SAN FRANCISCO | Salesforce Transit Center - Page 84

tech12 · #**1661** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 5:54 AM**

I gotta say that while the SOM proposal was the most innovative and unique, the Pelli proposal is not at all bad. Yes it's similar to the tower in Jersey City (I think that was it?), and IFC in Hong Kong, but personally I like the facade and the crown from what I've seen in the renderings, and if it actually comes out very light colored like the renderings show, that would fit in nice in SF, with all the white and pastel colored buildings...Of course the larger amount of money was something that was badly needed as well, and barring any major changes, SF will finally be getting a 1000+ footer. Plus I look forward to checking out the 5 story-high park. I can't really complain...

If we get screwed out of something truly unique with the Piano towers though, I'm going to be a little pissed.

Reminiscence · #**1662** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 7:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tech12

I gotta say that while the SOM proposal was the most innovative and unique, the Pelli proposal is not at all bad. Yes it's similar to the tower in Jersey City (I think that was it?), and IFC in Hong Kong, but personally I like the facade and the crown from what I've seen in the renderings, and if it actually comes out very light colored like the renderings show, that would fit in nice in SF, with all the white and pastel colored buildings...Of course the larger amount of money was something that was badly needed as well, and barring any major changes, SF will finally be getting a 1000+ footer. Plus I look forward to checking out the 5 story-high park. I can't really complain...

If we get screwed out of something truly unique with the Piano towers though, I'm going to be a little pissed.

I pretty much agree with you on your entire post except with the "little pissed" part at the end. If we get screwed on Piano's towers, I'll be more than a little pissed.

NYC2ATX · #**1663** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 11:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildCowboy

It's just a concept for the visual materials for high speed rail in California.

I was asking because I also saw such a train included in a recent rendering of a Sacramento proposal. Is there any actual substance to the possibility of high-speed rail in Cali in the near future?

WildCowboy · #**1664** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 5:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

I was asking because I also saw such a train included in a recent rendering of a Sacramento proposal. Is there any actual substance to the possibility of high-speed rail in Cali in the near future?

We're starting to get off-topic for this thread, so you might want to check out this one for info on CA high-speed rail. $10 billion bond going on the November ballot to start construction.

BVictor1 · #**1665** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 8:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajaxsonbayboi

You're stupid! You obviously did not read the right things then. Most of us already stated that the "competition" was based not on architectural ingenuity but what was the best choice, so far as money and practicality goes, for SF. And thats why Pelli won because of the money that will be given to build the transit center! *sigh* And not because all of us San Franciscans enjoy crappy, lame, and boring towers that will represent our city.

Oh!!! Aren't we snippy? There's no need for name calling. I didn't disrespect you in any way

.

I know what most of you have said, and I was saying my piece.

It's hard to tell what's enjoyed after seeing what's been built

. Although I do like One Rincon Hill by SCB.

HarryBarbierSRPD · #**1666** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 8:27 PM**

rabble...

BTinSF · #**1667** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 10:35 PM**

^^^Both from http://www.socketsite.com

More at http://www.pcparch.com/transbay/citypark.swf

SFView · #**1668** Posted **Mar 10, 2008, 11:43 PM**

From: http://www.nbc11.com/newsarchive/15554380/detail.html
NBC11

Quote:

SF To Hold Meeting On Tallest Skyscraper On West Coast

POSTED: 9:51 am PDT March 10, 2008
UPDATED: 10:24 am PDT March 10, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO --
by John Boitnott, Web Producer

The agency charged with guiding the creation of a massive new transit center and tower in downtown San Francisco will hold another community meeting Monday to discuss the plans as they currently stand.

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) will present plans currently under way for the hub, which many have compared to New York's Grand Central Station.

The Transbay Terminal could provide service to more than 100,000 passengers each day, TJPA officials said.

The new transit center would replace the current Transbay bus Terminal at First and Mission streets in downtown San Francisco with a multi-modal transit hub that includes at least one tower that could become the tallest building on the West Coast

The project will also create a new neighborhood surrounding the Transit Center with 3,400 new homes, including 35 percent of them below market rate, TJPA officials said.

The meeting is one in a series of community meetings being held in order to keep San Francisco residents informed about and involved with the new development.

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier will attend the meeting, which will start at 6 p.m. Monday at the Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore Street.

The Tallest Building In The West Could Rise

In Spetember, the board of directors of the TJPA made a final decision as to which tower/terminal proposal would earn exclusive negotiating rights with the city.

The Pelli-Hines plan already earned a unanimous endorsement from an advisory panel to the TJPA.

It is a 1,200-foot office tower, transit terminal and park.

“The selection of Pelli and Hines to build this transit hub and tower is a testament to the values, the vision and the excitement of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area region,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “We look forward to continuing the planning process and finally realizing the more than 20-year vision of a central transit station connecting our City with the region, state and country.”

“We are thrilled to team up with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/Hines to make the Transbay Transit Center a reality," said TJPA Board Chair Jerry Hill. Their proposal was a thoughtful consideration about what San Francisco needs in a transit center and in a new landmark tower.”

“It is a tremendous honor for our firm to have been selected, especially considering the quality of the other teams and designs,” said Gerald D. Hines. “This project includes the most innovative thinking from around the world in the fields of sustainability, transit design and urban planning. It will be one of the great places in San Francisco and a model for other cities.”

In November 2006, the TJPA launched an international Design and Development Competition to allow teams from across the globe to submit their vision for the project and compete for the rights to design what could become the Grand Central Station of the West.

Three teams in the final phase of the competition presented their design concepts to the TJPA Board of Directors on August 6, 2007.

The Richard Rodgers Partnership and Forest City Enterprises with MacFarlane Partners submitted a glass and steel tower plus transit terminal.

Skidmore Owings and Merrill and the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation proposed a tower that narrows as it climbs.

New York City's Empire State Building is 1,453 feet to the top of its antennae.

The top of the Pelli-Hines Transbay Tower would stand roughly 1,200 feet, dwarfing the 853 feet Transamerica Pyramid.

The Transbay Transit Center would be built on what is currently the site of San Francisco's dilapidated downtown bus station.

Money from the lease or sale of the land would help finance the estimated $938 million cost of building a new terminal and related structures, according to city leaders.

The transit center will accommodate eight regional transportation systems, including Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, Caltrain, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority, Golden Gate Transit, San Mateo County Transit District, Greyhound, Bay Area Rapid Transit and the future California High-Speed Rail.

California High Speed Rail promises to reduce travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles to two and a half hours, according to officials.

The design would not only specify construction for a new transit center, but it would incorporate a new neighborhood with homes, shops and parks adjacent to the transit center, according to the Transbay Joint Authority.

Established in 1977, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (PCPA) has designed over 80 million square feet of urban, mixed-use projects for government, private, and corporate clients worldwide.

The firm’s portfolio includes some of the world’s largest private developments: Canary Wharf in London, World Financial Center in New York, International Finance Centre in Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur City Center in Malaysia

rajaxsonbayboi · #**1669** Posted **Mar 11, 2008, 1:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Oh!!! Aren't we snippy? There's no need for name calling. I didn't disrespect you in any way

.

I know what most of you have said, and I was saying my piece.

It's hard to tell what's enjoyed after seeing what's been built

. Although I do like One Rincon Hill by SCB.

okaaaaaayyy sorry

NYC2ATX · #**1670** Posted **Mar 11, 2008, 1:18 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildCowboy

We're starting to get off-topic for this thread, so you might want to check out this one for info on CA high-speed rail. $10 billion bond going on the November ballot to start construction.

Thanks for the tip.

peanut gallery · #**1671** Posted **Mar 11, 2008, 5:00 PM**

Quote:

The project will also create a new neighborhood surrounding the Transit Center with 3,400 new homes, including 35 percent of them below market rate, TJPA officials said.

This would imply that the other Transbay towers are slated for residential, at least in part.

SFView · #**1672** Posted **Mar 11, 2008, 11:29 PM**

I believe that "3,400 new homes..." comes from here by TJPA:
http://sfgov.org/site/frame.asp?u=ht...sbaycenter.org

Quote:

Redevelopment Plan

A conceptual rendering
of the Transbay
Redevelopment Area

An integral part of the Transbay Project includes the creation of a new neighborhood surrounding the Transit Center. The Transbay Redevelopment Plan will transform a currently underutilized section of downtown San Francisco that consists of parking lots and irregular parcels of State-owned land left over from the Loma Prieta earthquake into a thriving transit-oriented neighborhood.

Adopted by the City of San Francisco in June 2005, the Redevelopment Plan will facilitate the development of nearly 3,400 new homes (35% of which will be affordable), 1.2 million square feet of new office, hotel, and commercial space and 60,000 square feet of retail, not including retail in the Transit Center. The buildings will include townhouses, low- and mid-rise buildings, and slender high-rise towers spaced apart to provide sunlight to proposed new plazas, parks, and widened sidewalks.

The Project Area is approximately 40 acres in size and is bounded by Mission Street in the north, Main Street in the east, Folsom Street in the south and 2nd Street in the west. Folsom Street will be the centerpiece of this new neighborhood and will feature widened sidewalks with cafes, markets and views of the San Francisco Bay.

Note that this discription still includes a "hotel" component as part of "1.2 million square feet" in the Transit Center. Pelli describes the tower itself as a "1.7 million-square-foot office tower" -- http://www.pcparch.com/transbay/citypark.swf. Unless I am mistaken, this data could be outdated from June 2005, if based on TJPA's web site's description. Also note the rendering.

By the way, has anyone noticed how Pelli's design for the tower, now more white, almost resembles the somewhat generic Transbay signature tower in the earlier conceptual renderings before the competition?

Downtown Dave · #**1673** Posted **Mar 12, 2008, 1:33 AM**

I found this image, showing the proposal with 555 and Millenium displayed, over at www.socketsite.com very helpful:

I didn't realize how many surface parking lots would be obliterated by this project, nor that the plaza by 555 Mission is intended to lead to the park. Plus, good bye Beale street overpass and its challenges. They really need to lock up the NIMBYs and get this project moving!

I'd like to know what exactly is intended for the parking lots on the other side of Mission Street not shown here. Any help?

BTinSF · #**1674** Posted **Mar 12, 2008, 1:41 AM**

^^^Which parking lots "on the other side of Mission St" are you referring to? I'm having trouble recalling any.

Downtown Dave · #**1675** Posted **Mar 12, 2008, 1:45 AM**

This one and this one.

PBuchman · #**1676** Posted **Mar 12, 2008, 4:34 PM**

^^^The first one is the site of a conceptual supertall proposal by Renzo Piano, as part of the transbay project. This proposal has its own thread here:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=122300

Not sure if there are any plans for the second lot.

nequidnimis · #**1677** Posted **Mar 12, 2008, 5:34 PM**

I usually refrain from this sort of comments as they do not contribute much to the debate, but the latest Pelli renderings look great.

BTinSF · #**1678** Posted **Mar 12, 2008, 5:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PBuchman

Not sure if there are any plans for the second lot.

I haven't heard of any.

The first lot, by the way, has not been used for parking which is why I didn't know what was meant and which is one reason I still have expectations the Piano proposal is alive since we haven't heard much from it (and probably won't until the height rezoning of the TransBay Project Area gets done).

Downtown Dave · #**1679** Posted **Mar 12, 2008, 9:13 PM**

I certainly hope it goes forward without delay -- it will plug the biggest gap remaining in the streetwall for quite some distance.

hectorant84 · #**1680** Posted **Apr 11, 2008, 8:03 PM**

As of 7 April 2008, Burj Dubai has reached a height of 629 m (2,064 ft), with 160 completed floors... and SF is bitching and dwelling over 80 floors and 1,200 feet. Ugh. BTW this thread is boring.