's acting president, called State Fund financially strong and said that to remain so "we will continue to monitor all costs and expend our capital wisely."

Rudolph & Sletten was general contractor on the canceled project. Architectural designs were drawn up two years ago by HOK Inc.'s San Francisco office. Swinerton Builders did some preliminary pre-construction work.

With regard to the 55 Ninth St. site, which State Fund has owned for more than 25 years, "we're preserving our options," including retaining city-approved entitlements on the property, spokesman Zelinski said.

Chris Rauber covers insurance for the San Francisco Business Times. Freelance writer Steve Ginsberg contributed to this story.
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well, another project shot down in san francisco. although it was small, it would have removed an ugly surface parking lot.

[kazpmk]

What's up with 301 Mission Street. Isn't construction supposed to begin this month??

[craeg]

I dont believe that they have demolished the buildings currently on site.

[JPKneworleans]

My companion and I were in SF recently. Chase, 101 Second and St. Regis are fabu. We happened upon the new de Young while at the Japanese Tea Garden. What's the function of the tower?

[Philly-Drew]

San Francisco kicks ass! I love that city.

There are only 4 American cities which I would want to live in. I don’t have any order, it really all depends on what opportunities I would find, then I’d go (or stay).

My four livable, walkable, fun, kick ass night life, great skyline, dense, true “city life” cities that I know of are:

San Francisco
Chicago
New York
Philadelphia

The view of your skyline coming over the Bay Bridge is my favorite!

301 Mission Street looks like an awesome project.

Go San Francisco!

[FourOneFive]

My companion and I were in SF recently. Chase, 101 Second and St. Regis are fabu. We happened upon the new de Young while at the Japanese Tea Garden. What's the function of the tower?

the tower is simply an observation deck. it rises roughly 14 stories above the park canopy to allow for a sweeping view of the city.

[fflint]

Condo tower ready to soar
After four years, group to start work on 58-story project

Lizette Wilson
The San Francisco Business Times
July 29, 2005

http://www.handelarchitects.com/project/400x300/301%20Mission%20&%20First.jpghttp://www.handelarchitects.com/project/400x300/301%20BAYBRIDGE.jpg
http://www.handelarchitects.com/project/400x300/301Slide27.jpg

Construction of San Francisco's tallest residential building is set to begin in September.

Towering above neighboring developments and redefining the city's skyline, the Millennium Tower at 301 Mission St. will pack 420 condos into a building extending 645 feet in the sky -- an engineering feat that also makes the building the city's fourth highest.

Demolition of vacant buildings and other site work begins Aug. 1.

New York-based Millennium Partners, which also created the nearby Four Seasons Hotel and Residences and the Metreon, is developing the $400 million project. It was designed by Handel Architects of New York and is being built by Webcor Builders of San Mateo. Financing was arranged and led by HSBC Group and Bank of America.

"It's a structural science project once you get up that high," said Sean Jeffries, a principal with Millennium Partners. "We've been working on this for four years and can't wait to get it officially commenced."

Demolition at the one-acre parcel bounded by Fremont and Beale streets begins Aug. 1, with Webcor crews clearing three vacant buildings from the site. Official groundbreaking is slated for September with construction expected to finish in late 2008 or 2009.

Shuttering earlier plans to include hotel and office space, the development will be all condos -- one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 700 square feet to 6,000 square feet.

Millennium Partners is still determining the pricing as well as the availability of the units. Although Millennium intends to sell the units, principals are reserving the right to also rent some, depending on market conditions.

Indeed, the Bay Area's overheated housing market could cool considerably in the next three or four years, particularly in San Francisco.

Nearly 30,000 units are in the city's project pipeline now, with nearly two dozen multi-family residential projects already under construction.

Of those units, some 1,500 -- all located in Mission Bay and developed by the likes of Bosa, Signature Properties, Avalon Bay, Urban Housing Group and IntraCorp -- will be coming to market with similar upscale residences in 2007.

Tishman Speyer's high rise at 300 Spear Street -- a $450 million development standing as high as 450 feet -- will also be completing construction in 2007, with 656 upscale condos hitting the market in October.

Jeffries said Millennium is continuing to monitor the market's appetite and for now, thinks it will remain as voracious as it has for the past few years.

Case in point?

Centurion Real Estate Partners, which purchased the Beacon ealier this year, has sold 286 of the 304 units in the west tower since March. The group will begin marketing the 304 units in the east tower in September (renters still occupy most of them, and have been given notice), but has already sold 50.

"It appears that the more that's being constructed and the more people you bring downtown ,the more there's a demand for it," Jeffries said. "It's feeding on itself."

And with and 11-story tower and a 58-story tower, the Millennium project will be quite a mouthful.

The development will reach 645 feet at its peak, making it the fourth tallest building in the city following the Transamerica Pyramid and the Bank of America building, which reach 853 feet and 779 feet respectively. It will be the tallest building constructed since California Center, which stands at 695 feet, was completed in 1986.

[fflint]

Here are some of J Church's recent photos of some SF projects under construction:

The International Hotel, 15 stories, u/c:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/i_hotel.jpg

The St. Regis (on the right), 484ft, 42 stories, u/c:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/yerba_buena_pano.jpg

The Millennium at 301 Mission Street, 645ft, 58 stories, clearing of site:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/301_mission.jpg

This is the future site of One Rincon Hill towers I and II, 550ft/465ft, 55/45 stories, approved for construction next month:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/one_rincon_hill.jpg


http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/300_spear_2.jpg

The Watermark, 220ft, 22 stories, u/c:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/watermark.jpg

Avalon at Mission Bay II, 17 stories, u/c:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/avalon_mission_bay_II.jpg

The University of California, San Francisco's new Mission Bay bioscience campus u/c:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/UCSF_pano.jpg

UCSF Mission Bay student dormitories, 155ft, 15 stories, u/c:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/UCSF_dorms.jpg

The new Federal Building, 234ft, 18 stories, u/c:

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/050805_const_pics/fed_bldg.jpg

[kazpmk]

great construction pics

[fflint]

Tony (Four One Five) found this on the SF Planning Department website, coming before the Planning Commission on September 1st:

Case No. 2004.0297EKCVX: 535 Mission Street, south side between 1st and 2nd Streets, Lots 68 and 83 in Assessor’s Block 3721 – Request under Planning Code Section 309 for Determinations of Compliance and Request for Exceptions including: (1) an exception to the rear yard requirement as permitted in Code Section 134(d); (2) an exception to ground level wind current requirements as permitted in Section 148; and (3) an exception to the requirement for independently-accessible parking spaces as permitted by Section 155(c), and for Conditional Use Authorization for dwelling unit density greater than 1 unit per 125 square feet of lot area, for the construction of a 35-story, 376-foot tall building containing 273 dwelling units, approximately 4,400 square feet of ground floor retail space, and up to 273 valet-operated parking spaces in a below-grade parking garage. Common usable open space for the dwelling units would be provided at street level, on the 2nd floor and in a rooftop deck, and most of the units would have a private balcony. The project will be the subject of a concurrent variance hearing before the Zoning Administrator because up to 141 of the 273 units would not have Code-required dwelling unit exposure. This project lies within a C-3-O (Downtown Office) District, and is within a 550-S Height and Bulk District.

[stumpound]

Anyone know what the "Harbor Village Resort" is? It sounds substantial, but I get very little when I google it...

Thanks!

[J Church]

it's a crazy person's crazy idea--60st towers by islais creek.

[FourOneFive]

^ from what i hear, its still moving through the planning process. i wouldn't count it out yet. rincon hill obviously shows that if a developer is willing to pay off the progs, a project can be built. i bet if he creates an "affordable housing fund" or "community stabilization fund" for the central waterfront or bayview hunter's point communities, it'll pass over the objections of preservationists or the NIMBYS on Potrero Hill.

[slock]

This month should see the groundbreaking of One Rincon and the InterContinental right?

Do you guys know any more details?

[kazpmk]

I read one newspaper that said construction on Rincon hill would begin in September. I don't know abouit intercontinental hotel. It seems that project keeps being pushed back farther and farther.

[FourOneFive]

^ i can't wait to see the demolition of the bank of america clocktower and construction of one rincon hill.

as for the intercontinental, somebody needs to call the developer and find out what's up with that project. i don't want to go back to san francisco in december and see a vacant parking lot next to the moscone center again.

btw, 535 mission was approved by the planning commission thursday. another 400' skyscraper for san francisco.

[EastBayHardCore]

btw, 535 mission was approved by the planning commission thursday. another 400' skyscraper for san francisco.

And a residential one at that :D

[slock]

I remember reading in the Biz times that the developer had secured financing for the InterContinental, I wonder why they keep pushing it back. Although that same article did say it would break ground at the end of summer, so maybe . . .

The vertical additions of the Chronicle Building at Kearny and Market had me wondering. Do you think they would ever revisit the Bloomingdale's project and build to the allowed 400'. With such hard to get entitlements, and the predicted blooming of 5th, I don't know why they wouldn't convert it to housing or do a joint condo-hotel like so many others in the area. I think that will be such a hot area in a few years.

One Rincon will be exciting. And 45 Lansing has got to be on the calendar soon.

[FourOneFive]

^ i don't think they could ever add on a 400' hotel to the bloomingdales project under construction now. from an engineering perspective, i don't think it would be possible. in any case, zoning only allows for a maximum height of 160' if i'm not mistaken. the developers (with the help of redevelopment and former mayor willie brown) were pushing for a 400' hotel to make the project, in their words, "economically feasible".

i'm still holding out hope that they'll eventually do away with the pickwick hotel and replace it with a 5 star luxury hotel. maybe then, you'll get your 400' tower there! ;)

[slock]

I'm still trying to grasp the larger picture of how this all works, but I thought that when a parcel was entitled, those entitlements lasted for a certain period of time. If the building's 400' height was approved, doesn't that mean that even though the area might be zoned for 160', that lot is allowed to exceed this and reach 400?

Could they atleast, from an engineering perspective, again, I am just postulating, go at least to say 200ft?

[FourOneFive]

if i'm not mistaken, the project never had approvals/ permits for the 400' hotel. i would double check with j church, fflint, or craeg to make sure.

[FourOneFive]

if i'm not mistaken, the project never had approvals/ permits for the 400' hotel. i would double check with j church, fflint, or craeg to make sure.

and i still don't think they could add a 200' or 400' hotel to the existing bloomingdales without closing the store and completing extensive renovations to support a new tower.

[slock]

Interesting.

I actually went back in the Biz Times and Chronicle to check the stories about the tower. It seems that they just couldn't get financing for a hotel at the time.

I wonder why they didn't either pursue a half condo, or all condo development to help subsidize, or why they didn't divvy it into two phases with the tower at a later date. Their thought seemed to be that hotels were too risky. Now you've got St. Regis, InterContinental, Sofitel a few blocks down. I think if there was a phase two, the timing would have been perfect.

[craeg]

I commented at the time that the hotel portion had been cancelled that it was foolish to not pursue housing on the site.
I'm fairly certain that they had approval for the 400' portion of the project - wasnt it that one sliver of the site was already zoned for something that tall?

[craeg]

Maybe not. I checked the height limits and it seems only a small corner of the north side of 4th and mission falls under the 400' height limit.
http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/California/zoning/dat/1h.pdf?f=templates$fn=altmain-nf.htm$3.0

[FourOneFive]

city college sits at the 400' zone. i doubt anything could be built at that height anyway at that site because city college won't relocate anytime soon, and any new development would probably exceed the FAR because the parcel is so small.

in any case, the 400' tower was approved for the site next to the pickwick hotel. see...

http://www.hornbergerworstell.com/portfolio/port_images/big/bigii/835Compii.jpg

[slock]

Of all the towers in your "never built" section 415, this one irks me the most. I think it really would have ushered in the Westward expansion down Market we will see. It would have been prominent down Powell, both directions down Market, from anywhere South of Market and most importantly from Yerba Buena. I also really like the design and imagine that balcony/courtyard area beneath the tower architecturally stunning.

I think as 5th blossoms, which I think it will immensely, we will see some comparable projects.

[kazpmk]

What is the correct height for Millenium Tower??? Is the 645 ft figure this thread has correct or the 625 ft figure Emporis has correct??

What is the correct height for 300 Spear II ?? Emporis has 350 ft. This thread has 400 ft.

[FourOneFive]

301 mission aka the millenium tower is 625' to roof and 645' to its structural tip. it has some glassy architectual element at its roof giving it an extra 20'.

as for 300 spear II, there has been some debate, but the official height is 350' to its roof. it does have an additional top for mechanical equipment, but it isn't an extra 50'.

[FourOneFive]

Press Release by Intercontinental:

InterContinental Hotels Group Expands U.S. Upscale Presence
Wednesday September 21, 4:40 pm ET
New InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Property to Open in San Francisco Near Moscone Convention Center

http://www.hornbergerworstell.com/portfolio/port_images/big/bigii/IntercontComp.jpg

ATLANTA, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) (NYSE: IHG; London) (ADRs), the world's most global hotel company, plans to open its latest InterContinental Hotels & Resorts property in San Francisco. The new InterContinental San Francisco will join its sister hotel, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco, in the City by the Bay.

Located in San Francisco's South of Market Area (SOMA), the InterContinental San Francisco will be at the corner of Howard and Fifth streets and adjacent to the new Moscone West Convention Center. The hotel will be in close proximity to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metreon/Sony Entertainment Center, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Jewish Museum San Francisco, the Mexican Museum and the San Francisco Historical Museum.Construction is scheduled to begin in October and the hotel is expected to open in late 2007.

"With IHG's strong focus on expanding the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand in the U.S., especially in key gateway cities, the InterContinental San Francisco is a tremendous and welcome addition to our portfolio of hotels," said Kirk Kinsell, SVP and chief development officer, the Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group.

The 32-story high-rise will include 550 guestrooms and three complete floors of meeting space, which will be housed in a tower designed to complement Moscone West. With over 43,000 square feet of meeting and function space, the hotel will have one of the largest meeting facilities in San Francisco and will have the capability of supporting the increasing business to the Moscone Convention Center.


Hotel amenities will include:
- A two-level Presidential Suite with sweeping views of the Bay Area
- Exclusive Club InterContinental lounge with food and beverage served
throughout the day
- State-of-the-art technology in guest rooms, meeting space and
public areas
- Lobby-level upscale restaurant and bar
- 8,000 square foot full-service spa and health club
- Indoor lap pool
- Spacious terraces for public use
- On-site underground valet parking

The property will be developed by the majority owner Continental Development Corporation, and will be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group. The design architect is Patri Merker Architects and the construction architect is Hornberger+Worstell. Brayton+Hughes Design Studio is the interior design firm. Webcor will be the project's general contractor.

[kazpmk]

thanks for the info.

One more question. On page one you have this:

690 Market Street
renovation

function: residential, hotel
height: 312'
floors: 24
architect: ?
completion: 2006

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2004/11/28/re_ritz_4.jpg

It's not on Emporis. That address has a 16 floor tower according to emporis. Is the tower really getting 8 story addition?? This is the only thread I heard about the renovation of this tower. Any more info??

[FourOneFive]

^ yes. the developer is restoring the building's original facade and adding 8 floors. i think the building is becoming all condos with the ritz carlton running a certain amount of time shares within the building.

[Stephenapolis]

I really like the plan for 690 Market Street. The original facade looks very nice and the addition seems to mix in relatively well.

[kazpmk]

One Rincon Hill is now under construction according to emporis
http://pactenpartners.com/projects/riconhill/riconhill_op.jpg

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/09/29/dd_place29.jpg

[J Church]

new render from the one rincon hill thread:

http://63.240.68.115/FirmFiles/95/images/Rincon%20Hill%2D2%2Ejpg

official groundbreaking took place thu, 10 nov 2005. target date for opening: dec 2007.

[EastBayHardCore]

Were more specific completion dates for 300 Spear and 301 Mission ever announced?

[kazpmk]

Has the intercontinental hotel begun construction yet??

[J Church]

301 mish is late 2008. 300 spear started on excavation awhile ago but got sidetracked when buried ships were discovered; not sure what its target date is. the intercontinental is supposed to break ground by the end of the year.

[fflint]

Came across a relatively recent photo of the Watermark, which surely must be opening soon?

http://images.nycsubway.org//i41000/img_41735.jpg

[EastBayHardCore]

Any clue if they've finished construction around the ugly base? I seem to remember there being townhouses planned for ground level or maybe some retail to go around the ugly garage.

[fflint]

No clue. I have only been downtown one time since I started law school, and even then I didn't go any deeper than Stockton Street. I haven't been anywhere near the Watermark in probably a year.

[FourOneFive]

I'm suprised nobody posted this article in this thread:

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/12/15/dd_johnkingcolumn.jpg

It's got high-rises, it's got organic gardens and it just might be a model for cities everywhere
- John King
Thursday, December 15, 2005

Whether or not it ever gets built, the most intriguing development proposal in America right now involves our very own Treasure Island.

It's got organic gardens and a 60-story tower, wind farms and glitzy hotels. Restaurants beckon beneath an enormous glass roof that doubles as a solar panel. You don't need a car because everything essential is within walking distance, including a ferry straight to downtown San Francisco.

And here's the most intriguing thing of all: This urban utopia is being pushed by one of the largest developers in the United States.

That's why I hope that as San Francisco examines what Lennar Corp. says it wants to do with this 393-acre artificial island from the 1930s, cynicism doesn't totally cloud the fact that we're being shown an unprecedented vision of urban growth -- one crafted in response to the Bay Area's odd blend of urbanity and environmentalism.

Yes, the revised plan trotted out last month -- followed by models and polished images this week -- packs an intense amount of development onto an island that few outsiders have visited since the Golden Gate International Exposition of the late '30s.

There'd be as many as 5,500 housing units on an island that now has 750 apartments built by the U.S. Navy before it closed a base there in 1997. There would be two hotels, a conference center and a commercial district near a proposed ferry terminal sliced into the west side of the island.

There also will be five residential towers near the ferry. The model includes a central high-rise twisting 60 stories into the air, though Anthony Flanagan, president of Lennar's urban division, stresses that everything being shown is conceptual: "What we're trying to define is the character of the community, not the specific architecture."

So far, this is pretty much what you'd expect from a developer involved in five other base conversions across the country, including Mare Island in Vallejo and San Francisco's Hunters Point Shipyard.

But look at the project's green wrapping.

The northeastern half of the island is treated, in the plan, as a landscaped world apart, a 120-acre swath with ball fields and marshes as well as conventional parkland and 20 acres reserved for organic farming.

The scheme has wind turbines along the shore, and streets mapped to deflect that wind. Towers would come with photovoltaic panels to generate electricity for the island; so would a glass canopy atop the open-air retail zone near the ferry.

Most ambitious of all, 90 percent of the housing is clustered within a 10-minute walk to the ferry. Developers would be required to subsidize ferry service from the day the units open -- say 2009 in the most optimistic scenario -- so that new residents wouldn't feel they need to own a car that can't force its way onto the Bay Bridge during rush hour anyway.

Why push sustainable notions to such an extent? Because Lennar and co-developer Kenwood Investments finally realized where they are.

The Bay Area is a region where many of us think we can have it all -- scenery to rival Yosemite and neighborhoods that make New York seem dull. Food grown by nearby farmers, and urban culture at its most cutting edge.

With that parochial perspective comes a sense of entitlement that says if developers want to do business here, they'd better pay attention to what we want. In this case, "we" are the environmental advocates and planning watchdogs who have spent years saying a site this unique deserves a unique future.

And they're absolutely right. If large-scale growth is allowed to replace the remnants of the military base that closed in 1997, it had better be special. Otherwise, let the island's 20 million cubic feet of black sand filter back into the bay from whence it came.

What Lennar and Kenwood sought to build until last month wasn't special at all; it was quasi-suburbia. It was fashioned to win approval by avoiding controversy, but it had no spark.

The new approach is a profound change, especially the $20 million ferry terminal: Lennar first wanted to use an existing pier that faces Oakland. And the shift in the development approach is a tribute to critics who lobbied for a better plan, rather than simply saying no.

None of which means that what is on the table should now be rubber-stamped.

Here are two examples of things that need to be looked at more. Seismic issues can't be glossed over, certainly if high-rise condos are supposed to be attached to submerged bedrock closest to Yerba Buena Island. And even if towers make sense, consider this: The central high-rise would be taller than the nearby towers of the Bay Bridge. Aesthetic rationale aside, should a private enclave take precedence over public monuments?

The new Treasure Island proposals need intense scrutiny during the next few months as more details are released, and before San Francisco's Board of Supervisors votes on whether to endorse the broad outlines of the plan. It might turn out that this shining Xanadu is pie in the sky.

But what we have now is a starting point, a fascinating attempt to strike a balance between environmental principles and big-city life. If the Bay Area can find a way to make it work, the entire nation will pay attention.

-- For a full look at the current proposal, go to http://www.sfgov.org/treasureisland

[FourOneFive]

From today's San Francisco Chronicle:

Transbay planners see new landmark
- Dan Levy
Sunday, December 25, 2005

Transbay Terminal planners are viewing their controversial idea for a new San Francisco high-rise as nothing less than the signature building of our time -- much like the Transamerica Pyramid defined the skyline in the 1970s.

"It would be a landmark statement," said architect Paul Woolford of HOK, which has been hired by Transbay project manager URS to do the master plan for the terminal redevelopment area.

"The tower would essentially speak to the pyramid and the Bank of America building. If you were on one of the hills or on the bay, you would see those towers as the spires of the city."

The current proposal is for an 850-foot mixed-use tower on Mission Street, but a spire on top of the building would bring the height to 925 feet, making it the city's tallest.

An international design competition is being coordinated by architecture consultant Don Stastny. Transbay Joint Powers Authority Director Maria Ayerdi said she hopes to get board approval for the contest early next year.

Still, city officials remain skeptical about the $4 billion Transbay financing scheme and question whether the authority should be pursuing the high-rise proposal at all.

"The high-rise is not the project voters approved," said Jose Luis Moscovich, executive director of the San Francisco Transportation Authority, which doles out sales-tax revenues to the Transbay planning process. "It's a deviation from the plan."
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[craeg]

Hot damn. Excellent news. Cant wait to see what comes of it.
We do like our "tall" buildings to wear very big hats dont we.

[FourOneFive]

From the December 28th edition of the New York Times:

Trying to Build the Grand Central of the West
By LISA CHAMBERLAIN

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/27/business/trans.184.jpg
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/28/business/28transbay650.jpg

SAN FRANCISCO - The Transbay Terminal is sometimes referred to by planners and developers here as the missing tooth in a smile. Situated in the rapidly growing South of Market neighborhood, the once-busy rail hub has slowly deteriorated into an underused bus station even as surrounding areas have been transformed by office and residential towers; SBC Park, where the Giants play baseball; and cultural institutions like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The first plan to redevelop the Transbay Terminal into the "Grand Central Terminal of the West" was released in 1967 and many plans since have collected dust. But the formation of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority in 2001 to push the project has begun to produce some notable results.

The authority announced this month an international competition to select an architect and developer to design and build not only the five-level, 600,000 square-foot terminal but an adjacent 850-foot tower that is expected to be as symbolic for South of Market as the Transamerica Pyramid is to the central business district, which is north of Market Street.

The competition, guided by conceptual designs unveiled on Dec. 19, is a result of two advances: the settlement of a major lawsuit over a land dispute that had the potential to delay the Transbay plan for years, and the adoption of a high-density master plan, devised by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, to redevelop the surrounding 40 acres and provide much of the financing for the terminal and tower.

"Having worked on this for 10 years, once you start unveiling conceptual designs, you really start to see the value and the impact this project will have on the entire region," said Maria Ayerdi, the executive director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. "But it took time to get here. Some of the transit groups I work with have been working on this since before I was born. The reason the project had languished is because there are so many stakeholders that need to talk to each other and agree."

The Transbay Terminal - expected to be complete by 2013, three years sooner than previous projections - will serve nine Northern California counties and various transit agencies both public and private, including trains, subways, buses and ultimately, it is hoped, high-speed rail to Los Angeles. The surrounding 40-acre area, much of it opened up after highways damaged in the 1989 earthquake were demolished, is to become San Francisco's most densely populated neighborhood, based on a planning model known as Vancouverism.

Named after the city in British Columbia, Vancouverism is characterized by tall, but widely separated, slender towers interspersed with low-rise buildings, public spaces, small parks and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and facades to minimize the impact of a high-density population. The Transbay neighborhood would have an estimated 350 people an acre, whereas the typical residential neighborhood with four-story flats has about 60 people an acre.

"In San Francisco, there's been a concern about high density and its impact on the historic character of the city," said John Kriken, who developed the Transbay master plan at Skidmore Owings & Merrill.

"One of the keys to the plan's acceptance," he said, "was that we added parks, little narrow-lane streets, and instead of allowing tall buildings to block sun and views, we proposed very slender and widely spaced towers so the views could continue to the bay."

The entire project - the terminal, adjacent tower and the accompanying infrastructure - is projected to cost $4.35 billion, with roughly half of the financing coming from private development in the Transbay master plan area and the rest from local, state, and federal governments and from user fees.

While the Transbay plan has dragged on and even seemed to teeter on the edge of extinction, development South of Market has marched forward. With long-planned projects finally coming to fruition, coupled with the more recent hot development market, the distinction between north and south of Market Street has blurred considerably. Once considered a less-expensive alternative for low-profile companies and high-tech start-ups, South of Market has recently welcomed notable corporations like Deloitte & Touche, J. P. Morgan Chase and KPMG, who all moved south into new and redeveloped towers.

"It was a daring move for a law firm," said Joseph Malkin, a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, which moved from the central business district to a 10-story Class A space South of Market in 2004. "The location is nontraditional and the building itself is quite a departure from the firm's old offices."

According to Newmark Pacific, San Francisco's largest commercial real estate brokerage firm, 23 of its major financial, legal and brokerage clients have relocated from the central business district to South of Market in the last five years, absorbing more than three million square feet of Class A office space. While there is still a difference of about $10 a square foot in annual rent between Class A space in the traditional central business district and South of Market, real estate developers expect that gap to close as the Transbay Terminal area fills in.

"If we start seeing brand-new high-rise buildings being built only South of Market, rents could surpass downtown," said David Wall, president of Fremont Properties, part of the Freemont Group, which has developed an estimated four million square feet of commercial space South of Market since the 1960's. In fact, the last suitable parcel for a high-rise office tower in downtown San Francisco is under development, rendering South of Market not just an alternative but the only alternative for new development.

Entirely new neighborhoods South of Market are, meanwhile, progressing rapidly. Mission Bay, for example, is preparing for 6,000 new residential units, over 50 acres of parks, six million square feet of commercial space, and a 43-acre medical campus for the University of California, San Francisco. Nearly 2,100 units of owner-occupied, rental, low- and moderate-income and student housing are already done or under construction, and more than a million square feet of commercial and academic space is in motion as well, according to a report issued by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, a 50-year-old nonprofit planning group.

Last May, the city adopted a plan for Rincon Hill, just south of the Transbay Terminal area. The plan calls for 2,200 new housing units in addition to the approximately 1,500 already approved or built. "The most dynamic area right now is Rincon Hill," said Jeffrey Heller, principal of Heller Manus, an architecture and development firm based in San Francisco. "We have three major residential projects in Rincon Hill, one under construction. South of Market is finally blossoming as the urban center it should be."

The other major site of redevelopment just west of Transbay, which was 30 years in the making, is Yerba Buena, and its final piece has just been finished with the December opening of the St. Regis Hotel. Yerba Buena, a huge redevelopment area, includes the Moscone Convention Center, the museum of modern art and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

"The naysayers said Yerba Buena would never get done," said Monica Finnegan, managing principal of Newmark Pacific. "The same is true with Mission Bay, which was just a plan on a roll of paper 15 years ago. It will be rewarding to prove the naysayers of the Transbay Terminal wrong, too."

[EastBayHardCore]

That's a fairly recent pic too, cause 301 Mish is U/C. Imagine having an 850-925fter right next to it (where the taxis are lined up).

[tuy]

The San Francisco Skyline will have a nice transformation.

[sentinel]

Does anyone have any information from the Transbay Terminal about this competition? Is it open or by invite only? Etc, etc...

[FourOneFive]

Does anyone have any information from the Transbay Terminal about this competition? Is it open or by invite only? Etc, etc...

they'll release the competition criteria next month, i believe. I think the competition will be open to everyone. the city apparently wants to attract a large number of international architects.

[Stephenapolis]

Wow! Who would think that San Fran might get a new tallest. This is great news.

[fflint]

It's great conversation, at least, and hopefully one or more of the proposals will capture the city's imagination.

[The Cheat]

Very nice set of projects and proposals. I'm surprised that SF doesn't have more towers going up, considering how high both office and residential rents are in the city.

[FourOneFive]

Very nice set of projects and proposals. I'm surprised that SF doesn't have more towers going up, considering how high both office and residential rents are in the city.

Although the office market has recovered significantly, San Francisco is still suffering the effects of the dot-com bust. It still has an overall vacany rate of about 13%. When you consider that SF has the fourth largest office market outside of NYC, Washington D.C., and Chicago, that's a lot of vacant office space. SF will probably see two new offices buildings built next year (555 Mission and Foundry Square I).

As for residential construction, I think towers are beginning to go up at a pretty steady pace. 301 Mission, One Rincon Hill, and 300 Spear are the major projects.

[ltsmotorsport]

That's a fairly recent pic too, cause 301 Mish is U/C. Imagine having an 850-925fter right next to it (where the taxis are lined up).

Hotness. That's what it'll be.

[FourOneFive]

San Francisco RISING! I took these pictures when I was home over the Christmas break. Enjoy!

300 Spear (400'/350'):

http://static.flickr.com/37/82376571_8d4c0cfd5c.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/42/82376569_b349a1b9b6.jpg

One Rincon Hill (550'/465'):

http://static.flickr.com/43/82370441_cc170c038a.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/37/82370439_c8b306661e.jpg

301 Mission Street (645'):

http://static.flickr.com/39/82370436_96d39a1064.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/38/82370434_066d1d5861.jpg

The Reconstruction of 690 Market Street (312'):

http://static.flickr.com/42/82368001_8c64cf3991.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/40/82368003_87c5a18521.jpg

I wasn't able to take pictures, but the Intercontinental Hotel (320'), 1160 Mission (235'), and other projects around Mission Bay were still all under construction.

[EastBayHardCore]

Tony nice new avatar. Its going to take some time to get used to it though since you've had the A's one for as long as I can remember.

Thanks for the photo update btw, it'll get a lot more interesting once these projects start rising outta their holes. Just for some clarification, is One Rincon stopped or are they continuing work despite the "engineering concerns"?

[FourOneFive]

Tony nice new avatar. Its going to take some time to get used to it though since you've had the A's one for as long as I can remember.

Thanks for the photo update btw, it'll get a lot more interesting once these projects start rising outta their holes. Just for some clarification, is One Rincon stopped or are they continuing work despite the "engineering concerns"?

i still love the A's, but I figured i'd follow steve's lead and get a new avatar. i can't let him upstage me! ;) :D

From what I observed, they are still clearing the site, and there was some drilling going on. Perhaps they were preparing the foundation? I think there is still going to be a hearing at the Board of Supervisors, but I doubt this project will be stopped. With Baby Daly standing behind this project, nothing can stop it.

[FourOneFive]

new projects:

one hawthorne place

The proposed project would add approximately 135 residential condominium units, comprised of approximately 51 studios, 53 one-bedroom units, and 31 two-bedroom units, to the approximately 12,400-square-foot site (Assessor's Block 3735, Lot 047). The proposed project would include an approximately 4,500 gsf retail space at the corner, with pedestrian access from Howard Street. The underground garage with 135 off-street parking spaces would be accessed by car elevator from Hawthorne Street. The residential entrance would be on Hawthorne Street next to the garage entrance. The proposed project would be approximately 150 feet tall.

and the project sponsor may seek to build a taller variant on the site if the planning commission allows the zoning change:

a 25-story, mixed-use building totaling approximately 312,000 gsf. The project variant would add approximately 206 residential units, comprised of approximately 27 studios, 49 one-bedroom units, 68 one-bedroom-plus units, and 62 two-bedroom units. The proposed building would be approximately 250 feet tall.

45 Lansing will also go before the Planning Commission on March 2:

The project is to demolish the existing office building and construct a residential project that would consist of a tower reaching 400 feet (exclusive of mechanical penthouses). The project would include approximately 265 dwelling units and up to 265 non-independently accessible parking spaces. The project would include extensive streetscape improvements for Lansing Street between First Street and Essex Street.