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

[peanut gallery]

Excellent shot, ACSF! I like it too, especially from the south as shown in your photo.

[Jerry of San Fran]

Nice picture ACSF - I was by there a couple of days ago. I did not like the black (or deep blue?) color, but now that there is a building with color next door I have warmed up to the building.

[peanut gallery]

I had completely forgotten that the Federal Building was supposed to be open to the pulic, and now it finally is. I think I'll take a look next time I head down that way. From today's Chronicle:

New federal building open to the public
John King
Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Nineteen months after the first of its 1,700 workers moved in, the tower of the San Francisco Federal Building is open to the public.

The 18-story high-rise near Civic Center includes an open-air "skygarden" punched into the middle of the tower between the 11th and 13th floors. Architect Thom Mayne of the Santa Monica firm Morphosis designed the garden as a public space, but agencies in the building raised security concerns related to public access.

As of Oct. 1, however, the skygarden and the cavernous multilevel lobby are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to anyone who shows a photo ID and goes through a metal detector at the building entrance at 90 7th St.

Inside, visitors can pick up a pamphlet describing the tower's green-building features - such as natural ventilation and lighting - and the artwork on display by Edward Ruscha and others.

"I've read about Thom Mayne, and I like the connection he makes between society and architecture," said Sonja Petrus, an architect from South Africa who was snapping photographs in the lobby recently. "So here I am."

[peanut gallery]

And speaking of the new Federal Building, it is included in John King's article about "4 new buildings that enrich San Francisco" from the Sunday Chronicle. I won't post the whole thing, but here's the link. I will post these photos from the article however:


The Rainforests of the World exhibit sets a scientific stage at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.


The M.H. de Young Memorial Museum's most startling feature is a 144-foot-high tower, a rectangular slab that twists as it climbs.


San Francisco Federal Building


Contemporary Jewish Museum

[Reminiscence]

One of the few times I seem to agree with King. These are all architecturally significant buildings that capture people's attention. I think theres some disseminating opinions about them, but their different and bold design is something I enjoy gazing upon.

[peanut gallery]

One Kearny looks close to getting it's skin installed:

[peanut gallery]

Hibernia Bank owner ID'd. From the SF Business Times:

Friday, October 10, 2008
Hibernia mystery deal solved, buyer revealed
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

In one of the more mysterious San Francisco real estate transactions in recent memory, the Dolmen Property Group has purchased the historic Hibernia Bank building and plans to bring the baroque structure up to code and then lease it.

Dolmen Property Group Managing Director Seamus Naughten said the $3.9 million investment is a long-term hold and that the plans for the 1892 structure at Jones and Market streets are up in the air. He said his company would complete all necessary construction work to bring the structure back to life. He called the Hibernia “a very unique property with unlimited potential.”

“We honestly don’t have anything concrete to put in there, but we see the Hibernia as a gem of a building with oodles of potential,” he said.

He said the building, which served as the San Francisco Police Department’s Tenderloin station from 1991 to 2000 after the bank vacated it, could be used for social events or a cultural use, like a museum.

[peanut gallery]

Looks like the City College Chinatown/North Beach campus is going to move ahead. According to this article from the Chronicle, they've already begun excavation. I'll head over when I get a chance to check it out.

Should this have it's own thread? It's not much to look at and it's not very tall. But it's close to Dave and within walking distance for me, so we could keep pretty close tabs on it.

Foes of CCSF Chinatown campus lose bid to block high-rise
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, October 16, 2008

(10-16) 17:21 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge gave the go-ahead today to the City College of San Francisco to build a high-rise campus in Chinatown over the opposition of some nearby businesses.Judge Paul Alvarado of San Francisco Superior Court denied an injunction sought by Montgomery Washington, which owns commercial offices in a building near the planned campus. The company argued that the project would be out of scale for the neighborhood and detract from some of its historic buildings.

The plaintiffs will have another chance to block construction when their lawsuit against City College goes to trial in April. Excavation has begun, but work on the high-rise is not scheduled to start until June.

College officials say the campus - a 14-story, 215-foot building on the northeast corner of Kearny and Washington streets, and a four-story building down the block at Washington and Columbus Avenue - should be completed in 2010.

The buildings will house 42 classrooms and laboratories, administrative offices and a community auditorium to serve 6,500 students. City College students now take classes at about a dozen sites spread around Chinatown.

The City College Board of Trustees used its legal authority in October 2007 to exempt the project from the city's 65-foot height limit for buildings in the area. The lawsuit contends the college illegally exempted itself from the city's planning process and hid the impact of the project from the public.

City College contended that as part of the state community college system, it was exempt from San Francisco's planning rules.

In hearings before Alvarado, Michael McKeeman, lawyer for Montgomery Washington, argued that a settlement of a previous lawsuit required City College to submit its plans to a preservation architect to make sure they were compatible with the neighboring Jackson Square Historic District and the Colombo Building. He said the college had never obtained that review and had falsely stated that it did so.

Alan Sparer, City College's lawyer, told the judge that the settlement contained no such requirement, and that an architectural expert hired by district officials had concluded that the high-rise was compatible with all nearby buildings.

An injunction requiring further architectural review would be "a catastrophe," Sparer said, costing the district $49 million in state bond funds and delaying completion of the campus for at least three years.

Alvarado agreed with Sparer's arguments in today's ruling and also said Montgomery Washington had known of the building design for more than two years before filing suit.

[BTinSF]

Friday, October 17, 2008
Owner Fritzi Realty seeks to bash through Transbay height limit
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

Downtown property owner Fritzi Realty wants to build a 550-foot residential skyscraper at 41 Tehama St., one of several proposed Transbay District projects that is significantly taller than the current draft rezoning would allow.

The 54-story glass tower, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, would be one of the tallest residential buildings in the new Transbay District, with 350 housing units soaring up from a long, skinny 22,000-square-foot parcel, according to an application for environmental impact review filed with the city.

The proposed condo development is significantly more ambitious than the 23-story, 198-unit building that Fritzi had previously applied to build. That project was scheduled to go before the Planning Commission a year ago when the developer pulled it and resubmitted for a much larger project.

Josh Switzky, Transbay project manager for the San Francisco Planning Department, called 41 Tehama “a significant development site in the district.” He said the current rezoning calls for a 350-foot building on the site, greater than the current 220-foot limitation but much less than what Fitzi is seeking.

“We think 350 feet is appropriate for a variety of reasons including overall city form and composition of the area,” said Switzky. “At this point, their proposal is significantly above existing zoning and heights.”

Robert Tandler, who is heading up the project for Fritzi Realty, declined to comment except to say he is “diligently working with the city to complete the design process.”

Switzky said the overall plan calls for two clusters of tall buildings, one around the Transbay Tower and another climbing up Rincon Hill. Tehama Street lies midway between the two areas, in a part of the district where the city would like to bring heights down.

The building at 41 Tehama is not the only proposed tower in the Transbay District that is significantly taller than the zoning controls the Planning Department is proposing.

Kyoya Corp., owner of the Palace Hotel, is seeking to build a 669-foot tower on southwest corner of the hotel. The current zoning proposal calls for a 400-foot limit on that site.

“At this point, we don’t think the heights they are proposing are appropriate, but we have not seen any project proposal change yet in response to our plan,” Switzky said. “In both these cases we are recommending additional height — just not as much as they are proposing.”

[email protected] / (415) 288-4971

Source: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/10/20/story12.html

[peanut gallery]

Well, that's unexpected. I'd love to see SOM's design for that Tehama tower. And I didn't realize the Palace tower was still on the table. Long term, I don't think they should worry about either of these being out of scale for their location. Especially the Palace tower. It's just off Market and we need more towers in the upper-600 to 900 foot range.

[mSeattle]

Is there a secret plan to redevelop that triangle building with a tower? Seems so.

[Reminiscence]

Since I dont get to start many threads, I figured I might as well start one about this tower and post news about it as it become available just like we've done before. Its definitly an exciting proposal, especially since its SOM. I've seen nothing but good work from them in the last few months.

[BTinSF]

Monday, October 20, 2008 - 4:19 PM PDT | Modified: Monday, October 20, 2008 - 4:34 PM
S.F. mayor pitches slew of business-friendly initiatives

San Francisco Business Times - by Eric Young

To fend off ill effects from the a sagging economy, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a grab bag of initiatives he hopes will stimulate the city’s business climate.

“Despite our economic strengths, San Francisco is not immune from the worldwide credit crunch or nation-wide economic downturn,” said Newsom.

“I’ve proposed an economic stimulus package that encourages local spending, reduces the cost of doing business in San Francisco, accelerates capital spending and increases foreign investment.”

The mayor said he wants the city to:

Accelerate capital projects such as the Terminal 2 rebuild at San Francisco International Airport, the San Francisco General Hospital rebuild and the Transbay Transit Center.

Increase foreign investment by establishing a business development office in China.

Cut the cost of doing business in San Francisco by reviewing fees on businesses, helping local business take better advantage of federal, state and local tax credit programs and implementing targeted tax incentives.

Create more local jobs through City Build and other workforce programs, expanding San Francisco tourism marketing more regionally, revising parking and transit polices to make it easier to visit San Francisco, expanding Neighborhood Market Place Initiatives and Business Improvement Districts including the new Tourism Improvement District, reducing retail downturns with the “Shop Local” campaign and increasing funding for business attraction and retention efforts.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/10/20/daily20.html?t=printable

Your guess is as good as mine what he means by accelerating the TransBay Transit Center. Frankly, given the credit markets and the economy, I've just got my fingers and toes crossed that Hines doesn't back out of the deal entirely. How Newsom could push them to move faster is beyond me. And, of course, the General Hospital rebuild depends on what happens Nov. 4.

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

Your guess is as good as mine what he means by accelerating the TransBay Transit Center. Frankly, given the credit markets and the economy, I've just got my fingers and toes crossed that Hines doesn't back out of the deal entirely. How Newsom could push them to move faster is beyond me.

The only thing I can think of is speeding up the approval process, which will bring forward Hines' payment date (90 days after approval). Beyond that, I don't know what the city can do.

[peanut gallery]

Progress on the new SPUR building on Mission:

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by peanut gallery

Looks like the City College Chinatown/North Beach campus is going to move ahead. According to this article from the Chronicle, they've already begun excavation. I'll head over when I get a chance to check it out.

Should this have it's own thread? It's not much to look at and it's not very tall. But it's close to Dave and within walking distance for me, so we could keep pretty close tabs on it.

I went ahead and started one here.

[SFView]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/10/20/daily20.html?t=printable

Your guess is as good as mine what he means by accelerating the TransBay Transit Center. Frankly, given the credit markets and the economy, I've just got my fingers and toes crossed that Hines doesn't back out of the deal entirely. How Newsom could push them to move faster is beyond me...

I thought the Transbay Transit Center and Tower already have tight accelerated schedules as it is. Could this mean acceleration for Transbay related projects such as 50 First Street, TJPA Howard Street, 181 Fremont Street, or any of the residental Transbay projects along Beale or Folsom Streets; or could this mean that the Transbay Transit Center Project will be given priority not to be delayed by any yet unforseen reason(s); or some combination of the above? Sorry, I don't really know.

I also think some of the proposed height restrictions currently recommended "Scenerio 1000 Feet..." by Planning should be loosened up a bit. San Francisco could be giving up great economic opportunity, if the city chooses to set new height limits recommended by Planning at such the large reductions from the heights of at least eight of the tallest original developer tower proposals. I also agree with Peanut that a taller Palace Hotel Tower wouldn't be so out of place where it would be. There would also be no big future gap to fill, like with One Rincon Hill.

[peanut gallery]

Since we're in such a state of flux (to put it as kindly as possible) I thought I'd do a quick status update of some of the bigger current and planned projects here in the rundown thread. Please add/correct/edit as needed.

Transbay Tower - Hines deal approved; awaiting final approval of height zoning changes; I'm just hoping Hines doesn't back out with this economy.

301 Mission - tower and midrise exteriors basically complete; interiors and grounds under construction

One Rincon Hill phase 1 - tower complete; townhomes and landscaping approaching completion

One Rincon Hill phase 2 - on hold

555 Mission - complete; finishing plaza and interior

535 Mission - on hold; excavation complete; piles driven

350 Mission - expected to start in 2009; I'm dubious

The Californian (375 Fremont) - Fifield is trying to sell their development entitlements; basically dead for now

45 Lansing - hard to tell, but I wouldn't be surprised if it officially goes on hold in the near future

Infinity - tower 1 and townhomes complete; tower 2 exterior complete; courtyard nearing completion

631 Folsom - facade largely complete, interior, ground level and landscaping in progress

340-350 Fremont - Peebles is trying to sell their development entitlements; basically dead for now

10th and Market - checked today and the site hasn't been touched; last we heard it was supposed to start in the Fall; has anyone heard anything new?

350 Bush - was supposed to be delivered in 2009; entitled through 2010; nothing is happening onsite; I think it's on hold/dead, but no official statement to that effect

One Hawthorne - under construction; pouring underground levels; rebar up to about street level

Trinity - under construction; I checked today and they're working on level 12

[Reminiscence]

Thanks for that update p.g. I've lost track of some of these myself.

I probably wont worry too much about Hines backing out. Our economy is in a state of turmoil, but I think they're pretty much set financially. But then again, we've said that before too ...

[peanut gallery]

You're welcome. I wish there was more good news, but c'est la vie.

BTW, I walked down to Trinity and made updates to that and 10th/Market above.