[Reminiscence]

Nobody seemed to remember this project, so I though I'd start a thread about it, and shed some light on it :)

340-350 Fremont Street, 440', and 40 floors, is currently under the approved status. It is slated for a 2009 completion date.

Renderings:

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2319/sftower1fo4.jpg

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/740/sftower2br4.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3364/sftower3nj2.jpg

Thanks to FourOneFive for providing these renderings :)

[BTinSF]

Both this and 45 Lansing seem headed more upscale than One Rincon where you can get a base unit for the fairly reasonable (for SF) price of $600K.

Peebles snags last Rincon tower site
Miami developer's $250 million highrise 'what we came to San Francisco to do'
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://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/10/23/story1.html?t=printable

[Reminiscence]

Boy, did they snatch up Rincon Hill in a hurry. Seeming that they're modeling it after Vancouver, they dont have many places where they can build tall towers, so I guess if developers plan to build something here, time is of the essence. This will be a nice addition to Rincon Hill, a bit pricey, but not that anyone's complaining :)

[AK47KC]

Another great project for Rincon Hill! Since Rincon Hill is already all snatched up, I think developers so start looking south of Rincon Hill or south of I-80 if they want to erect another tall residential tower. The planning commission doesn't like sharp drops in the city's skyline, so I guess they need a 30-40 story tower to smooth out the drop from the 63 story One Rincon Hill on the south side.

[Reminiscence]

I actually thought that maybe if they extended far enough into Mission Bay, maybe UC could errect a tower of fair proportions and integrate it as a hospital or such for its Mission Bay campus. But as far as directly opposite of I-80 from One Rincon Hill, they should build something of equal elevation from sea level as One Rincon Hill to make it look like two massive pillars are welcoming people to SF from the East Bay. That would be nice :)

[BTinSF]

Another great project for Rincon Hill! Since Rincon Hill is already all snatched up, I think developers so start looking south of Rincon Hill or south of I-80 if they want to erect another tall residential tower. The planning commission doesn't like sharp drops in the city's skyline, so I guess they need a 30-40 story tower to smooth out the drop from the 63 story One Rincon Hill on the south side.

There will eventually be available lots at 100, 300, 400 and 500 Folsom (north side) as well as at two corners of the Howard/Beale intersection:

http://sfgate.com/chronicle/pictures/2003/10/12/mn_transbaydevelop.jpg

[Reminiscence]

Oh, so then whats been taken was the last of the spaces on Rincon Hill that were not associated with the Transbay Redevelopment Plan?

[AK47KC]

I know, they should actually do the same south of 45 Lansing too. Right now, according to the renderings of the future skyline, the south and east side of the future skyscrapers on Rincon Hill seem to form a cliff and only the north and west sides follow the stepping up rule of the planning commission. Just imagine driving through a canyon of tall highrises when you come in to SF if highrises are erected there on the south and east sides! :)

I was talking about what happens if all the sites are used up north of I-80.

[BTinSF]

Oh, so then whats been taken was the last of the spaces on Rincon Hill that were not associated with the Transbay Redevelopment Plan?

Essentially, yes. The Planning Dept. sees the TransBay area and Rincon Hill separately.

[BTinSF]

I know, they should actually do the same south of 45 Lansing too. Right now, according to the renderings of the future skyline, the south and east side of the future skyscrapers on Rincon Hill seem to form a cliff and only the north and west sides follow the stepping up rule of the planning commission. Just imagine driving through a canyon of tall highrises when you come in to SF if highrises are erected there on the south and east sides! :)

I was talking about what happens if all the sites are used up north of I-80.

Although looking at things as they are developing, I think The Watermark (which is actually part of the cruise terminal project) should have been a lot taller to produce the effect you are describing, it barely sticks its head above the level of the roadway as it was built. And there aren't really any more sites just to the south of the Bridge approaches, I don't believe.

The Watermark
http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2006_5_1_watermark-thumb.jpg

[Reminiscence]

:previous:

A lot, lot taller. It was dominant once, but now that One Rincon is rising, when it is finished, it will look like a midrise.

[AK47KC]

Yea, it looks like the tower should have been around 400' (122 m) to produce the stepping up effect and the same for the 250' ~80 m Bridgeview. As for sites south of I-80, it seems like there is a flat, elevated, cleared patch of dirt maybe big enough to fit one tower, but then it will be pretty crowded with I-80 on one side and an offramp on the other three. They could demolish some other lowrise buildings in around the area though.

[Reminiscence]

I was curious, how come they dont seem to concider vertical expansion of some towers instead of fully demolishing them? I know they seem to do that here in Chicago sometimes. I thought it was because of faulty seismic standards with the older buildings or because of increased expenditures.

[BTinSF]

:previous: Those lowrise buildings are pretty much all recently rehabbed loft-style condos whose owners only just moved in and wouldn't want their homes "demolished".

[BTinSF]

I was curious, how come they dont seem to concider vertical expansion of some towers instead of fully demolishing them? I know they seem to do that here in Chicago sometimes. I thought it was because of faulty seismic standards with the older buildings or because of increased expenditures.

They do--sometimes, like:

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/resources/rcc_san_francisco_2.jpg

The lighter-colored part of the building is being added right now (it's to be the Ritz Carleton Residence Club--part very upscale condo, part time-share)

Usually happens only to historic buildings like this one, though.

[AK47KC]

That small little building on the corner of 2nd and Harrison could be much taller than that in the Transbay graphic.

[BTinSF]

That small little building on the corner of 2nd and Harrison could be much taller than that in the Transbay graphic.

I'm trying to visualize that area but my recollection is that that part of Harrison (west of 2nd) is lined with one/two story undistinguished structures, many of which could eventually be torn down for housing, possibly highrise. However, I'm not sure what effect the long-term effort to preserve light industrial uses in SOMA through zoning restrictions might have on the area.

[Reminiscence]

I would best guess that thier fate is destined and tied to the future trend of residential and office space demand. If it grows great, then they may very well tear them down to make way for bigger things to come.

[botoxic]

These are the existing structures at 340 and 350 Fremont.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/btgibson/SF%20Buildings%2001-07/S4010019.jpg

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/btgibson/SF%20Buildings%2001-07/S4010024.jpg

Good riddance!

[EastBayHardCore]

Ouch, I'd hate to live next to that bunker looking thing. I believe someone either here, on SSP, or maybe somewhere else told me it's a some sorta utility substation.

[botoxic]

Just found this little tidbit in a San Francisco Business Times Story originally published on February 16th. It sounds like 340-350 may still get built, but not for a while...

Less than a year after acquiring 250 Brannan St. for $20 million as a luxury residential loft play, Florida real estate mogul Don Peebles is putting the property back on the market as offices and expects to attract offers as high as $35 million.

Peebles Corp. Senior Vice President Daniel Grimm said the firm decided to test the market after receiving a number of unsolicited offers for the property. At the same time, Peebles has been going forward with the entitlement process on the deluxe loft development, and is still applying for building permits in case none of the offers are high enough. Offers are due Feb. 23.

"As the numbers get into the low to mid 30s, it makes sense to sell," said Grimm. "Anything under $30 million and we're building."

The shifting future of the brick-and-timber former Gallo Salame plant reflects both the strengthening Web 2.0-fueled SoMa market, and the uncertainties of a weaker housing sector, according to broker Tony Crossley of Colliers International, who is handling the listing.

"I think (Peebles) will do very well," said Crossley. "Over the last 12 months a few things have changed. The sheen is off the residential condo market a little bit. ... But I think these things are less significant than the office market making a comeback."

If the 104,000-square-foot building is acquired for office space, it will have come full circle since it was leased by Internet advertising firm DoubleClick Inc. at the top of the dot-com bubble. DoubleClick leased the entire structure, but never occupied more than 30,000 square feet and had left by 2004. It had been vacant for two years when Peebles picked it up last March and proposed 54 high-end lofts.

Grimm said it has taken longer than expected to secure permits for the office-to-housing conversion and that "during that time the office market changed."

"Given the unsolicited interest as an office building, we need to understand what the market is prepared to pay," said Grimm.

While well-positioned to profit on 250 Brannan, Peebles -- a flamboyant entrepreneur sometimes called the Prince of South Beach -- has struggled to gain a toehold in the Bay Area. In November, Peebles narrowly lost a ballot measure which would have allowed him to build a mixed-use "downtown" on 87 acres in Pacifica. And early this year, Peebles dropped a plan to construct a 380-unit tower at 340-350 Fremont after he was unable to come to terms with seller A

Grimm said Peebles is still bullish on Bay Area housing and is looking at a number of potential deals.

In switching from office to residential and back to office, 250 Brannan would not be unique. Last summer, Beacon Capital Partners filed plans to build a 27-story office tower at 535 Mission St., a site that had been entitled entitled several times for both residential and office development.

[Reminiscence]

Additional renderings taken from (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/services/...spx?PropID=657) and posted by PBuchman:

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/3281/340fremontstid6.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4263/340fremontst1ru3.jpg

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/4608/340fremontst2cd5.jpg

[FourOneFive]

Lovely renderings, but can anyone explain Heller Manus's fascination with green tinted glass? 340 Fremont, 10th and Market, and the Metropolitan towers all look like variations of the same basic design.

With the condo market cooling, I'm crossing my fingers that a luxury rental developer will acquire the rights to develop the building. Archstone-Smith, Related, Avalon, etc.

[roadwarrior]

Lovely renderings, but can anyone explain Heller Manus's fascination with green tinted glass? 340 Fremont, 10th and Market, and the Metropolitan towers all look like variations of the same basic design.

With the condo market cooling, I'm crossing my fingers that a luxury rental developer will acquire the rights to develop the building. Archstone-Smith, Related, Avalon, etc.

Well, it is very cyclical, so I'm sure that someone will purchase this very soon. It could very well go up as rentals initially and then get converted in a few years, as the condo market heats up again. With the housing and rental shortage and the prime location, I just cannot see this sitting vacant for too long.

[viewguysf]

From 7/21/07:

Well, it is very cyclical, so I'm sure that someone will purchase this very soon. It could very well go up as rentals initially and then get converted in a few years, as the condo market heats up again. With the housing and rental shortage and the prime location, I just cannot see this sitting vacant for too long.

Depressingly, I think that we can all see it now. :deadthread:

[tommaso]

What is the plan for this site now?