SAN FRANCISCO | 250 Howard Street (Park Tower at Transbay) | 605 FT | 43 FLOORS

[ElDuderino]

Redesigned To Blow You Away, But Hopefully Not Off A Balcony
November 14, 2014



As you might have guessed, it’s not only the ground floor of the proposed Transbay Block 5 office tower to rise on the northeast corner of Howard and Beale which has been refined and redesigned, but the entire 550-foot building.



Large outdoor terraces still step-up the side of the tower, a central element of the design by Goettsch and SCB, but they are now more elegantly carved from the building’s mass and aligned to provide panoramic views of both the Transbay Terminal and Bay Bridge.



Currently slated to start construction in early 2016 and take around 2.5 years to complete, the development includes around 700,000 square feet of office space, 5,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor, underground parking for 117 cars and over 20,000 square feet of public open space (including the plaza in front).

The development team of Golub Real Estate and The John Buck Company will be paying the city $172.5 million for the Transbay Block 5 site in a transaction which is expected to close on or before September 1, 2015.

http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2...y-balcony.html

[chris08876]

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

[minesweeper]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

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

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

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





Source: sfocii.org

[fflint]

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

[1977]

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

and a new rendering:

Park Tower at Transbay Gains Momentum in San Francisco

JLL announced today that it will lead a major effort to market and lease Park Tower at Transbay, San Francisco’s newest skyline-changing development. The announcement follows news that the tower will eventually rise on the landmark property formerly known as Block 5.

Park Tower at Transbay, a 50/50 joint venture between The John Buck Company and Golub & Company, will be a $690 million development strategically located in the heart of the Transbay neighborhood. Closer to the waterfront than any other ground-up office development in San Francisco, 70% of office space will enjoy striking water views and 14 floors will feature exclusive sky decks. Measuring over 700,000 square feet, the tower’s 2018 delivery date coincides with the projected completion of the adjacent Transbay Transit Center.

Park Tower at Transbay will rise to a height of 605 feet and feature 43 floors.

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

[Zapatan]

Love this one

[minesweeper]

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

Video Link

Source: parktowerattransbay.com

[sentinel]

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



http://www.parktowerattransbay.com/location

[shakman]

Very nice!!!

[Design-mind]

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

[ElDuderino]

At Transbay Block 5, 43-Story Office Tower Wins Approval with 'Mini-Parks' in the Sky
Wednesday, June 24, 2015, by Lamar Anderson

Last week, the office tower planned for Transbay Block 5 officially moved ahead with approval from the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII), the successor to the Redevelopment Agency that's been overseeing the development of the Transbay District. And now the development team, a joint venture between Golub & Company and the John Buck Company, has released renderings and launched a website. Dubbed Park Tower, the building will shoot to 43 stories at the corner of Howard and Beale streets, across from the now-rising Transbay Transit Center. The irregularly shaped, 29,000-square-foot site leaves scant room for ground-level landscaping, so the building's upper floors will sport more than 25,000 square feet of landscaped decks, or "mini-parks in the sky," in architect Goettsch Partners' parlance. Local firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz is on board, along with Stevens + Associates Architects.

The project still needs an office space allocation under Proposition M—the 1986 law capping new office construction at 875,000 square feet per year—and that will be heard at the Planning Commission on July 9. As planned, Park Tower's 751,500 square feet would take up a goodly chunk of that. The project also includes 10,000 square feet of retail space.

The tower's form will be defined by a series of vertical glass fins and, of course, floor-to-ceiling glass for the class A++ office space within. At ground level, there will be a covered 5,000-square-foot outdoor plaza, a nicely sized POPOS adjacent to the lobby and retail space. A site-specific artwork for the space is TBA, but it will somehow be incorporated into the main wall of the tower's core, per the architects.

The building's height will rise to 605 feet, the maximum allowed for the site by the redevelopment plan (which caps height at 550 feet, plus 10 percent for nonhabitable architectural elements that conceal mechanical systems).

Assuming all Prop M-related matters are settled, the project is set to break ground in October and open for business in early 2018.

http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/0...in_the_sky.php

[timpdx]

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

[peanut gallery]

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

One small correction to the Curbed article ElDuderino posted. This is not exactly correct:

Proposition M—the 1986 law capping new office construction at 875,000 square feet per year

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

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

[boyinthecity]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[minesweeper]

Originally Posted by peanut gallery

But there is also a lot of proposed space in the queue as well. I'm just not sure what has already been approved and what the current Prop M balance is.

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

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

[SLO]

Originally Posted by sentinel

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



http://www.parktowerattransbay.com/location

wow, by far the most complete rendering to date

[peanut gallery]

Thanks for the info and the link, minesweeper.

Originally Posted by minesweeper

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

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

[viewguysf]

Originally Posted by SLO

wow, by far the most complete rendering to date

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

[peanut gallery]

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

[peanut gallery]

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

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

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



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