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BTinSF
Oct 14, 2006, 1:12 AM
Van Ness and Sutter is also a much more accessible and higher-traffic location for pedestrians than Post between Franklin and Gough. As you no doubt know.



Indeed I do know. But take a good look at all the vacant or marginal storefronts along Van Ness. It seems very hard for most businesses to make a go of it there. I don't really have a good explanation--perhaps you do and can also explain how a new market will have a different fate (I'm not being sarcastic--I'm really interested in your ideas on it).

By the way, perhaps you have been around long enough to recall that once there was a (very) small Safeway in the heart of the Tenderloin. I can't recall the exact location--Hyde maybe--but I remember shopping there once or twice. It also apparently didn't do very well and shut down. The building is still there. I sometimes walk past it still.

J Church
Oct 14, 2006, 1:22 AM
No, I'm not that old. Can't imagine any large market making a go of it in the Loin proper, tho. Just not enough purchasing power, too many hassles.

Van Ness retail is weird. There are a lot of chains, a lot of vacancies, you're right, but I think what's really missing is neighborhood-serving retail--particularly as the corridor continues to densify (and that includes Polk, which has flown under the radar, but there's been a fair amount of infill lately). I don't know that a supermarket on Van Ness would survive (although bear in mind we're not talking about a very large one--I'm enclosing a render of the project below), but I'd give it much better odds than one hiding out on Cathedral Hill.

http://www.sfcityscape.com/highrises/new_skyline/imgs/1285_sutter.jpg

Hal Incandenza
Oct 15, 2006, 2:12 AM
This seems like a sensible use for one of those cool old theaters on Mission, and we get some housing out of it too.

New Mission to have new use
SF Examiner, 10/14/06

Beneath several layers of paint on a wall of the New Mission Theater is a patch of gold and silver left over from the Depression era, when the theater experienced its heyday.

The historically significant portions of the 1916 art deco theater, located on the 2500 block of Mission Street, are scheduled to remain intact under plans to transform the vacant space into a venue for dancing, live music, movies and dining. Next door, 95 housing units are planned in an eight-story development, the second piece of the project designed to help pay for the theater’s restoration.

The historic theater, which can seat up to 2,300, is one of the last remaining early movie houses in The City. Starting in 2000, dozens fought to keep the theater from being demolished and turned into a campus building for the City College of San Francisco.

In late 2003, developer Gus Murad & Associates bought the building from the college and now plans to create a separate bar area behind the auditorium designed to serve as a movie house, dance floor or dining area. An elevator would transport people up and down to the basement level where a kitchen, storage and bathrooms are part of the blueprints.

Construction, if approved by The City’s Planning Commission, will likely begin in about two years, Morris said. The environmental impact report is in the works, city officials said. The architect declined to disclose the estimated cost of plans, which aim to make the theater a destination for diners. Preservationists who fought to save the theater on the National Register of Historical Places praised the new blueprints.

“This is the site of the proposed City College building,” said Katherine Petrin, a founding member of Save New Mission. “It came really close. ... We’re really lucky.”

The New Mission was designed by the Reid Brothers, who also designed the Fairmont Hotel. In 1932, Timothy Pflueger, the architect behind the Castro, Alhambra and El Rey theaters remodeled the New Mission, creating an art deco monument. The theater still features etched glass, decorative plasterwork, ceilings with floral motifs and medallions and Corinthian pilasters.

In keeping with the theater’s earlier uses, some hope plans will include screenings of 35 millimeter films there, although the latest proposal only includes digital movies.

“It would be an attractive spot for 35 millimeter film,” said Alfonso Felder, president of the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation. “In San Francisco there is a huge film-going population.”

Felder hopes to change the owners’ minds and persuade them to include the old-time films.

FourOneFive
Oct 15, 2006, 6:57 PM
Demolition has begun on 333 Fremont (images courtesy of sfcondo.org)

http://static.flickr.com/70/171102997_968ec8364a.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/53/171102996_a471056dbf.jpg

it looks like construction will probably begin at the beginning of next year. along with 375 fremont aka the californian on rincon hill right next door, it looks like that side of fremont is going to be quite busy over the next two years.

what it will look like when completed:

http://0035e70.netsolhost.com/image/new_fremont.jpg

EastBayHardCore
Oct 15, 2006, 7:48 PM
^ 2nd pic didnt load.

urban_encounter
Oct 16, 2006, 2:50 AM
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m96/mrayatsfo/TIrendering1.jpg



Wow, that will look incredible, from either side of the bay...

Reminiscence
Oct 16, 2006, 3:30 AM
If and when Treasure Island is completed, would it be concidered a separate city in San Francisco County, or still part of the city of San Francisco?

rocketman_95046
Oct 16, 2006, 3:35 AM
it will be part of SF.

Reminiscence
Oct 16, 2006, 4:24 AM
:previous:

Nice.

If only we had the money, another nice idea would have been to add a BART stop halfway accross the Transbay Tube offering service to Treasure Island ... oh well.

FourOneFive
Oct 16, 2006, 6:58 AM
:previous:

Nice.

If only we had the money, another nice idea would have been to add a BART stop halfway accross the Transbay Tube offering service to Treasure Island ... oh well.

that would require much more than simply adding a new stop in the middle of the bay. the transbay tube turns south of treasure island/ yerba buena island. we'd need to build a completely new tube to link treasure island to the city. (but hey, then we'd have a second transbay crossing...)

Reminiscence
Oct 17, 2006, 5:43 AM
Yeah, I remember reading a thread about a proposed second transbay tube. I believe J Church started it, I'm not sure. From SF to Oakland Airport I believe it was. I liked the idea, except I thought it should come from Marin via the Golden Gate Bridge (somehow) and then accross the Bay to Oakland and maybe San Jose sometime after that. I know that sounds tremendous but hey ... when you dream you've got to dream big right? Heh, at least we'll have our little Treasure Island BART stop, lol.

Reminiscence
Oct 17, 2006, 5:49 AM
One more thing ....

I asked this in another place, but I was wondering if there were any plans to bring a Shangri-La Hotel to SF? I know theres some spots in North America that have or will have one.

BTinSF
Oct 17, 2006, 6:07 AM
More Target rumors and a new tower at 417-451 Montgomery?

S.F. developer snaps up last property in Lurie Co. portfolio
San Francisco Business Times - October 13, 2006
by J.K. Dineen
The last of the Lurie portfolio is spoken for.

Mike Kelly's MK Equities in San Francisco has acquired 417-451 Montgomery St., one of a trio of downtown buildings that the Lurie Co. put on the market in March, said Jennifer Raike, vice president of business development at Old Republic Title Co.

The site is seen as a potential development play, according to industry sources. In marketing the property, Eastdil Secured hired architecture firm Heller/Manus to do a feasibility study of the site and the firm came back with a 320,000-square-foot tower.

Lincoln Properties had the site under contract earlier this year, but dropped it after determining that the building was saddled with a disproportionate number of long-term leases that would make development a challenge.

The other Montgomery Street Lurie property, 400 Montgomery, was acquired last summer by Hearst Corp. for $27 million. Urban Realty bought the third building, 901 Market St., for $65 million and is hoping to lure Target to the block between Fifth and Sixth streets.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/16/newscolumn6.html

BTinSF
Oct 17, 2006, 6:13 AM
A $600K bargain?

Long-delayed Bayview condos to break ground
San Francisco Business Times - October 13, 2006
by J.K. Dineen
A Houston developer backed by Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group has acquired a key seven-acre parcel near Monster Park and is set to break ground on a $90 million, 198-unit housing development.

James Noteware, a veteran Texas housing builder with condo developments in Houston, Las Vegas and Phoenix, is set to break ground at 833-881 Jamestown Ave., according to Claude Everhart, community outreach coordinator for Noteware Development San Francisco.

The seller was Jamestown Equity Partners, led by developer Matt Murphy, who endured a 15-year entitlement process, spanning several economic cycles. Noteware Development paid $18.5 million for the site.

Called the Jamestown, the 198 condos spread throughout 11 structures will cater to families, with 37 three-bedrooms, 149 two-bedrooms, and the rest one-bedrooms. There will be three play areas, a clubhouse, and 75,000 square feet of open space. Twenty-four of the units will be affordable. Everhart said in contrast to much of the swanky new high-end development South of Market and in Rincon Hill, the focus of the project is on creating a neighborhood specifically tailored to raising children.

Everhart said pre-construction work has already started on the site.

"We think it's going to be a very exciting family neighborhood," said Everhart, adding that Noteware is looking for other sites for "quality family housing in San Francisco."

The Jamestown Avenue property, which was formerly used for overflow parking at Monster Park, will feature three-story "neo-Mediterranean" homes with 30-foot façades fronting Jamestown Avenue.

"From the street it will resemble the character and nature of a normal San Francisco neighborhood," said Everhart.

Started in 2002, Noteware Development specializes in infill projects in rapidly growing urban areas. In addition to several projects in Las Vegas, including the 178-unit Brickwater Condominiums, the company is developing a project in the Moon Valley neighborhood in Phoenix, Ariz. This is the first project that Noteware has done with Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group financing, but the company is aggressively seeking other sites.

The project comes as the San Francisco 49ers and Lennar Corp. are developing plans for a $600 million to $800 million football stadium and housing development that would also play a central role in the city's efforts to win the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood has seen a number of developers abandon housing and retail projects over the years, including former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo's plan a decade ago to construct a mega-mall and stadium complex. Everhart said given the history of broken promises around development and the poverty in the neighborhood, it's important that the development satisfy a number of neighborhood wishes spelled out during the entitlement process. These include upgrades to Bayview Hill Park and Coronado Street Park.

"We are going to work as hard as we can to make sure all the promises that were made, are kept," he said.

Everhart said he is not worried about selling the units.

"With the (Third Street) light rail coming in, the views, the proximity to the state park, the diversity of the neighborhood, (the neighborhood) is hot," he said.

Chris Foley, president of the Polaris Group, which is marketing the project, said the Jamestown was finally jump started once Noteware was able to work out an agreement where Murphy would handle some of the neighborhood improvements, and Noteware others.

"It took Noteware's creativity to unlock the potential of the site," he said.

Polaris Group is also marketing another neighborhood project: Top Vision's 176-unit the Cove at Candlestick Point. Like the Jamestown, the Cove offers family-sized units targeting middle-class residents unable to buy into the city's $1 million homes. The Cove offers two bedrooms at $500,000 to $600,000 and three bedrooms around $700,000.

"Where do you buy a home in San Francisco for $500,000 or $600,000?" Foley said. "We need to create opportunities of the masses and I believe the southeast quadrant of the city is the place to do it, without disrupting the existing neighborhood."

J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/16/story9.html?t=printable

BTinSF
Oct 17, 2006, 6:15 AM
If and when Treasure Island is completed, would it be concidered a separate city in San Francisco County, or still part of the city of San Francisco?

I believe under state law, San Francisco is both a city and a county--i.e. the borders of both the city and county are the same. So anything in San Francisco County is also in San Francisco, the city.

SFBoy
Oct 17, 2006, 11:13 AM
There no City Of San Francisco or County Of San Francisco.

Only the City & County Of San Francisco. A single entity

BTinSF
Oct 17, 2006, 4:31 PM
There no City Of San Francisco or County Of San Francisco.

Only the City & County Of San Francisco. A single entity

Which is a third way of saying precisely what I said.

Reminiscence
Oct 17, 2006, 7:05 PM
Heh, I get it now. Thanks for trying to simplify it as much as possible.

FourOneFive
Oct 18, 2006, 3:32 AM
From GlobeSt.

Citywide Direct Vacancy Nears Single Digit
By Brian K. Miller

SAN FRANCISCO-The office market here has experienced 1.1 million sf of net absorption so far in 2006, with about half of that occurring in the third quarter, according to a third quarter review by Chris Roeder of Cushman & Wakefield San Francisco. As a result, Citywide vacancy is down to 11.4% and CBD vacancy stands at 12%, a five-year low, according to the report.

Moreover, the CBD sublease vacancy rate is down to 1.5% from 9.2% in mid 2002, which is alleviating its negative impact on the value of direct space. The current direct asking rent for class A space in the CBD, $39.72 per sf per year, is up less than 1% from the end of the second quarter but is nearly 20% ahead of where it was this time last year.

“As the increase in asking rental rates often lags the reduction in vacancy, it is expected that asking rents will continue to increase over the next quarter as the vacancy rate approaches single digits,” states Roeder in his report.

Effective rents for view space, which is in short supply, is upward $55 per sf, according to the report. One third quarter lease--by Renaissance Technology Corp. for space at Piers 1 ½, 3, 5--has a triple-net face rate of $69 per sf.

The tightness of the market has caused two new office projects to commence. Projects at 555 Mission St. and 500 Terry Francois Blvd. are expected to come online in 2008. Previously under way is Equity Office Property Trust’s 335,000-sf Foundry Square I development, which is set for delivery this time next year.

Third quarter leasing activity occurred primarily in class A space in the CBD. The North Financial District saw the steepest decline in vacancy in the third quarter, dropping 160 basis points to 13.6%. South Financial District held steady with an average direct vacancy rate of 10.5%.

“Improving economic fundamentals and an insurgence of small to mid-size high-tech and financial services firms will continue to drive demand,” concludes the report. “With little new construction coming online in the next year, San Francisco should expect to see the vacancy rate dip below 10% for the first time since 2001.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

if the office market continues to strengthen, we may see 350 bush street start sooner than later. :D

BTinSF
Oct 18, 2006, 3:38 AM
:previous: Foundry Square, though, didn't get underway until they leased the entire building to Barclay's Global Investors which, as I pointed out elsewhere, is now the largest manager of financial assets in the US.

FourOneFive
Oct 18, 2006, 5:40 AM
:previous: Foundry Square, though, didn't get underway until they leased the entire building to Barclay's Global Investors which, as I pointed out elsewhere, is now the largest manager of financial assets in the US.

i still believe equity office properties would have proceeded with foundry square even if they had not signed barclays global investors. if you look at the overall market, the fundamentals are there to start new construction.

this news does bode well for the planning department's proposal two add two 800'+ skyscrapers to the transbay plan. if both towers are zoned primarily for offices (as i suspect they will be), developers could justify the costs of construction as well as the number of fees that may or may not be imposed on them by the board of supervisors.

BTinSF
Oct 18, 2006, 6:48 AM
i still believe equity office properties would have proceeded with foundry square even if they had not signed barclays global investors. if you look at the overall market, the fundamentals are there to start new construction.



They made public statements before and at the time construction began that they would not have. I take them at their word.

San Frangelino
Oct 20, 2006, 5:33 PM
5 Oakland/ SF project renderings from http://www.mbharch.com/


188 11th Street
Oakland, California
Mixed-Use Hi-rise
Condominiums over Retail
8,300 s.f. Retail
24 Stories
5,000 s.f. Open Space
286 Residential Units
369 Parking Spaces

Client:
DR Horton

Target:
In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/188.jpg


300 Grant
San Francisco, California
Mixed-Use Residential
66 units
92,000 s.f.
10 floors of Condos
2 Floors Retail
2 Floors below grade parking
Ground floor retail and two basement parking levels. Ten-story condo tower. Landscaped terrace, clubhouse and solarium on 3rd floor for residents.

Client:
Madison Marquette
Thompson Dorfman Partners

Target:
In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/grant.jpg

Broadway Grand
Oakland, California
Residential over Retail - surrounds a 3-level podium parking garage with center courtyard on-top
27 Townhomes
105 Condominium Units
Over Retail and Parking
22,000 s.f. Retail Space

Client:
Signature Properties

Target:
Early 2007

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/negherbon.jpg

Candlestick Cove
San Francisco, California
Mixed-Use Residential
Townhomes / Condos
283 Units
5 Stories of Residential Over
2 Stories of Parking with Retail
Light Gauge Metal Framing
Over Concrete
13,000 s.f. of Retail
2,500 s.f. Community Space
1 Parking Stall Per Unit
2 Parking Stalls Per Townhouse

Client:
Signature Properties

Target:In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/candlestick.jpg

2nd & Harrison
Jack London Square
Oakland, California
Condominiums surrounding landscaped courtyard
38,067 s.f.
111 Units
20,300 s.f. of Common Space

Client:
The Olson Company

Target:
In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/housing/development/2ndharrison.jpg

J Church
Oct 20, 2006, 5:46 PM
You know, I don't believe we've talked about Candlestick Cove/Executive Park here at all, but the Planning Department has put out a draft plan calling for nearly 2,000 units over there. A couple thousand here, a couple thousand there ...

That 188 11th project in Oakland is proposed to be substantially taller than anything around it (it's near the Courthouse and cultural complex). Could have quite the skyline impact.

San Frangelino
Oct 20, 2006, 6:02 PM
ou know, I don't believe we've talked about Candlestick Cove/Executive Park here at all, but the Planning Department has put out a draft plan calling for nearly 2,000 units over there. A couple thousand here, a couple thousand there ...

Wow, I didn't realize they were planning that many units. What are the borders of the plan? Looking at google maps I am assuming it's the 101 to Jamestown avenue, between Executive Park Blvd and Harney way...or is it broader than that?

Along with a redeveloped Monster Park area and Bayview Redevelopment, that could become a really dynamic area; nice urban entrance into the city from the south. If only the baylands in Brisbane went with the ambitious office skyscraper plan...no no...don't think about it...nearly impossible option.

J Church
Oct 20, 2006, 6:09 PM
http://www.sfgov.org/site/planning_index.asp?id=42414

I've said it before and I'll say it again: New stadium should be on the Baylands, and Candlestick should be a neighborhood. Damned county line.

San Frangelino
Oct 20, 2006, 6:12 PM
New stadium should be on the Baylands, and Candlestick should be a neighborhood.

Agreed...thanks for the link btw. Wow..it's along the hill with a 200 ft parcel.

J Church
Oct 20, 2006, 6:24 PM
Yeah, I noticed that as well. Although the plan says something to the effect of "only above 85' under exceptional circumstances," etc.

San Frangelino
Oct 20, 2006, 7:03 PM
only above 85' under exceptional circumstances

I wonder what would qualify exceptional circumstances for a high rise? I am just skimming at the moment but there is a section on the pdf that concerns the buildings greater than 85 ft. Whats also interesting though, is that the area granted a 200ft height limit is split in two by a road. Which either means the possiblity of two 200 ft buildings, or that they aren't considering the possiblity of somehting of that height. I hope its the former.

SFView
Oct 22, 2006, 6:48 PM
Another one for Oakland:

188 11th Street - Oakland
21st October 2006

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m96/mrayatsfo/188oakland.jpg

188 11th Street Oakland, California Mixed-Use Hi-rise Condominiums over Retail 8,300 s.f. Retail 24 Stories 5,000 s.f. Open Space 286 Residential Units 369 Parking Spaces Client: DR Horton Target: In Design courtesy www.mbarch.com
http://www.sfnewdevelopments.com/blog/category/all/

BTinSF
Oct 22, 2006, 7:21 PM
188 11th Street
Oakland, California
Mixed-Use Hi-rise
Condominiums over Retail
8,300 s.f. Retail
24 Stories
5,000 s.f. Open Space
286 Residential Units
369 Parking Spaces

Client:
DR Horton

Target:
In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/188.jpg




Wow, cool. I'm a stockholder in Horton but I didn't realize they did multifamily projects. Glad to see it, though.

San Frangelino
Oct 22, 2006, 7:49 PM
I should probably re-post this message I made a few days ago. I think it got missed.

5 Oakland/ SF project renderings from http://www.mbharch.com/


188 11th Street
Oakland, California
Mixed-Use Hi-rise
Condominiums over Retail
8,300 s.f. Retail
24 Stories
5,000 s.f. Open Space
286 Residential Units
369 Parking Spaces

Client:
DR Horton

Target:
In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/188.jpg


300 Grant
San Francisco, California
Mixed-Use Residential
66 units
92,000 s.f.
10 floors of Condos
2 Floors Retail
2 Floors below grade parking
Ground floor retail and two basement parking levels. Ten-story condo tower. Landscaped terrace, clubhouse and solarium on 3rd floor for residents.

Client:
Madison Marquette
Thompson Dorfman Partners

Target:
In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/grant.jpg

Broadway Grand
Oakland, California
Residential over Retail - surrounds a 3-level podium parking garage with center courtyard on-top
27 Townhomes
105 Condominium Units
Over Retail and Parking
22,000 s.f. Retail Space

Client:
Signature Properties

Target:
Early 2007

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/negherbon.jpg

Candlestick Cove
San Francisco, California
Mixed-Use Residential
Townhomes / Condos
283 Units
5 Stories of Residential Over
2 Stories of Parking with Retail
Light Gauge Metal Framing
Over Concrete
13,000 s.f. of Retail
2,500 s.f. Community Space
1 Parking Stall Per Unit
2 Parking Stalls Per Townhouse

Client:
Signature Properties

Target:In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/mixeduse/development/candlestick.jpg

2nd & Harrison
Jack London Square
Oakland, California
Condominiums surrounding landscaped courtyard
38,067 s.f.
111 Units
20,300 s.f. of Common Space

Client:
The Olson Company

Target:
In Design

http://www.mbharch.com/portfolio/housing/development/2ndharrison.jpg

SFView
Oct 22, 2006, 8:32 PM
Right. Sorry, I missed that.

AK47KC
Oct 23, 2006, 1:08 AM
Looks like Oakland is getting its share of highrises as well. :)

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2006, 3:10 AM
Progress in Oakland:

Project pulls in at West Oakland station
In cards since 2000, development will total 1,500 homes
San Francisco Business Times - October 13, 2006
by Ryan Tate
Spencer Brown
Developer Rick Holliday
View Larger
Developer Rick Holliday and his partners are starting work on a massive housing development at West Oakland's Central Station after an eight-month delay.

Slated to begin at the start of 2006, Central Station's groundbreaking was delayed until August by vocal opposition from some community groups to the project in its original form and by a shortage of construction labor. As the Business Times went to press, Holliday and partners Pulte Homes and Andy Getz's HFH Ltd. were slated to convene a formal launch event Thursday, Oct. 12.

Central Station is designed to reach 1,500 units of housing when it is built out. Now under way are 300 for-sale, maket-rate units from Holliday and Pulte Homes, to be followed in the spring by 100 units from affordable housing firm Bridge Housing. That would be followed by 300 units from HFH.

"Oakland has been the stepchild of the Bay Area, and West Oakland has been the stepchild of Oakland," Holliday said. "This is a way to tip our hat to (Mayor) Jerry (Brown) and acknowledge (Ron) Dellums coming in" to office.

To win neighborhood support and thus approval for the project, Holliday and his partners agreed to set aside 10 percent of units for first-time homebuyers, fund an on-site homeowners assistance center and keep 25 percent of rental units at affordable rent levels.

They also are participating, with public assistance, in a $15 million rehabilition of the old train station into a facility commemorating Pullman train porters and available for other community uses.

"This area had issues with gentrification, and you'll see a lot of people who represent that constituency very excited about the project," Holliday said

Citibank is providing construction financing for the project's $125 million first phase, the 300 for-sale units from Holliday and Pulte.

Holliday said he expects the units to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000, despite rising construction costs.

The West Oakland project has had a variety of ups and downs since Holliday acquired the abandoned station and surrounding property in a series of transactions starting in 2000. Originally, he planned 3 million square feet of office space and 250 lofts there. When the bottom fell out of the office market earlier this decade, he slashed that to just 50 to 75 lofts and renovation of the 8,000-square-foot station. Plans for 1,500 homes were resurrected in 2003.

Ryan Tate covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/16/story4.html?t=printable

San Frangelino
Oct 23, 2006, 3:46 AM
Here is the website for the central station website for those who havent seen the plans:

http://www.welcomeaboard.com/pages/home.html

Now does anyone know whats going on with the multi tower project by Peter Sullivan Associates nearby at Mandela Pkwy and W. Grand Avenue. What a wet dream if that got built. http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/01/23/story5.html

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2006, 7:20 AM
Hmmm--4000 sq ft on Rincon Hill. That's what I'll dream about tonight.

Peebles snags last Rincon tower site
Miami developer's $250 million highrise
San Francisco Business Times - October 20, 2006
by J.K. Dineen

When real estate mogul Don Peebles arrived in San Francisco two years ago, he was looking for a site to create the kind of super-luxe highrise he is renowned for in Miami Beach.

Now he has found it.

Peebles is in contract to buy 340-350 Fremont St. for $40 million, a site in the heart of the emerging Rincon Hill neighborhood that is entitled for a 40-story tower with 338 units. The seller is Jackson Pacific Ventures, a company run by architect and developer Ezra Mersey.

The transaction, likely to close in December, represents the final piece of the Rincon Hill Plan, which calls for a Vancouver-style neighborhood of six slender towers on a gentle incline south of the Transbay Terminal. In addition to Peebles' tower, Rincon Hill will eventually be home to Michael Kriozere's two-tower One Rincon project; the Californian, a Richard Keating-designed project by Fifield Cos. at 375-399 Fremont St.; Tishman Speyer's two-tower Infinity development at 300 Spear St.; and Turnberry Associates' development at 45 Lansing St.

"This is what we came to San Francisco to do," said Peebles. "We came here to find outstanding residential sites where we can provide the kind of understated elegance that the market wants and has not been provided yet."

Peebles, who is developing a brick-and-timber loft project at 250 Brannan St. as well as a proposed "town center" at the former Rockaway Quarry in Pacifica, said he was drawn to the site because it is fully approved and has potential for breathtaking views of the bay as well as downtown. He called it "one of the best-located sites on Rincon Hill." The total project cost will likely be about $250 million.

"It's an exciting city. It's a very elegant city. It's a very creative city, and it's a very understated city compared to some East Coast cities," said Peebles, who in addition to South Florida has developed in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, and downtown Detroit.

While the site is entitled for 338 units, Peebles, who developed the Bath Club in Miami, said he plans to scale back the number to about 280 and make the condos larger. The smallest units will be 1,300 square feet and the largest between 3,000 and 4,000 square feet. The pricing would likely be between $1,200 and $2,000 a square foot, which could translate to well over $5 million for the larger penthouses.

Peebles said that most of the new development in SoMa has focused on squeezing the maximum number of units into each site, and units of more than 2,000 square feet are virtually non-existent.

"When we look at what is coming on the market, it's smaller units, more apartment building living," he said. "When people are paying millions they should get something special. It's the difference between building a Cadillac and a Bentley."

Peebles said the project, with underground parking, would feature valet parking, a health club/spa and an automated concierge service that would let residents order a personal trainer or valet parking without picking up the phone.

"Our owners will get better service than a hotel guest at the Four Seasons," said Peebles.

Heller/Manus designed the building. Jeffrey Heller, a principal with Heller/Manus, said the tower is slim, with 9,500-square-foot floor plates. The northwest corner of the glass-and-precast-concrete building, is an arched all-glass concave wall. While Peebles became fully committed to the Bay Area in 2004, he actually met Heller about eight years ago when he began a low-key search for a development here. Heller said he would work with Peebles and the Planning Department to refine the building treatments over the next few months.

"I think he has a strong reputation, especially on the East Coast. He has for a long time been trying to establish a strong presence out here," said Heller. "I'm glad he got (the site)."

Michael Kriozere, who is building One Rincon Hill, said 90 percent of the first 55-story tower has been reserved and about 70 percent are in contract. He said the "strong price" of the Peebles purchase "speaks for itself."

"These are not fly-by-night developers," said Kriozere. "All the sites zoned under the Rincon Hill rezoning are now owned by strong developers who will go ahead with their projects. This confirms what we always thought, that Rincon Hill is going to be a real place, a neighborhood, that it will quickly become the new hill in San Francisco, like Telegraph Hill or Nob Hill."

The deal comes at a time when San Francisco's residential real estate market is slowing down, although much less severe than in other parts of the country. In September, average condo prices were down 3.7 percent from September 2005, although single-family homes still rose 7.8 percent. Peebles said competition could temporarily drive down prices for the 800- to 1,200-square-foot units, which most of the downtown projects offer. He said the timing on 340-350 Fremont, which is expected to be completed in 2009, should be fine.

"San Francisco has seen a slowdown in velocity and the market is going through a correction, a simple rebalancing," said Peebles. "By the time we're ready to deliver, the market will have rebalanced."

J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/23/story1.html?t=printable

http://sfcityscape.com/highrises/new_skyline/imgs/340_fremont.jpg

dimondpark
Oct 23, 2006, 7:34 AM
that's lovely.......speaking of One Rincon Hill...driving by its a lot less bulky then I would have thought.

188 11th St is a good spot for that Oakland building.

BTinSF
Oct 23, 2006, 8:34 AM
Tres cool:

Like a lot of outgoing mayors, Oakland's soon-to-be-ex, Jerry Brown, is making key appointments right up until his exit.

One of his more interesting picks was Michael Colbruno, vice president for public affairs for Clear Channel billboards, to a three-year fixed term on the city's Planning Commission.

What makes the appointment really fun is that Colbruno also heads OakPAC -- the political arm of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce -- which backed Dellums' main opponent in the June mayoral election, City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente.

Ah, but that was then. Colbruno tells us he has since made nice with Dellums -- he even called to get a blessing before taking his new seat.

Some of us remember when he used to be a journalist for one of the gay papers in SF (so long ago I can't any longer remember if it was the BAR or the Sentinel). But I got to know Michael when he was an aide to Carole Migden and I was a volunteer worker in her office. He's a really nice guy--and as this article suggests, a crafty political pro.

AK47KC
Oct 23, 2006, 11:32 PM
2009 will be a very good year for Rincon Hill in terms of highrise activity, it seems.

San Frangelino
Oct 30, 2006, 4:40 PM
I wonder if J-Church's cityscape posting had any influence on it? hmmmm. Sadly the 200 ft towers near MacArthur Bart station are no more. Will oakland ever rise?

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/30/focus5.html?b=1162184400^1367372

In tale of two villages, only one embraces density
Neighboring transit hubs take different approaches
San Francisco Business Times - October 27, 2006

Spencer Brown
Walter Miles, chairman of the Citizens Planning Committee for the planned MacArthur BART transit village in Oakland.
View Larger
Walter Miles is a rare sort of community leader in the Bay Area: one who is eager to usher skyscrapers into a neighborhood where few buildings rise beyond three stories.

Miles is the chairman of the Citizens Planning Committee for the planned MacArthur BART transit village in Oakland. While a transit village proposal at the neighboring Ashby BART station has drawn the ire of a smattering of community groups, Miles is out front in the MacArthur neighborhood urging buildings that are even taller and larger than those planned by developers Aegis Equity Partners, Shea Homes and Bridge Housing.

"I'm pleased with any density we can get our hands on," said Miles, who lives in an apartment about a mile from the station and who owns land closer by. "I felt towers -- 16 stories minimum -- would have been appropriate for the neighborhood."

Due to the rising price of steel, concrete and labor and declining home prices, the developers have scaled back their plans to 50-foot towers from 200-foot towers. Thanks to additional land, they plan to reduce housing units more modestly, to 550 units from 800 units.

In another community -- say, San Bruno or Temescal -- the downsizing would be an occasion for popping of champagne corks among many neighborhood activists. But Deborah Castles of Aegis acknowledges it was a bit of a letdown for MacArthur BART neighbors.

"Most people were very understanding," Castles said of an Oct. 5 community meeting about the downsizing. "They understood why we needed to amend our plan."

For Miles, skyscrapers made the most sense for MacArthur, since it already features an elevated freeway, above-ground BART station and connection to two busy roads well-blessed with bus lines, Telegraph Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A concentrated group of residents would have attracted retail and put more eyes on the gritty streets that surround the station.

"I believe all cities and areas that have major transit corridors should have density," Miles said.

Just one more train stop down the Richmond BART line from MacArthur, at the Ashby Avenue station, some Berkeley residents loudly opposed a proposal for 300 units of housing on the west side of the parking lot.

Groups that have raised concerns about the plan include Neighbors of Ashby BART, United We Stand and Deliver and a handful of neighborhood associations, plus the merchants from the Ashby Flea market.

More than 200 people signed a petition against the project and phoned and emailed CalTrans, mostly in opposition to the project. The councilman who had sought a grant from CalTrans ended up pulling his application.

Community members said they felt blindsided by the proposal. In contrast, MacArthur BART neighbors have been trying to bring a transit village to the area for close to 20 years.

Consulting frequently with the community is key to making a transit village successful, said Robert Apodaca, director of business development in the Oakland office of MVE Architects. MVE has built a strong practice designing transit villages throughout California, including Bay Area projects at various stages at BART stations in Fruitvale, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Dublin and Pleasanton.

At Pleasant Hill BART, MVE client Millennium Partners had proposed a large retail and entertainment complex that had neighbors up in arms. As Apodaca tells it, the fear was the center would bring in young people from surrounding communities at night, generating noise and other nuisances.

Millennium pulled the plan and Contra Costa County officials, who have authority over the unincorporated town, hired a planning firm to lead a series of neighborhood meetings to ask community members what they wanted at the site. Millennium was a participant in the meetings, and at various points spoke out about plans that were not financially viable.

Millennium eventually won approval for 500 residential units and 40,000 square feet of retail on the site, plus a 225,000-square-foot medical office building.

"If the community is respected and told what will work and what won't work, they will come around," Apodaca said.

San Frangelino
Oct 30, 2006, 4:40 PM
Sorry...made a blunder and double posted. Please delete..thank you

BTinSF
Oct 30, 2006, 5:17 PM
I wonder if J-Church's cityscape posting had any influence on it? hmmmm. Sadly the 200 ft towers near MacArthur Bart station are no more. Will oakland ever rise?



Probably not as long as there is "additional land" available to supply the demand. Cities that build UP do it because they have little choice. It wouldn't be economically feasible if they could find "additional land" to sprawl.

J Church
Oct 30, 2006, 5:40 PM
Will oakland ever rise?

If current trends continue I'm afraid we're going to see more and more of this. I worry about Oak to 9th and the OUSD project (although I'm less supportive of that one).

sf_eddo
Oct 30, 2006, 6:09 PM
Berkeley NIMBYs are at it again.
====

BERKELEY
Neighbors say no to popular market
Trader Joe's project hits snag over traffic, low-priced alcohol
- Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, October 30, 2006

http://sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/10/30/ba_traderjoes30_ph.jpg

http://sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/10/30/ba_traderjoe.jpg

Most communities would be breaking out the Two-Buck Chuck and organic flaxseed chips at news that Trader Joe's is coming to town.

Not Berkeley.

In a city famous for its love of specialty gourmet food, irate neighbors are fighting a new Trader Joe's slated for University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, now home to a Kragen outlet.

Residents are concerned about traffic, parking, the building blending in with the neighborhood, and the large volume of low-cost alcohol for sale just a few blocks from the UC campus, Berkeley High School and a number of homeless service agencies.

Not to mention the four stories of apartments that would be on top of Trader Joe's, making it one of the biggest housing developments in Berkeley.

Meanwhile, droves of Berkeleyans would love a Trader Joe's, if not necessarily so much housing at that spot.

The issue is headed for a showdown Nov. 9 at the zoning board, which is scheduled to vote on approving the $50 million project.

The Berkeley battle stands in contrast to last week's announcement that a new Trader Joe's is being warmly welcomed about 5 miles away in Oakland. Slated to replace a shuttered Albertsons on Lakeshore Avenue in the Grand Lake neighborhood, the Oakland Trader Joe's was sought in a campaign by local residents and Councilwoman Pat Kernighan.

If it's approved in Berkeley, Trader Joe's -- with its island decor and mix of basic food with organic and exotic imported foods -- would open in 2010. If it's not approved, the developers said, Trader Joe's likely will back out and the project will be resubmitted with more housing and less retail.

"Either way there will be a project there -- what we don't know is exactly what that will be," said Berkeley City Councilwoman Dona Spring, whose district includes the Trader Joe's site.

Developers Chris Hudson and Evan McDonald, proteges of Berkeley development mogul Patrick Kennedy, bought the 1-acre site in 2002 and have been haggling with the city and community ever since. The project began with 186 units of housing filling five full stories, 4,000 square feet of retail, 71 parking spots and almost no setbacks from adjacent houses. The proposal now has 146 units, four times as much retail as before, twice as many parking spots, landscaping around the perimeter and a stepped-back roof that goes from three stories to five.

"These are significant concessions we've made," said Hudson. "But the neighbors keep changing the bar. We're just looking at each other and scratching our heads because we've done everything they asked."

The neighbors most upset about the project live on Berkeley Way, a residential street parallel to University Avenue where the Trader Joe's parking lot entrance will be. A constant stream of cars and delivery trucks will dramatically change the character of their quiet street, they say.

"Trader Joe's is a nonunion store owned by a secretive German family that sells specialty food and low-cost alcohol," said Steve Wollmer, who lives 250 feet from the site. "Do we really need this in our neighborhood?"

Part of Trader Joe's popularity stems from its assortment of low-priced wine and spirits. It spawned the "Two-Buck Chuck" nickname when it sold Charles Shaw wine for $2 a bottle, though many of its other wine offerings fall into a higher price range. Wollmer fears that the availability of inexpensive wine will prove too tempting for the thousands of underage students and homeless people who live nearby.

A Trader Joe's spokeswoman would not release the company's alcohol sales figures, but a homeless advocate said the store's abundance of cheap wine is not an issue.

"I am convinced that the cost and distance of alcohol has nothing to do with people drinking. If a homeless person, or anyone, wants to drink, they'll know where to get it," said Boona Cheema, executive director of Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency in Berkeley. "I think it's great that Trader Joe's is coming to downtown."

Many in Berkeley agree with her, enticed by the prospect of affordable, high-quality groceries within walking distance of downtown, BART and the UC campus.

"For years, downtown residents and merchants have been wanting a supermarket downtown," said Michael Caplan, who worked on downtown development for the city and starts today as Berkeley's economic development director. "There are hundreds of new units downtown, and as it becomes more of a neighborhood, people want basic neighborhood amenities."

The nearest Trader Joe's are currently in Emeryville and El Cerrito. The Oakland outlet will open in early 2007.

Berkeley is hardly underserved by grocery stores, though no large markets can be found downtown, where Trader Joe's would go. Within its 10 square miles lie four Andronico's, Whole Foods, Safeway, Grocery Outlet, Berkeley Bowl and dozens of small specialty shops. A second Berkeley Bowl, which at 91,000 square feet will be Berkeley's biggest grocery store, is slated to open in West Berkeley by 2010.

Some in Berkeley say they welcome Trader Joe's, but it's the 146 units of housing they don't want. The units, most of which are one-bedroom apartments configured around a central courtyard, are too small to accommodate families, said Spring.

The developers say they feel they've made as many concessions as they can and still turn a profit.

"We think we have a great project here, and we're willing to invest in the long-term future of Berkeley," Hudson said. "But at some point, Berkeley's got to decide whether it wants to be Berkeley 1950 or Berkeley 2050."

E-mail Carolyn Jones at carolynjones@sfchronicle.com.

Page B - 1
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/30/BAGMTM2HDE1.DTL

tuy
Oct 30, 2006, 8:17 PM
Some in Berkeley say they welcome Trader Joe's, but it's the 146 units of housing they don't want. The units, most of which are one-bedroom apartments configured around a central courtyard, are too small to accommodate families, said Spring.

Sounds like great student housing. Isn't it really difficult for students to find housing near campus?

As mentioned in the article, most cities would love to have this development in their downtown. Tracy would welcome this with open arms.

_J_
Oct 30, 2006, 8:53 PM
Yes, it's *very* difficult for Berkeley students to find housing that close to campus; often, there is a $300-500+ premium on rooms within walking distance of campus. I moved to Oakland to avoid that premium. Such shortsightedness is (City of) Berkeleyitis at its worst. But hey...I get a new TJs just a couple of blocks from home and they don't, so no complaints here ;-)

_J_
Oct 31, 2006, 12:40 AM
-n-

rocketman_95046
Oct 31, 2006, 3:13 AM
webcor update...

AXIS (SAN JOSE CONDOMINIUMS), SAN JOSE, CA

http://www.webcor.com/auto_images/large/rendering1152225134.jpg
UPDATE
October 2006


The excavation phase of the project is about 95% complete. The west half

of the site is almost completely at sub-grade level while the grading and off-haul continues at the east side. We expect to be done with the soil off-haul in the first week of November.

The tower crane foundation has been poured and we continue to place
filter fabric and crushed rock for drainage and compaction under the mat foundation. Carlysle Street will be closed on the weekend of 10/21 for the erection of our “flat head” style tower crane.

A 6” concrete rat slab will be poured on the west side as early as 10/24, so that the foundation rebar placement can begin. The first foundation concrete pour is scheduled for the weekend of 11/10. In order to accomplish the placement of 6,000+ cubic yards of concrete, Webcor will have five (5) concrete pump trucks on site – four active and one on standby in the event of equipment failure. Concrete placement will commence at 12:05am on 11/11 and will be continuous until about 2pm.
http://www.webcor.com/auto_images/large/axisoctober2006c1162232330.jpghttp://www.webcor.com/auto_images/large/axisoctober2006a1162231439.jpg

EastBayHardCore
Oct 31, 2006, 3:13 AM
City of Emeryville buying land for Bay Street expansion
East Bay Business Times - 6:22 PM PST Monday
by Jessica Saunders

The city of Emeryville spent $6.2 million to acquire a 53,273-square-foot parcel of land as part of its continuing Bay Street urban-renewal project at the foot of the Bay Bridge.

The purchase is part of a five-parcel acquisition of industrial and commercial land the city had declared blighted in 2004. City Economic Development and Housing Director Patrick O'Keeffe said the contiguous parcels totaling 3.3 acres will be developed by Madison Marquette as an expansion of Madison's existing mixed-use Bay Street Emeryville development.

The land is bounded by Powell Street to the north, Shellmound Street to the west, Bay Street to the south and the railroad tracks to the east.

O'Keeffe said three of the parcel sales are closing at the same time and one has already closed. Four different sellers are involved.

Madison Marquette is working on a development plan that would include ground-floor retail space with a combination of residential and hotel space above it, similar to the concept of the existing Bay Street development.

Although the city considered acquiring the land through eminent domain, and began the process with the blight declaration, O'Keeffe said no lawsuit was filed and the acquisitions are a straight sale.

The seller of the $6.2 million parcel, a private party, was represented by Hans Hansson, managing principal of Starboard Commercial Real Estate/TCN Worldwide, and John Robbins, principal of Carpenter/Robbins Commercial Real Estate/TCN Worldwide. The city of Emeryville's Redevelopment Agency was represented in-house.

Bay Street is a 22-acre mixed-use development that consists of 400,000 square feet of retail space, 366 residential units and a 250-room hotel.

jsaunders@bizjournals.com | 925-598-1427

EastBayHardCore
Oct 31, 2006, 3:15 AM
^^ rocketman: The crane is actually completely up, I'm looking at it right now. :)

Reminiscence
Oct 31, 2006, 4:39 AM
- SAN FRANCISCO -

Treasure Island makeover plan gets thumbs-up
Board of Supervisors is next hurdle for $1.2 billion proposal

Robert Selna, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

The city commission overseeing the former Treasure Island Naval Station approved a plan Monday to spend more than $1.2 billion to transform the 403-acre island and its smaller neighbor, Yerba Buena Island, into a self-sufficient community with 6,000 homes, a new ferry terminal and 300 acres of open space.

The seven-member Treasure Island Development Authority, appointed by the mayor, gave its support for a building blueprint that has been three years in the making.

The plan calls for nearly $500 million in private investment and $700 million in borrowing by the city through the issuance of bonds backed by property taxes collected from the island after development is completed.

The lead developer, Kenwood Investments, which is controlled by Democratic lobbyist and fundraiser Darius Anderson, is working with Miami-based home builder Lennar Corp. and local firm Wilson Meany Sullivan, which led the Port of San Francisco's Ferry Building restoration.

The developers plan to replace the former military housing and other structures with homes and retail and commercial buildings using "green" construction methods.

The developers would pay an estimated $40 million to the Navy for the decommissioned base -- part of their $500 million investment -- and would anticipate collecting $370 million in profits by completion in 2022.

The plan is scheduled to be introduced to the Board of Supervisors today and will likely be voted on by the end of the year, according to Michael Cohen, head of military base reuse projects for Mayor Gavin Newsom.

"I'm optimistic about the reception the plan will get from the Board of Supervisors because I think the development plan makes an overwhelmingly compelling case," said Cohen. "We're using private investment to create a 300-acre park in the bay and 1,800 units of below-market-rate housing without a penny from the city's general fund."

Some of the below-market housing units would be created by private developers, and the rest by nonprofit builders with backing from the city and other sources. Private builders would be required to sell or rent approximately 740 units at prices within reach of households earning at or below the median income in San Francisco -- which for a three-person household is $82,000 a year.

Renderings of the proposed new island village show a ferry terminal connected to a retail center as part of an urban core with a 40-story tower and hotels. Several residential neighborhoods would radiate from the core area and feature townhouses, flats and a 14-story residential tower.

To discourage driving on and off the island, the plan calls for most housing to be clustered within a 10-minute walk to the ferry and for a free shuttle to serve the neighborhoods. A congestion pricing scheme would levy an estimated $5 fee on motorists driving on and off the island during commute times.

Completed in 1938, the manmade Treasure Island is composed mainly of bay fill and is susceptible to earthquakes and flooding. As a result, it will require significant seismic stabilization, including a 50-foot-wide reinforced zone around the entire perimeter of the island.

Environmental contamination from the former industrial uses needs to be cleaned up, and the future neighborhood situated in the middle of the bay will need an entirely new utility and wastewater collection and treatment system.

The project must undergo a review of its impact on the environment and on traffic patterns and commerce in the area.

Moreover, as changes are made, details of a final agreement between the developers and the city remain to be negotiated and approved by the Treasure Island Development Authority, the Board of Supervisors and the mayor.

"We continue to have tremendous constraints that we will have to overcome, but our work to date shows a path of success," said Jay Wallace of Kenwood Investments. "It's a complicated project, but we have a critical path we can proceed upon to make Treasure Island a great place for future generations."

rocketman_95046
Oct 31, 2006, 5:12 AM
^^ rocketman: The crane is actually completely up, I'm looking at it right now. :)


you shouldnt have said that, now im going to ask for weekly photos:yes:

fflint
Oct 31, 2006, 5:14 AM
SFSU plans overhaul for aging campus
Committee wants to modernize facilities, increase enrollment

Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, October 30, 2006

http://sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/10/30/ba_sfsu.jpg

San Francisco State University is making ambitious plans to increase its student enrollment and to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize its campus with an expanded library as well as new classrooms, laboratories, student and faculty housing, and sports facilities.

Its wish list of future projects includes a 6,000-seat indoor sports arena, a creative arts complex with a 1,200-seat performing arts theater, and a 250-room hotel with a large-scale conference center.

University officials say the proposed rebuilding of the aging campus on 19th Avenue over the next two decades will help San Francisco State become, in the words of its strategic plan, "the nation's pre-eminent public urban university."

As part of its planning process, San Francisco State officials are asking the trustees to raise the campus' enrollment cap to 36,000 students -- a 25 percent increase from its current head count of 29,000 students.

The campus committee developing the master plan is scheduled to meet Monday to put the finishing touches on an official draft. Campus officials expect to submit their final master plan, along with an environmental impact report, to the California State University's Board of Trustees for approval as early as next spring.

The total price tag for the rebuilding plan, as well as the timetable of various construction projects, will depend in large part on the availability of financing through CSU systemwide revenue bonds, along with contributions from private donors, campus officials said.

The steering committee, which includes campus administrators and professors, began meeting privately in the fall of 2005. A subcommittee, whose members included student representatives and others from the campus community, also participated in the planning process. The consulting firm of WRT/Solomon ETC was retained last year for about $1 million to assist with these efforts.

Leroy Morishita, the university's vice president of administration and finance, said San Francisco State intends to become a popular destination for students from other parts of California, but also plans to remain open to eligible commuter students who apply. One-fourth of its undergraduates are the first from their families to attend college.

Morishita, who co-chairs the steering committee, said the university's building projects are designed "not just to educate the people on campus, but to reach out to the community, to try to engage the community through the educational process."

But some neighbors have voiced concerns that an expanded campus with more students will bring increased parking and traffic problems to the area, especially during special events. Others worry that their neighborhoods will be disrupted by a series of major construction projects on campus.

Still others fear that the university's plan for retail shops and cafes on the edge of campus could lead to what one resident called the "Berkeleyization" of the area, a reference to Telegraph Avenue near the UC campus.

According to Morishita, the elements of the draft plan include:

-- Groundbreaking in late 2007 or early 2008 for an estimated $116 million expansion of the library. The expanded library would house the campus' diverse collections as well as those of the Sutro State Library, which would be torn down and replaced by university housing.

-- A $130 million creative arts complex with arts studios and a theater near the corner of Lake Merced and Font boulevards. Groundbreaking is tentatively set for 2010.

-- New or replacement buildings for several academic programs, including clinical sciences; behavioral and social sciences; health and human services; science; business; and ethnic studies and psychology. With its laboratory facilities, the clinical sciences building alone is expected to cost more than $100 million.

-- Replacement of the outdated gym with a "gymnasium/recreation-wellness facility" on the corner of Lake Merced Boulevard and Winston Drive. If built with a 6,000-seat indoor arena, a three-court gym, and a swimming pool, the price tag is estimated at $110 million. The project is tentatively slated to open in 2015 or 2016.

-- A $118 million hotel and conference center on the corner of 19th Avenue and Buckingham Way next to the Stonestown Galleria shopping center. The plan designates Buckingham and Holloway Avenue as the "main streets" of the campus.

San Francisco State is the smallest campus of the 23 in the CSU system. But in recent years the university and one of its auxiliary foundations have acquired nearby land, including apartment buildings in the Park Merced area.

Last year, the campus used CSU revenue bonds to finance its $134 million purchase of the Stonestown Apartments, a complex of 14 apartment buildings including high-rises on 25 acres of land next to the Stonestown mall. The 697-unit complex has been renamed University Park North.

In pursuing a hotel/conference center, San Francisco State is following the lead of other public universities engaged in large-scale commercial development ventures. CSU Fullerton has an on-campus hotel/conference center, which is run by Marriott Corp.

San Francisco State's proposed hotel complex would likely be co-developed and financed with a private partner who has expertise in designing and building such projects, and leased to a hotel chain, spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said.

"A world-class university wants to host dialogues, conferences and meetings about issues that are being studied at the university," Griffin said. "We would consider it a great signature use on one of the corners of the campus."

San Frangelino
Oct 31, 2006, 5:22 AM
delete

BTinSF
Oct 31, 2006, 5:29 AM
This is one of the two big projects on the waterfront. The other is the Cruise Ship Terminal which is going nowhere for the moment.

Piers development team builds a local platform
S.F. support could mean speedy OK
San Francisco Business Times - October 27, 2006
by J.K. Dineen
Shorenstein Properties and Farallon Capital Management will seek the San Francisco board of supervisors' endorsement of their Piers 27-31 project as soon as January, hoping to win allies that can help them avoid a potential fight at the state level.

The $446 million plan to convert the aging piers into a recreation and office complex still faces a series of political and financial hurdles. But foes of Mills, who held development rights for six years before ceding them to Shorenstein and Farallon in February, say the developers have already achieved something their predecessor never enjoyed: local support.

"The northeast corner of San Francisco has a lot of voices and they are smart and they are organized," said District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who led the fight against the earlier proposal. "All of these groups who dogged the Mills project for six years, none have been opposed to the current project."

Shorenstein officials on Oct. 24 presented at the Port Commission the latest version of the project at Piers 27-31, a development that would include 730,000 square feet of outdoor and indoor recreation facilities, and 440,000 square feet of new office space. Under a proposed agreement with the developers, the port would float bonds to repay the developer $60 million of the estimated $145 million needed to fix the rusty, dilapidated and seismically unsafe piers. The port would then use the increased taxes created by the improvements to pay back the bondholders.

In their presentation, Shorenstein executives emphasized that the development team will seek its first approval in January from the Board of Supervisors. The approach is the direct opposite of the strategy the Virginia-based Mills Corp. employed. Mills started its lobbying efforts in Sacramento with the State Lands Commission and was eventually shot down by the board of supervisors. The Shorenstein team is starting with neighbors, the Port Commission, then the Board of Supervisors, and they will be looking to go to the State Lands Commission in early spring.

"Mills' strategy was akin to going to New York and Chicago and Atlanta to get input on building that was being built in Los Angeles," said Peskin. "Clearly the (Shorenstein and Farallon) folks have reached out to local interests."

Shorenstein Vice President Tom Hart declined to discuss the political strategy, saying that right now the emphasis was on working out details with the port and meeting with a wide range of neighborhood groups.

"We need to crawl before we walk and walk before we can run," said Hart.

Political consultant Mark Mosher of Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter & Partners said the idea was to assemble as much local political support as possible before heading to Sacramento, where the development will need to be signed off on by the State Lands Commission.

"If you go to Sacramento with the mayor, supervisors, and state legislature all behind you, you're starting off on a very different footing than Mills was," he said. "That's the major difference."

Kirk Bennett, the port's director of waterfront development, said Shorenstein reached out to opponents of the Mills project before they had even won exclusive right to negotiate with the port.

"Shorenstein has been very active in their outreach," said Bennett. "The entire scope or the project has been responding to what the community wants. That is the major difference."

They have also agreed to keep Pier 27 as a "port of call" for cruise ships, something Mills refused to do.

"Shorenstein listened to us and accommodated that use rather than say we're trying to do our project," said Bennett.

Peskin said "the devil is in the details" and that the project would still have to be vetted more thoroughly by resident groups, but that he is hopeful.

"I hope the State Lands Commission is able to look kindly upon this thing," he said.

J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/30/story6.html?t=printable

BTinSF
Oct 31, 2006, 5:34 AM
others fear that the university's plan for retail shops and cafes on the edge of campus could lead to what one resident called the "Berkeleyization" of the area, a reference to Telegraph Avenue near the UC campus.



"Berkeleyization" of the Sunset? OH NO! :eeekk:

slock
Nov 3, 2006, 1:54 PM
How great is it when a highrise you don't even expect is announced?

New 33-story Tishman Speyer office highrise announced for 222 2nd St. @ Howard.

It will be the highest LEED certified office development in the City, and is therefore fast tracked for approval. More details to come . . .

slock
Nov 3, 2006, 2:08 PM
Yet to be announced starchitect attached.

FourOneFive
Nov 3, 2006, 4:58 PM
How great is it when a highrise you don't even expect is announced?

New 33-story Tishman Speyer office highrise announced for 222 2nd St. @ Howard.

It will be the highest LEED certified office development in the City, and is therefore fast tracked for approval. More details to come . . .

where did you hear this? i have a hard time believing Tishman Speyer would build a new 33-story office highrise when they haven't signed ONE tenant for their new highrise at 555 mission.

BUT, if it is true, this would be exciting. currently 222 2nd street is a vacant parking lot sitting in a 350' height limit district.

coyotetrickster
Nov 3, 2006, 8:41 PM
where did you hear this? i have a hard time believing Tishman Speyer would build a new 33-story office highrise when they haven't signed ONE tenant for their new highrise at 555 mission.

BUT, if it is true, this would be exciting. currently 222 2nd street is a vacant parking lot sitting in a 350' height limit district.
There's absolutely nothing on Tishman Speyer's own website. 555 Mission is the last SF project updated. Is that the parking lot next to the mechanics union hall on 2nd? That was a deep hole for at least a decade (since 1994 when I moved here). It was converted to the current config about two/three years ago. Height allowance to the contrary, does anyone know if it's still entitled?

J Church
Nov 3, 2006, 8:47 PM
Front page of today's Biz Times.

slock
Nov 3, 2006, 8:50 PM
It's all detailed in today's Biz Times.

We'll post it when we can. I tried to cut and paste from the PDF, but it didn't work.

rocketman_95046
Nov 4, 2006, 6:25 AM
A few pics i took while up in SF last weekend (oct 29th).

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/6641/dscf0087sc9.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/820/dscf0086va1.jpg

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/8825/dscf0098jv3.jpg

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6187/dscf0099nv0.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/82/dscf0101xw4.jpg

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5141/dscf0102pi7.jpg

BTinSF
Nov 4, 2006, 8:02 AM
It's all detailed in today's Biz Times.

We'll post it when we can. I tried to cut and paste from the PDF, but it didn't work.

From their "what's in this week's issue" email:

Tishman Speyer wants to build a 33-story "green" office tower in San Francisco. Read this week's Business Times to find out why and where.

coyotetrickster
Nov 4, 2006, 7:20 PM
From their "what's in this week's issue" email:


Okay, not to be pedantic, but wants to build and is building are different states of being. Tishman has deep pockets, but I don't think they're deep enough to pencil in two spec buildings a block apart....

FourOneFive
Nov 4, 2006, 8:12 PM
Okay, not to be pedantic, but wants to build and is building are different states of being. Tishman has deep pockets, but I don't think they're deep enough to pencil in two spec buildings a block apart....

i agree. unless tishman announces soon that they've signed an anchor tenant for 555 mission, i doubt this building will happen anytime soon. tishman may propose it and just sit on the entitlements for years till they sign a tenant (like 555 mission).

coyotetrickster
Nov 5, 2006, 5:55 AM
J Church has been listing a residential tower at 995 Geary for the last two years (sf cityscape). I was there this evening and it looks like the entire area has been cleared and it looks like excavating equipment is on site. Anyone have any info on whether this tower (mid rise, albeit) is on?

J Church
Nov 5, 2006, 6:02 AM
Yes! Although it was shortened from 13 stories to nine (it would've cast shadows on MacCauley Park at Larkin and O'Farrell) and accordingly removed from my lists (you can still see the original here: http://www.tndc.org/properties/in_development.html). But it is nonetheless an important project for that part of town--a surface parking lot and abandoned one-story building at a prominent corner (Polk and Geary) will be replaced by senior housing with ground-floor retail.

This project is near and dear to my heart as my old apartment overlooked the site. Unfortunately, it won't be tall enough to block views of the hideous Trinity Towers at O'Farrell and Polk, but for awhile there it was starting to look like it might never be built (the failures of those last two affordable housing bonds have made life much harder on nonprofit developers). I'd rather the housing be mixed-income and age to add more vitality to the neighborhood and mitigate some of the negative effects of the homeless shelter that's kitty-corner, but we can always use more homes for poor old folks, and a glaring hole in the neighborhood's physical fabric is going to be patched.

BTinSF
Nov 5, 2006, 7:34 AM
:previous: Hallelujah! I recall when the city stopped demolition of the old laundromat that was on the site, claiming there was no demolition permit and leaving the building shell there to attract the homeless, druggies and every other undesirable from blocks around. It'll be great to see something good rise from the site.

Can't share your opinion of Trinity Towers, though. I was and am still a fairly regular customer of the "Bread and Butter Market" and don't see anything all that objectionable about the building. It's taller than the other stuff around it, but IMHO density is good.

By the way--since the link didn't work for me, here's the old rendering (Trinity Towers can just be seen on the far right):

http://www.tndc.org/images/int_tour/23_1.jpg

Is that your former building on the far left, JChurch?

J Church
Nov 5, 2006, 7:35 AM
Like that market, too, and density isn't a problem--it's just a fugly design. It used to make my eyes burn whenever I would gaze out the window ... burn I tell you!

coyotetrickster
Nov 5, 2006, 5:18 PM
Yes! Although it was shortened from 13 stories to nine (it would've cast shadows on MacCauley Park at Larkin and O'Farrell) and accordingly removed from my lists (you can still see the original here: http://www.tndc.org/properties/in_development.html). But it is nonetheless an important project for that part of town--a surface parking lot and abandoned one-story building at a prominent corner (Polk and Geary) will be replaced by senior housing with ground-floor retail.

This project is near and dear to my heart as my old apartment overlooked the site. Unfortunately, it won't be tall enough to block views of the hideous Trinity Towers at O'Farrell and Polk, but for awhile there it was starting to look like it might never be built (the failures of those last two affordable housing bonds have made life much harder on nonprofit developers). I'd rather the housing be mixed-income and age to add more vitality to the neighborhood and mitigate some of the negative effects of the homeless shelter that's kitty-corner, but we can always use more homes for poor old folks, and a glaring hole in the neighborhood's physical fabric is going to be patched.


Stop me if you've heard this before, but wtf? That park is already in shadow most of the day. There can't have been that much more shadow from 13 stories.... That's just crap!

J Church
Nov 5, 2006, 5:38 PM
That's what the studies found.

urban_encounter
Nov 5, 2006, 9:41 PM
Stop me if you've heard this before, but wtf? That park is already in shadow most of the day. There can't have been that much more shadow from 13 stories.... That's just crap!



Excellent point.

As if buildings with large floor plates or stubby buildings, don't cast shadows on the ground...


BTW


http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/820/dscf0086va1.jpg

Cranes in the Autumn sky over the Bay.. What a beautiful sight...:yes:

BTinSF
Nov 6, 2006, 3:26 AM
Excellent point.

As if buildings with large floor plates or stubby buildings, don't cast shadows on the ground...


[

The building in question here is on the other end of the block and the other side of the street. It sits southwest of the park. At a height of 9 stories, it makes sense that it would not shade the park but I can see how in the mid to late afternoon the higher floors of a 13 story building could (in late afternoon the park is already partly shaded--totally shaded as the sun sets--by a building of about 6 stories directly to its west).

The park itself is really a "mini-park"--just a small vacant lot in a poor and parkless part of town that was fitted out as a playground for very young children--only young kids and adults accompanying kids are allowed in it (the cops will eject any adult not accompanying a child). In often-overcast San Francisco, these kids deserve what sun they can get. If the studies showed the upper 4 stories take away some of their sun, I say let them keep it and design a shorter building.

BTinSF
Nov 6, 2006, 6:55 AM
Here it is, folks:

Tishman sees $350M 'green' highrise
S.F. office tower's environmental pedigree to speed approval
San Francisco Business Times - November 3, 2006
by J.K. Dineen

Development giant Tishman Speyer is seeking permission to build a 33-story "green" office tower at Second and Howard streets, a project San Francisco officials are calling a pioneer in a new program giving priority to sustainable developments.

The 700,000-square-foot building, which would cost approximately $350 million based on current construction rates, would be the first office tower in the city built to comply with "gold" standards set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. It would be the largest new office building to receive city approval in nearly a decade, and the first major project to do so since the commercial real estate market started to bounce back in 2004. Office buildings currently under construction, including Tishman Speyer's 555 Mission St. and Equity Office Properties' development at Foundry Square, were approved during the run-up to the technology meltdown of 2000.

"Tishman Speyer is very pleased to be acquiring 222 Second St.," said Tishman Speyer Managing Director Carl Shannon. "We see the site as one of the best remaining development opportunities for a new office building in downtown San Francisco."

Shannon called the project a "very logical next step following our 555 Mission project." The acquisition closed on Oct. 31.

The 24,000-square-foot parcel, currently a surface parking lot, sits on the southwest corner of Second and Howard streets. Two blocks from the Transbay Terminal, it's in an area San Francisco planners envision as the future heart of commerce and transportation in the city.

The seller was a private investment group that used a Menlo Park Post Office box and never participated directly in negotiations, according to various sources. The price was between $30 million and $35 million.

Under the new priority processing system, LEED projects are fast-tracked, automatically going to the top of the pile of projects awaiting evaluation. In the case of 222 Second St., Tishman Speyer was assigned an environmental planner in two weeks, a process that can take six months. In addition, the project is guaranteed an initial review within two weeks of getting a planner, something that frequently takes another six months.

While green construction generally costs 2 percent more than traditional construction, the millions saved in the expedited permitting process more than compensates for the cost.

Senior Planner Craig Nikitas said the Tishman Speyer project is a good one to launch the program, because the company, arguably the largest owner of real estate in the world, has a track record of completing audacious and complex green skyscrapers, including the headquarters for the Hearst Corp. and Goldman Sachs in Manhattan, perhaps the two most important office towers built in post-Sept. 11 New York.

"Tishman Speyer has a track record of doing green buildings in New York," said Nikitas. "It makes a good pilot project for us."

In the application, Tishman Speyer attorney Andrew Junius said that "the Department of the Environment Green Building Group is eager to test pilot the priority permitting process and has encouraged Tishman Speyer to approach the city to collaborate in this high-profile application."

Sources said that the design team was still in flux, with local high-profile architect Heller/Manus expected to be working with a "star architect" to be named later.

Planning Director Dean Macris said the priority application process appears to be working and predicted that other applications for green office buildings would come in.

"I think it's a good move on our part, everybody seems happy with it," said Macris. "We are seeing a renewed interest in office -- I think there is a lot of betting going on."

The only other LEED office building in San Francisco, the federal building under construction on Mission Street, has been beset by delays and cost overruns and is 18 months behind schedule.

Jeffrey Heller, principal at Heller/Manus, called the priority application process for green buildings "a significant incentive." He said that about 50 percent of the new projects his firm has been looking at are proposing some level of LEED certification. He said the developers are motivated by a combination of environmental sensitivity and the economic advantages of quick approvals.

"Timing is the real incentive and there is a growing awareness and sense of volunteer commitment in the real estate and development community to do green building," said Heller.

The last project approved on the site was a 225-foot "wedding cake" style development proposed by Chevron's development arm in 1990. Laura Ingall, commercial green building coordinator for the city's Department of the Environment, said she met with Tishman officials on Oct. 30. She said a "green team" including Ingall, Nikitas, and Chief Building Inspector Lawrence Kornfield would meet with the developers regularly.

"This is really exciting," said Ingall. "If you think about it, this ordinance just got signed three weeks ago and we've already met with our first team."

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/11/06/story1.html?t=printable

FourOneFive
Nov 6, 2006, 7:32 AM
well this project really did come out of the blue, didn't it? the only disappointment that i have with this project thus far is that heller manus is attached to it! :D tishman speyer should just have let their "stararchitect" take the lead in the project. i just hope we don't get another craptastic design from heller manus like 55 second st. or 100 first st.

based on my calculations of the size of the parcel and stated size of the proposed office project, the tower will come in around the 30 story range (which fits in within the 350' height limit). i'm also suprised by the amount of office space proposed (700,000 sq ft!). that makes this one monster project.

FourOneFive
Nov 6, 2006, 7:36 AM
BTSF, could you also copy the article that mentions the vertical additions to 100 california and 201 howard?

BTinSF
Nov 6, 2006, 7:43 AM
:previous:

Beacon's extra stories are no tall tale
Adding five floors, 140,000 square feet to building tops
San Francisco Business Times - November 3, 2006
by J.K. Dineen
After investing $1 billion on existing downtown real estate in the past 18 months, Beacon Capital Partners is looking toward the sky.

The Boston-based privately held real estate firm is proposing two unusual "vertical additions" that would add a total of 140,000 square feet of Class A office space to two existing buildings, 120 Howard St. and 100 California St.

Under the proposal, Beacon would build five stories on top of each building, according to a letter filed at the San Francisco Planning Department by Beacon's attorney, Andrew Junius. Neither Junius nor Beacon Capital Managing Director Jeremy Fletcher returned calls seeking comment.

The 100 California plan would add 70,000 square feet to the current 15-story building. At 120 Howard, the developer would add 67,000 square feet to the current eight-story building, according to documents.

If approved, the projects would not be the only vertical additions in the city. McCarthy Cook and Stockbridge Capital, which own China Basin jointly, have started construction on a 175,000-square-foot expansion of lab and office space atop the Berry Street building next to AT&T park.

Planning Director Dean Macris said the vertical additions, common on warehouses, are rare on downtown buildings.

"I think proof is in the pudding," said Macris. "If it makes the building look reasonably good and is within the code requirements, then sure."

Macris said he has seen a many developers focusing on new office development, but most of the interest is in the area around the Transbay Terminal.

"If there is going to be an expansion of office inventory, that is where it's going to go," he said.

With current tenants in occupancy, building vertical additions requires an unusual level of sensitivity, according to Greg Cosko, CEO of Hathaway Dinwiddie, which is the general contractor on the China Basin addition. In Oakland, Hathaway Dinwiddie also built a three-story vertical addition atop a parking garage -- a new practice facility for the Golden State Warriors.

"You want absolutely minimum disturbances," Cosko said. "It's very technically challenging and there are logistical challenges in terms of the upgrading and tying in of systems."

In 2005, Beacon Capital Partners snagged five office buildings for $670 million, including 100 First St., 120 Howard St., 50 Beale St., 1 Sansome St. and 100 California St.

This year, the company acquired a development site at 535 Mission St. for $30 million and plans to get approval for an office tower on the site, now approved for residential condos. In addition, Beacon snapped up Rincon Center last spring for about $300 million and plans to convert the residential portion of that complex from apartments to condominiums.

While Beacon officials declined to comment, CEO Alan Leventhal told the Business Times last year that he was bullish on San Francisco's investment market as a whole and continues to see the city as "a very strong opportunity."

"San Francisco has the type of long-term fundamentals we like, with the highly educated workforce, great financial centers, teaching facilities and research," he said.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/11/06/story7.html?t=printable

rocketman_95046
Nov 6, 2006, 7:44 AM
well this project really did come out of the blue, didn't it? the only disappointment that i have with this project thus far is that heller manus is attached to it! :D tishman speyer should just have let their "stararchitect" take the lead in the project. i just hope we don't get another craptastic design from heller manus like 55 second st. or 100 first st.

based on my calculations of the size of the parcel and stated size of the proposed office project, the tower will come in around the 30 story range (which fits in within the 350' height limit). i'm also suprised by the amount of office space proposed (700,000 sq ft!). that makes this one monster project.

I dont know how they are going to fit 700K sqft on that lot with only being 350' tall. 555 mission's lot is about the same size and it is only 550K sqft and is 482' tall...

so im a bit confused but i would bet that it will be over 400 ft.

BTinSF
Nov 6, 2006, 7:44 AM
based on my calculations of the size of the parcel and stated size of the proposed office project, the tower will come in around the 30 story range (which fits in within the 350' height limit).

The article says 33 stories. In office construction, I figure about 12' per story making it just short of 400' and with some kind of decorative crown, a bit more.

BTinSF
Nov 6, 2006, 7:55 AM
Figured I might as well throw this bone to the dogs as well:

Wilson Meany steps up push to market Foundry Square building
San Francisco Business Times - November 3, 2006
by J.K. Dineen

The remaining piece of the Foundry Square puzzle is starting to fall into place.

With Equity Office Properties well under construction for the Barclays Global Investors building, Wilson Meany Sullivan this week started marketing the fourth and final building at the South of Market development.

Company principal Tom Sullivan said WMS has been waiting for the market to strengthen to the point where it was robust enough for tenants to start considering build-to-suit projects. With rents for the most desirable space hitting $60 a square foot, he said the time has arrived to step up the marketing campaign in hopes of landing the large tenant, or tenants, needed for construction to begin.

Webcor will build the nine-story building, to be called Foundry III, and could deliver it in 16 months. The 200,000-square-foot building will have an earthy yellow-gold stone veneer.

Phil Tippett and Bill Walsh of CB Richard Ellis have the listing.

In addition to Barclays, the other Foundry Square buildings are anchored by Gymboree and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. WMS acquired the Foundry III site as part of the settlement when it split from EOP in 2002.

Sullivan said the large floor plates and campus-style architecture is most appealing to non-traditional users, mainly technology companies. While a single user would be preferable, construction could start with half of the building leased.

Sullivan said he is projecting the economy to continue picking up steam with a modest expansion of traditional office users and more rapid job creation in the tech sector, which he sees as particularly strong in the city.

"San Francisco is now effectively part of Silicon Valley and some of that will come into the city," he said.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/11/06/newscolumn2.html?t=printable

Personally, I would be delighted to see this intersection built out as planned. This is Foundry Square II. FS III would be similar except for the colors and would be in the lot at the far left edge of the photo across Howard St.:

http://www.webcor.com/auto_images/large/foundry1lr1064352820.jpg

FourOneFive
Nov 6, 2006, 8:00 AM
i bet SF will let tishman exceed the height limits to ensure that the project is of "high architectual" quality and to reward them for developing the city's first private environmentally sensitive office tower.

although it's not related to highrise development, could you possibly copy the wachovia article? i would love to see how they plan to compete against bank of america and wells fargo in california... thanks!

BTinSF
Nov 6, 2006, 8:01 AM
One last tidbit in an area I really care about:

Mid-Market sale
For more than two decades the much-hyped recovery of the sorry stretch of Market Street between Sixth and Eighth streets has been just around the corner. Well, it still may be around the corner, but there is plenty of smart money betting that this time change will come.

The most recent example is 1061 Market St. The T & T Group Inc. has shelled out $7.4 million for the 63,000-square-foot building at Market and Seventh, a structure vacant except for a garment business operated by the building's seller, Tammy Ho.

The building was on the market for two years and went through several brokers before Tom Gregoire and David Wientjes of GVA Kidder Mathews picked it up. The price was about $1.5 million less than originally hoped for. Still, the fact that Mid-Market buildings are trading is significant, said Wientjes.

The all-cash deal was part of a 1031 Exchange, and the owners seem willing to land-bank the building to await improvements in the area.

Meanwhile several buildings in the neighborhood are on the block. One is 10 United Nations Plaza, represented by Zachary Siegel of Cushman & Wakefield, which is attracting interest.

BTinSF
Nov 6, 2006, 8:09 AM
although it's not related to highrise development, could you possibly copy the wachovia article? i would love to see how they plan to compete against bank of america and wells fargo in california... thanks!

I put it in the retail thread at http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=2433231#post2433231 where it seems more appropriate.

FourOneFive
Nov 6, 2006, 8:13 AM
:previous: thanks

munkyman
Nov 6, 2006, 5:25 PM
Thanks for the article BTinSF. Sounds pretty cool.

Who would have thought that the SF Planning Department could do anything in a few weeks? Shocking!!

coyotetrickster
Nov 7, 2006, 12:13 AM
Thanks for the article BTinSF. Sounds pretty cool.

Who would have thought that the SF Planning Department could do anything in a few weeks? Shocking!!

They haven't as of yet. T-S is planning a submission and hoping for a quick approval. Wishing and Hoping (didn't Dusty Springfield sing about that???) are both pointless when dealing with SF Planning. On the other hand, it would be nice to see that ugly-ass parkinglot gone!

BTinSF
Nov 7, 2006, 1:45 AM
They haven't as of yet. T-S is planning a submission and hoping for a quick approval. Wishing and Hoping (didn't Dusty Springfield sing about that???) are both pointless when dealing with SF Planning. On the other hand, it would be nice to see that ugly-ass parkinglot gone!

Imagine, we may be about to lose ugly-ass parking lots on the southwest corners of BOTH 1st St and 2nd St at Howard (the T-S project and Foundry Square III).

rocketman_95046
Nov 7, 2006, 2:40 AM
Another infill development in SJ. Not sure as of the status but its good to see new plans showing up.

http://63.240.68.122/FirmFiles/25/images/St%20corner%20view%20rendering.jpg
http://63.240.68.122/FirmFiles/25/images/under%20highway%20view.jpg

http://www.hellermanus.com

FourOneFive
Nov 7, 2006, 5:20 AM
Imagine, we may be about to lose ugly-ass parking lots on the southwest corners of BOTH 1st St and 2nd St at Howard (the T-S project and Foundry Square III).

with all these office projects under construction, approved, and proposed, san francisco (mayor newsom and the chamber of commerce) really needs to step up its efforts in attracting more businesses to downtown san francisco to keep this office demand going. in addition to going after san francisco's "new" industries like internet/technology, biotech, and green industries, SF should try to attract more of its legacy industries (finance, real estate, law, insurance, etc.) to ensure we aren't overly tied to just one industry.

BTinSF
Nov 8, 2006, 7:41 PM
Idiots! They evidently want to see Mid-market remain a trashy eyesore in perpetuity.

Board rejects Trinity Plaza deal

Joshua Sabatini, The Examiner
Nov 8, 2006 2:00 AM (8 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 5 of 8,505 articles

SAN FRANCISCO - A 1,900-rental apartment development slated for Market and Eighth streets has met with resistance at the Board of Supervisors.

Project developer Angelo Sangiacomo intends on demolishing the existing rent-controlled Trinity Plaza apartment building, which houses 360 tenants, to make way for the larger development. Earlier this year, Supervisor Chris Daly, whose district includes the four-acre site, helped broker a deal with the developer to place the 360 tenants in the new complex under The City’s rent control rules. At the time, the deal was expected to quell any opposition to one of The City’s largest housing developments.

The Board of Supervisors rejected on Tuesday a general plan amendment that would have allowed the development to move forward, pending other approvals.

“Some members of the board seem to be working to see if there’s other things that can be done,” Daly said after the vote. When asked if the board’s decision jeopardizes the development, Daly, who was up for re-election Tuesday, said, “I am going to get another four years on the Board of Supervisors and we will have this all worked out before you know it. But if I lose, then maybe.”

Supervisors Sophie Maxwell and Jake McGoldrick have spearheaded the push to hold up the development. The two sit on the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee, which is charged with holding hearings on the proposed development before the full board can take a vote on it.

“I ask that you vote [the general plan amendment] down so that it can go back to the planning committee,” Maxwell said to the board members. “There have been sufficient questions raised about this huge project that I think it warrants more time.”

McGoldrick wants to see more below-market-rate units added to the project — 15 percent not the proposed 10 percent — and he also has suggested the developer pay for new open space in the area. The no-vote puts the development in “a holding pattern,” McGoldrick said.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/printa-386191~Board_rejects_Trinity_Plaza_deal.html

fflint
Nov 8, 2006, 9:48 PM
^Daly is useless. His "stewardship," extorted from developers at a very high price, apparently does not include actually holding the pirates at bay.

BTinSF
Nov 10, 2006, 9:19 AM
Somehow I missed this until now:

Hotels try a new color
Going green may be a good match for business
- David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, November 10, 2006

It's increasingly good to go green in the hotel business, an industry long associated with constructing and renovating big buildings and using powerful chemicals for cleaning and maintenance rather than being environmentally friendly.

Both new and established hotels are beginning to go green in varying degrees, for various reasons. Hoteliers want to cut down on toxic hazards to staff and guests, save money on energy bills, cut back on pollution, or win points for sensitivity.

San Francisco's Orchard Garden Hotel, set to open in a newly constructed $25 million building at 466 Bush St., has taken green consciousness further than most -- a move that could pay dividends in the environmentally conscious Bay Area. When the hotel opens this month, it will be one of only four operating hotels and resorts in the nation certified by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council and the only one in San Francisco.

The council, founded by green-friendly architects and engineers, has certified the Orchard Garden as LEED-compliant -- meaning it has been built with a minimum feasible use of toxic materials. (LEED is the council's trademarked term for "leadership in energy and environmental design.")

"It's just the right thing to do from a marketing perspective, but more importantly to create a healthy environment for our guests and our staff," says Stefan Muhle, general manager of the Orchard Garden and its 6-year-old sister, the Orchard Hotel, located up the street at 655 Bush St.

The Orchard Garden, Muhle says, will use a cardkey system already in widespread use in Asia and Europe that starts or stops power to a room when the guest enters or leaves. This allows the room to go dark when it's not occupied, cutting the use of electricity.

Muhle estimates the 86-room Orchard Garden will save "from 10 to 20 percent" on its electricity bill just by using the cardkey system, which cost $35,000 to $40,000 to install for the entire hotel. "We'll get return on our investment in the system in under two years," he predicts.

The Orchard Garden will also use old-school soap and water to wash bedclothes and employ citrus-based cleaning products to freshen carpets and drapes, Muhle said, rather than rely on chemical-dependent dry cleaning. Flush toilets in the new hotel will be of the low-flow variety, and the hotel will be entirely tobacco-free starting opening day.

Muhle allows that many travelers choose to stay in hotels based on location and price. The Orchard Garden will be well positioned on both, with its location near the Grant Avenue Chinatown gate and a room rate of $149 per night. That's below the Union Square area average of $176 a night through August, as calculated by PKF Consulting.

Additionally, Muhle says going green can give the Orchard Garden a competitive edge, especially in environmentally minded San Francisco, where the hotel's green credentials will be aggressively marketed.

There's another, more tangible benefit, as well. Snaring LEED certification helps push a project through the permit-granting process, thanks to San Francisco city policies designed to promote environmentally sensitive buildings.

Like ambitious newcomers, long-established hotels are also turning to more environmentally sensitive policies.

San Francisco's Ritz-Carlton Hotel, ensconced in a stately 1909 Nob Hill building, installed a power system late last year that enables the hotel to generate some of its own electricity rather than rely on the Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s grid. The Ritz-Carlton's director of engineering, Paul Savarino, said the new system -- called PureComfort 240 and made by Connecticut's UTC Power -- emits 90 percent less nitrogen oxide than the hotel's old system while generating 240 kilowatts of energy, about a quarter of the hotel's power supply.

"We have saved a considerable amount on electrical bills," Savarino said of the 336-room Ritz-Carlton. "We have cut our electricity bill by about $12,000 a month. That's the icing on the cake."

Hotel industry analyst Thomas Callahan, head of PKF Consulting's San Francisco office, said the greening of hotels is becoming more common. But he qualified his remarks, saying thoroughly green hotels like the Orchard Garden are more likely to hold a specialized niche than blossom into a mass-market phenomenon.

"I see it as a growing trend, but one more based on the East and West coasts. I don't see the guy in Omaha doing this," Callahan said. "There's the attitude that green just makes good sense, but it is more costly; there's a debate about how much. It has to make business sense."

While going green shows signs of catching on, there is a belief among some hoteliers that using nontoxic fabrics and alternative fuel systems can displease guests who want to be pampered. That's especially true on the five-star level, where "environmentally correct" is associated with drab, scratchy fabrics, dull unscented soaps and damp used towels.

"I hate that thing where a hotel tells you, you can leave your used towels on the rack if you want to help them use less (polluting soap) by washing them," said Rocco Forte, a British entrepreneur who operates 14 luxury hotels in major European cities, among them Brown's Hotel in London and the Hotel Amigo in Brussels.

"I think they're doing it to save on laundry bills, not for ecological reasons," said Forte, owner and namesake of Rocco Forte Hotels, during a visit to San Francisco last week.

Forte, who doesn't have a U.S. hotel but draws 35 percent of his guests from this country, cited limits as to how much hotels can do to be ecologically sensitive.

"You can do certain things, like double-glazing, which retains heat and is energy-saving," he said. Doing that, Forte said, is common sense, especially in historic properties that would otherwise be far from green. But using environmental concerns as a reason to degrade the richness of fabrics or tone down elegant interior design doesn't work for him.

"In the luxury market, you don't want that to interfere," Forte said.

The Orchard Garden's Muhle acknowledges that going green is associated in many people's minds with lack of comfort but maintains that it doesn't have to be that way.

He also said the higher initial costs of going green can be recouped.

Muhle cites research by the Environmental Protection Agency showing that businesses can save about 50 cents per square foot by cutting energy use by 30 percent. That can represent a savings of $50,000 or more in a five-year lease on 20,000 square feet, the EPA concluded, using nationwide data.

"This is not a fad, this is not a gimmick. This is here to stay," Muhle says.

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URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/10/GREENHOTELS.TMP

slock
Nov 16, 2006, 7:05 PM
Not a highrise, but a significant project nonetheless.

There is an incredible amount of underutilized land in this area of town. Hopefully more will come.

http://www.sfbctc.org/x2306_8_washington.htm

sf_eddo
Nov 16, 2006, 11:48 PM
The project will include 170 residential units and a 350-car underground parking garage. An additional 34 units of affordable housing would be built off-site.

affordable off-site?
more than two parking spaces per unit?
at the foot of the ferry building in front of every bus terminal, bart, ferries, and muni trains?

blech.

craeg
Nov 17, 2006, 1:28 AM
There is an existing health club on the current parcel - It looks like they plan to continue to allow that club to exist in the new rendering. Previously there was no plan to continue to have the pools.
It's definitely not the worst that could replace a current surface parking lot.

slock
Nov 17, 2006, 2:36 PM
Another out of left field:

60 story tower addition to the Palace hotel.
SOM designed
Jessie and Arnie Sts.
Proposed height: 669 ft.
Would be San Francisco's tallest residential.

In today's Biz Times, more details to come.

Reminiscence
Nov 17, 2006, 5:26 PM
669' ... wow, thats pretty significant. Wierd how I havent heard anything about it though. Cant wait to hear more about it :)

craeg
Nov 17, 2006, 7:53 PM
Wow. GTFO. What is the height limit on that parcel?