THE BAY AREA | Projects: Under Construction, Approved, and Proposed

[peanut gallery]

I worked near downtown Redwood City years ago and thus spent a lot of time there. It has good bones and a lot going for it, but an excess of people has not been one of them. Sounds like that could change in a big way in the near future. From the SF Business Times:

Redwood City’s downtown seeing sunny days
Developers flock to city’s call for office and housing
San Francisco Business Times by J.K. Dineen, Reporter
Friday, August 24, 2012, 3:00am PDT

Redwood City’s downtown plan has moved from pipe dream to pile driving.

After a decade of planning and debate, the scheme to add housing and office space to one of the Bay Area’s most promising downtowns is becoming real. Old buildings are being knocked down to make way for new rental housing. Developers are buying underutilized sites. Barring a pronounced economic downturn, the next two to three years will bring 1,000 housing units and 350,000 square feet of Class A office space to greater downtown Redwood City.

That is a lot of development for a downtown that has seen virtually no new housing or office buildings for 10 years.

So far work is under way on three market-rate housing projects: BRE’s 264-unit development at 640 Veterans Blvd., Raintree Partners’ 116-unit project at 201 Marshall St., and 132 units at 333 Main St., which is a joint venture between Sares Regis Group of Northern California and Matteson Cos. Meanwhile, Greystar Real Estate Partners is in the early stages of planning a 300-unit project between El Camino Real and the Caltrain tracks, just west of the Franklin Street Apartments.

...

The most dramatic impact over the next year will be the start of construction at Depot Circle, a 2.5-acre surface parking lot bordered by Jefferson Avenue, Middlefield Road and the Caltrain tracks. Redwood City staff selected Hunter/Storm and Kilroy Realty Corp. to develop the site, while Lowe Enterprises is negotiating to build 110 units on a smaller city-owned lot across the street.

640 Veterans used to be a large car dealership and 201 Marshall was a surface lot. There are more detailed posts about the Depot Circle proposal previously in this thread. This mix is very exciting as it will put more feet on the street both day and night, weekdays and weekends.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by peanut gallery

I worked near downtown Redwood City years ago and thus spent a lot of time there. It has good bones and a lot going for it, but an excess of people has not been one of them. Sounds like that could change in a big way in the near future. From the SF Business Times: ...

I currently work near downtown RC, and take the train every day, so this is exciting news for me too. if I'm still doing that when Depot Circle gets going, I should be able to get pics regularly. 201 Marshall is across the street from the train station, so I see that every day. when there is something of note to get a pic of, I'll share it.

[San Frangelino]

This was on The San Jose Blog

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

n1: North First Campus
This is easily the most impressive office project that is underway right now in Silicon Valley. n1 consists of 1.8 million square feet of office space, tons of outdoor spaces, new cafes, and impressive athletic facilities (check out those rooftop tennis courts in the second to last photo). The entire development is off of North 1st with Component Drive bisecting the project and providing access to parking. There will be a new street called campus way that looks almost like a little downtown street and connects all of the main entrances to each buildings and hopefully some retail. You can see this in the fifth photo. Everything is within a 10min walk to lightrail, providing easy access to Downtown and other companies on First St., Tasman, etc.

Click Here for more images

[pesto]

Interesting. Not old-school high-tech, because there is some retail as well as food built into the walkable environment. Reminds me of the London and Amsterdam suburbs, with little centers of everything needed for living except the housing. It's an open question but I think this approach (with high density housing available nearby by transit) is the best way to go. High-rise is definitely in low-demand as a working environment for anything but the traditional suit and tie professions and even passe for them.

SJ is developing an interesting "downtown" extending from SJS up 1st through civic center, the airport and toward Gt. America and the SC Convention Center and 49er Stadium complex. All nicely linked by VTA.

[timbad]

Originally Posted by San Frangelino

This was on The San Jose Blog

...

Click Here for more images

the 'main street' I suppose is nice, but six large parking garages when there is a light-rail stop adjacent? obviously not a high expectation that public transport will be used to get there. needless to say, poor use of space, not good for the environment or health. too typical for that part of the Bay Area, unfortunately.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by timbad

the 'main street' I suppose is nice, but six large parking garages when there is a light-rail stop adjacent? obviously not a high expectation that public transport will be used to get there. needless to say, poor use of space, not good for the environment or health. too typical for that part of the Bay Area, unfortunately.

The transit option is there for those who want to use it and so is the parking option.

[easy as pie]

yeah, i just usually try to avoid leaving the city or reading about anything happening outside of the city, best policy.

[krudmonk]

Oh, so just like the other 800,000? Thanks for informing us.

[northbay]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

yeah, i just usually try to avoid leaving the city or reading about anything happening outside of the city, best policy.

So what are you doing in a thread dedicated specifically to development outside of SF proper?

[rriojas71]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

Oh, so just like the other 800,000? Thanks for informing us.

The other 799,999... I actually care about stuff outside of SF as far as the bay area is concerned.

[San Frangelino]

This has been under construction for so long...I'd forgotten all about it.

From: The Registry

Great Expectations As Jack London Square and Market Near Finish
OCTOBER 11, 2012 by PUBLISHER in BREAKING NEWS, COMMERCIAL
By Mike Coppinger

OAKLAND, Calif. – Jack London Square peeks over the bay, a beautiful sprawling space lined with trees and upscale eateries. The park named after the famed author (his Klondike cabin was relocated to the area) is a beacon of light in a city looking for an upswing.

One of the staples of that anticipated rise is 55 Harrison St., a five-level, 172,000-square-foot property that is 90 percent leased and is expected to bring ample visitors to the waterfront hub as it nears completion.

Read On....

There is also this little tidbit in the article

Further bolstering the area, commercial brokerage Cassidy Turley said Oct. 3 that it has been retained by San Francisco’s Shorenstein Properties LLC to do the pre-leasing of 601 City Center, a 23-story, 597,000-square-foot Class A office development. Located on 12th Street adjacent to the BART Station, 601 City Center will be connected to Jack London Square via the B shuttle. Shorenstein plans to develop the building upon the signing of an anchor tenant. The building was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest level.

Here's the website for 601 City Center

[northbay]

Not bad, certainly a welcome addition to Oakland's skyline.

[ElDuderino]

Definitely nothing spectacular, but its not a bad design, and it will be nice to finally see something new rise in Oaktown

[San Frangelino]

From: Curbed

Samsung is building a new innovation headquarters in San Jose

Samsung is building a new innovation headquarters in San Jose, the largest ever for the company in California. Plans to build a 1.1 million sq.ft. facility north of downtown San Jose on the current Samsung property will include offices and a high-tech R&D research space. NBBJ will design the new campus, with their past work including offices for Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Tencent, and Alipay. Though the project is still in its design phase and isn't expected to be completed until 2014, it's set to include a large exhibition center, employee wellness areas, and indoor workplace/outdoor connections.

[San Frangelino]

From: The Registry

Essex Bets On Downtown San Jose—Again
OCTOBER 23, 2012 by PUBLISHER 3 in BREAKING NEWS, RESIDENTIAL

By Sharon Simonson

Palo Alto’s Essex Property Trust Inc. plans another major foray into downtown San Jose with the construction of a 21-story tower at one of the most desirable street corners in Silicon Valley’s only high-rise city center.
Read On.... http://news.theregistrysf.com/essex-...an-jose-again/

[San Frangelino]

Here is video of the Bay Meadows Development, which is currently under construction in San Mateo.

See more videos here https://vimeo.com/steelblue

Video Link

[San Frangelino]

From The San Jose Blog

Samsung is Planning to Build Two Office Towers in San Jose
The good news train keeps on rolling. Samsung is expanding in San Jose, and they are deciding to build up instead of sprawl across a larger campus. They are going to tear down their current buildings and build two 10-story towers. The new development will total 650,000 sqft (i.e. these will be massive 10-story buildings) and allow Samsung to triple their workforce in San Jose to 900 employees.

Continue Reading....

[San Frangelino]

From The Silicon Valley Business Journal

Republic, Barry Swenson starting construction on midtown apartments
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal by Nathan Donato-Weinstein, Real Estate Reporter
Date: Monday, October 15, 2012, 1:25pm PDT

A mixed-use apartment project in San Jose’s midtown should start construction within weeks now that the developer has closed on a $42 million construction loan.
Republic Urban Properties is now ready to start constructing 218 rental units and 15,800 square feet of ground-floor retail that have long been planned for the 3.5-acre site at 1400 West Carlos St.

Read On...

[1977]

Some density for Berkeley? Seems long overdue, imo.

First high-rise in 40 years planned for downtown Berkeley



A Los Angeles real estate group submitted an application Thursday to build Berkeley’s first high-rise in 40 years — a 17-story luxury apartment complex on Harold Way that connects to the historic Hinks Department Store on Shattuck Avenue.

HSR Berkeley Investments wants to spend as much as $200 million to construct a 180-foot tall tower with 355 residences next to the property that now houses the Shattuck Cinemas and various offices.

The new apartments, called The Residences at Berkeley Plaza, are designed to appeal to empty nesters and high-income professionals, such as those who work at booming San Francisco technology companies like Twitter and Salesforce.com, but who are having difficulty landing an apartment in the city.


In addition to the cinemas (which used to hold Hinks Department Store) the property, formally known as Berkeley Center, houses Habitot Children’s Museum, a Starbucks, and offices. The Hotel Shattuck Plaza sits on the block, but was not included in the transaction.

The complex, right by the downtown BART station, will be an L-shaped building with one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. There will be three towers, one five or six stories high, another 13 stories tall, and a third on the corner of Allston and Harold Way that reaches 17 stories, according to Mark Rhoades, a former city of Berkeley planner whose company, Mark Rhoades Planning Group, will lead the entitlement process.

Source and article: http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/12/...town-berkeley/

[easy as pie]

a nice little update on the oaktown airport connecter progress: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...#photo-3960767

it's at 65% completion, with a sept 2014 delivery date. heinously, however, and unlike any people-mover i've ever taken, fares will run between $4-6.