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

[Downtown Dave]

Not sure where this goes. 505-525 Howard St.:

[AndrewK]

foundry square 3. the demolition would be referring then to club nv/goat hill pizza. 11 stories doesnt sound close to the 500 ft tower that people have been mentioning about it though.

[BTinSF]

I don't know where the idea of a tower came from. 11 stories is exactly what you'd expect for a building to match the other three corners there which is what has been planned for a decade or more. What's newish, but we already knew it was coming, was a slight enlargement of the floor plate after the developer bought the property next door (Club NV/Goat Hill Pizza). The surprise would be if they had found a tenant or decided to proceed with building it on spec, but I don't think anything here implies that.

A 500 ft tower at this site would be particularly problematic, even if anyone seriously contemplated it, because it would probably shadow the park-to-be on top of the TransBay Terminal. I can recall when the Planning Dept. expressed considerable satisfaction that the developer of Foundry Square chose not to propose any highrises on the site because of shadowing of the terminal.

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

That's what I thought at first too, but the reality isn't so dramatic I don't think. For one thing, we aren't sure how tall "tall" would be in this case. I'd be very surprised if it meant 800 ft. On the other hand, with buildings like One Hawthorne going up a block and a half away, there's certainly room to go up from 65 ft., the current limit, without creating a "great wall" of tall buildings effect.

If the change even happens, I'd look for an upzoning to somewhere in the 120-400 ft range (more likely the lower end of that) and it would then just be a westward extension of the highrise neighborhood now developing to the east rather than a wall.

Good point, BT. I was definitely envisioning a string of say 400-600ft highrises. What ever made me think such a thing is possible is beyond me. The more realistic outcome would likely be something that would fit nicely, height-wise.

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by AndrewK

foundry square 3. the demolition would be referring then to club nv/goat hill pizza. 11 stories doesnt sound close to the 500 ft tower that people have been mentioning about it though.

Correct all the way around. They're sticking with the original plan, which is another building to the scale of the other three. I think that's a fine approach, actually. The modification they reference is that the Club NV plot is now part of the project, which will give this building the same footprint as IV (across Howard).

FYI: that's the sign I mentioned a couple of pages back in my project summary.

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

I can recall when the Planning Dept. expressed considerable satisfaction that the developer of Foundry Square chose not to propose any highrises on the site because of shadowing of the terminal.

What about the proposed tower next to FS-IV? It's not a 500 footer, but it would be taller than the Foundry Square buildings and easily shadow that end of the park.

[Jerry of San Fran]

Argenta - view from the 24th floor of the Archstone Fox Plaza I took 6-24-08.

[peanut gallery]

Nice shot, Jerry. It's not as glassy as depicted in the rendering, but it's not bad IMO.

[Jerry of San Fran]

Thanks, Peanut Gallery - so far I have not met anyone in the Fox Plaza who dislikes the building - and believe me that is very unsual for this group of people! Of couse those on the 14th through 17th floor are not happy to lose their views of Twin Peaks.

[peanut gallery]

A couple of updates from Mission Bay North. First Arterra is getting closer to completion on the outside:




And right next door, the Arquitectonica-designed Avalon Bay ase III (Thanks WildCowboy!):

[WonderlandPark]

^^ Who designed the tower in the top photo that looks almost done?

[WildCowboy]

^^^ Kwan Henmi did Arterra.

[POLA]

Arterra looks great!

[peanut gallery]

I agree. And I think Avalon Bay Phase III (Arquitectonica) will look even better.

[SFView]

Arterra and Argenta - hmmmm...similar names - are both looking pretty good. I think they both are the nicest looking buildings in their respective surroundings so far. Yes, well shall see if Avalon Bay Phase III turns out even better. That would be great!

[BTinSF]

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.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/06/30/story6.html?t=printable

[BTinSF]

Source both images: http://www.socketsite.com/

The two adjacent parcels at 900 Folsom Street and 260 Fifth Street are the locations of a new mixed-use development project. What is currently a large surface parking lot, office building and adjoining small parking lot, will be transformed into a transit oriented, green, residential project. Airy 19 foot high, neighborhood-serving retail will be located at the ground level . . . .
Overarching design direction is to convey the transitional nature of the site, straddling the divide of West Soma’s light Industrial
history, and the development, height, and density of the Yerba Buena Neighborhood’s entertainment district to the East. Main design & massing themes include:
● Breakdown of a single, monolithic structure along Folsom Street into three separate buildings.
● Reduction of density along Clementina Alleyway.
● Representation of light industrial history of West Soma along Folsom Street through materials and window lines evocative of
warehouses.
● Interface with the development and modern aesthetic of the Yerba Buena Neighborhood through use of color and varying building skin materials / bolder gestures along 5
th Street.
● Experiment with the concept of a bridge linking 26thalleyways in Soma’s former industrial buildings.

Source: http://900folsom.com/index.php

[peanut gallery]

Nice piece of infill. Do you know if those will be condos or rentals?

[BTinSF]

Condos it seems.

For a great view of SF nimbyism (i.e. developer sucking up to nimbys as part of the approval process), go to http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2008/...p_on_900_folsom260_fifth_condo_idol.html and read the comments.

[AndrewK]

i cant stand people like "tehama" and "soapbox derby" who probably complain when developers don't ask for their opinion, but then complain when they do that they aren't "really" listening. if you are so ardent about having it done your way and to please only you (with no thought to the hundreds of people who will be able to have housing due to the creation of the project), just build the f*cking thing yourself. or just let your current neighborhood, which you love just as it is so very much, remain the drug-infested blight that it has been described as.