[BTinSF]

TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2009
City halts bidding process on prime site

Here's more proof that construction cranes won't return to San Francisco's skyline anytime soon: the city's redevelopment agency has postponed plans to sell a prime downtown tower site.

The reason? The bids were so low that officials instead put the competition on hold.

What thickens the plot is that the land at First and Folsom streets is related to the Transbay Terminal project, which by 2015 is supposed to bring rail service from the south to First and Mission streets. This is the first of 10 nearby parcels slated to be sold to help fund the project.

When the Transbay site itself was up for grabs, developers bid more than expected. Two years later — offered a well-located site zoned for a 60-story residential tower — only three teams responded. Only two submitted detailed bids this month. Bureaucrats didn't like either one. "The purchase offers...are far below the potential value of the site in a healthier market," sighed a staff memo Tuesday from the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. So the agency will try again in 2010. None of which should delay the new terminal timeline, according to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority.

It doesn't affect us negatively right now," said Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, the executive director. "We're able to wait (in terms of land sales revenue) another year."

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/index?