SAN FRANCISCO | Mission Bay

[WildCowboy]

Press release announcing official start of construction on Block 1 that wraps around the hotel, even though pile driving has been going on for awhile as timbad showed.

http://www.cimgroup.com/our-firm/press-r...way-on-cim-group’s-1000-channel-street

[WildCowboy]

Originally Posted by WildCowboy

Another potential project not actually in Mission Bay, but since it's UCSF, I'll stick it here. UCSF reportedly considering purchasing 590 and 600 Minnesota in Dogpatch to build 1000 units of student housing.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/artic...tch-neighborhood-for-student-6292933.php

UCSF has now officially acquired the Minnesota St. properties with an eye toward housing. I did see a statement at one point that the original report of 1000 units was not a firm plan, just an exploration of what would be possible, so they've yet to decide exactly how to proceed.

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2015/10/136651/ucsf-acquires-3-new-properties-potential-student-housing

[peanut gallery]

^The SF Business times reports they are buying three properties (602 as well as the two you mentioned). Did they expand their plans, or is this just a matter of semantics (i.e.: perhaps 600 and 602 are in effect one property)?

[WildCowboy]

They're abutting warehouses that had the same owner. Seems like they may have been functionally operating as a single facility (management company refers to them as "600-602 Minnesota"), so UCSF probably intended to acquire 602 all along.

[peanut gallery]

^Gotcha, thanks. Another 1000 units in Dogpatch would be great. With Pier 70 coming and several others, this area will be seriously active and in demand.

I'm looking forward to seeing the completion of blocks 33-34 and the little bit of bay front park just to the east of that. As it is, those being empty actually smooths out the transition from Dogpatch to MB (since warehouse-to-lot feels more similar than warehouse-to-shiny-new-buildings). When all is said and done, I'm curious if there will be an obvious line where one turns into the other. You can sense a little bit of that with the hospital already.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by peanut gallery

... the transition from Dogpatch to MB (... warehouse-to-lot feels more similar than warehouse-to-shiny-new-buildings). When all is said and done, I'm curious if there will be an obvious line where one turns into the other. You can sense a little bit of that with the hospital already.

intriguing musing... I have the impression that north Dogpatch will become much shinier in its own right as the years unfold, blurring the line again. but certainly will be interesting watching what happens

[WildCowboy]

Originally Posted by timbad

intriguing musing... I have the impression that north Dogpatch will become much shinier in its own right as the years unfold, blurring the line again. but certainly will be interesting watching what happens

Agreed. Owners won't be able to resist the urge to redevelop their Dogpatch properties close to the hospital...should be plenty of opportunities for redevelopment, whether it be denser housing or commercial space to support those who want to be near UCSF or tech.

[CCs77]

How many housing units, approximately, are they planning once the entire area is built out?

[timbad]

Originally Posted by CCs77

How many housing units, approximately, are they planning once the entire area is built out?

I think MB proper is supposed to be 6000+.

adding immediate neighbors such as Showplace Square, Dogpatch, Mission Rock, Pier 70, Lower Potrero Hill must push that to around 9-10000, depending what you include and your time horizon?

[timbad]

today's walkabout...

Channel St in front of Arden was getting paved today. as seen from the western end, where it connects to the roundabout:



from the other end, connecting it to existing Channel:



here on the left is the new alignment, on the right the old one. eventually, everything to the right of the new alignment will be greenspace



as Kaiser wraps up, they've been restoring the little green area next to it. here a close-up...



and from the Rutter roof. the circle on top of the grassy mound appears to hold lights



Rutter views







Owens near Mariposa has also been paved





the new sidewalk on the west side of Owens has a guardrail at the corner. the actual crossing is just further north, around the corner



here is the look around that corner, north along the west side of Owens. Caltrain tracks are at the bottom of the slope on the left, underneath the freeway. the Exchange site is in the distance on the left, where I have noticed no recent activity since the ceremonial groundbreaking a few weeks ago.



the digging at the site on Third just south of Mariposa has gotten fairly deep



block 7, seen from Fourth St. Family House in the background, block 7W in foreground



part of the west side of Fourth in front of block 5 (MB360) is open after years under scaffolding



on the south side of the block, along China Basin St, the sidewalk is going in



here is a look at the interface of block 5 and the children's play area. there is a walkway between the two. looking north from China Basin St



a couple shots of Long Bridge St. here from the western end, with Arden on the left



from the corner with Merrimac



and a few steps farther east

[peanut gallery]

Thanks for the update, timbad. Starting to look like a neighborhood in some of those last shots. Yet still a lot of dirt in some of the first ones.

[WildCowboy]

Much of the dirt is the remainder of the UCSF campus and the commons park that isn't completed yet.

Another piece is the designated school site on the NW corner of the UCSF site. SFUSD is back at the table to talk about building a new school in Mission Bay, but they're realizing that site may not be big enough for what they want to do.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sf-leaders-plan-for-new-school-in-mission-bay/

Not sure what their alternatives are though. Available land in Mission Bay is nearly gone already, and I don't know how they'll be able to compete with the private sector for what's left. They really needed to move faster on this, whether it was building on the designated site or securing a larger one.

[timbad]

couple looks at the newly-paved streets from this afternoon...

here's Owens looking south



and here's Channel, looking east. trees are in along the sidewalk on the south side. looks like they'll wait on putting in the sidewalk on the north side:



slightly different angle

[timbad]

here is Eviva, the last north-of-the-creek parcel to be developed, on Berry, since we haven't checked in in a while. visible above its fences now. looking east



looking west

[peanut gallery]

Oh yes, that's the one that has a kind of institutional feel to it on the Berry side:


Totally different look from the King/off-ramp side:


Source: LDA Architects.

[peanut gallery]

The Giants Mission Rock proposition passed easily. From SFGate:

The San Francisco Giants’ bid to build a high-rise district on a parking lot across McCovey Cove from AT&T Park received emphatic voter support on Tuesday.

Three towers will be allowed to rise 240 feet under Proposition D, compared with the one-story height limit that covers most of the 28-acre site. Buildings facing the bay will have a 120-foot height limit. There also will be eight acres of parks, mostly along Mission Creek, and the team has pledged to include space with below-market rents for nonprofit groups and arts organizations as well as conventional office and retail space.

Prop. D received 73.3 percent of all votes counted on election day, while 26.6 percent of voters opposed the measure.

The Giants were selected by the Port of San Francisco to develop the site, now largely a parking lot, in 2009. Heights were whittled back after last year’s Proposition B, which requires voter approval of all proposals on port land that involve changes to the height limits. The team has committed to pricing 40 percent of the project’s 1,500 or so apartments at levels affordable to lower- and middle-income residents, and renovating Pier 48 as a new facility for Anchor Brewing.

-------------

While voters approved the overall size of the project, specific buildings will need approval of the Port Commission. Bair estimated that it will take at least a year to complete the environmental impact report and seek approvals.

[SLO]

^^Thats excellent, some highrise housing in that are will only enhance it.

[timbad]

crane going up on block 1. as seen from the far western end of the Creek:



and from near Fourth St Bridge:

[timbad]

not too much change on the new stretch of Channel yet... this is from the roundabout end:



here are the Rutter Center views, in the low-angle light of November late afternoon:







the greenspace next to Kaiser has gotten a new sculpture. from ground...



... and above:



they're still working on the new Owens. this is looking south from the parking garage:



... and from the corner of the park:



looking east down Mariposa across what will be the intersection with Owens

[timbad]

from Saturday's walk...

looking at block 1 from the SW (intersection of Fourth and Channel):



a few shots of Fourth, as block 5 construction settles down. this is the newly-opened stretch of sidewalk in front of that block, looking south:



looking back north:



looking up Mission Rock at Fourth:



from the corner of Mission Rock and Fourth, looking NW:



looking north from in front of Strata. you can see how the sidewalk has settled a good three to four inches since this was built, something that is noticeable in other areas of MB as well:



the Fourth St side of block 5:



the China Basin St (south) side:



Arden is starting to wrap up as well. this is its SE corner on Long Bridge:



block 7W (Fourth and Mission Bay Blvd North):



Family House, on the east side of block 7, is starting to lose its shroud. here seen from the SE, on Third St



closer up of the 'naked' part



the new Owens is getting its landscaping. (in the distance, a couple new excavators are on site of the Exchange also.) seen from Mariposa:



the greenspace next to Kaiser is open. as seen from the Rutter roof:



from ground, approaching from the west:









looking down Owens across the front of the building, with chairs from Oda, a restaurant in the next-door building:



the Rutter views. recent rains starting to turn things green again: