[timbad]

Where did I go to?

yeah, where did you go to?

[timbad]

an update from the weekend's wanderings...

well, suddenly there is a bit more to be talking about around here...

starting with the familiar, though, the landscaping in front and around the CVRB is more complete, including the ground around the palms. here looking roughly east from 4th:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4918997466_1750db5683_b.jpg

... so that stretch of South MB Blvd over to Third may open up again soon. I really like how all the colors in the space come together, especially the reddish-brown of the trunks of the palms against the metallic-blue glass, and flashes of green high and low.

across 4th the other half of the UCSF entry is also complete. beyond it to the west still lie the MB Wastes, but even those may be having a little order imposed on them. here looking down what will be Mission Bay Blvd South, the south side of the Commons, ending in the distance at the under-construction roundabout (which is for the time being still just a series of now-more-sifted dirt-piles).

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4918995074_44065c053e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918995074/)
IMG_4465 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918995074/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

speaking of the Commons, over in front of Bayer/Nektar things are coming right along. on the east end the paving stones are just about all in. I'm not sure the pic gives the impression effectively, but I was pleased to note that, standing on one side of the little lane that runs between one section of the Commons and the next, I still felt the sense of continuity between the two sections. I think the designers did a good job with the narrowness of the lane, the fact that it is not paved in asphalt, and that there is no curb (the Commons sidewalks are flush with the roadway, as you can see), so as a pedestrian I think one will feel that that space belongs more to you than to any car that happens along. we'll have to see how traffic patterns shape up through all those little backstreets when everything is all built out, but for now I'm giving a provisional thumbs-up! :tup:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4918399923_082ce7e57e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918399923/)
IMG_4477 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918399923/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

you can also see that altho the grass is not in yet, the sandy drainage layer is being spread, so hopefully it won't be too long.

another shot of the paving from the south side, where light-poles still need to be emplaced:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4918402995_fd14b651a4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918402995/)
IMG_4478 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918402995/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

again from the south looking across toward the Radiance site, you can see that benches and some lighting have gone in (even a drinking fountain had already been installed)...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4919014778_a5a1058333_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4919014778/)
IMG_4481 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4919014778/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

looking north along the Third St sidewalk:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4918429411_9dea1a2722_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918429411/)
IMG_4483 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918429411/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

here looking back east from across Third. (taking advantage of the knocked-over fence to get the clearer shot):

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4918418079_66b8c8b0eb_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918418079/)
IMG_4489 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918418079/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

and speaking of Radiance IIa, my impression is that most of the construction activity is on the south side of the parcel, where the tallest part of the project will be. (I've actually wondered why they put the tall part on that side, since it will keep the inner courtyard in shadow most of the time). this is at the southeast corner:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4919021196_fb749d0848_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4919021196/)
IMG_4486 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4919021196/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

and, speaking of height in Mission Bay, pile-driving has gotten into gear again behind Bayer/Nektar! they've had the back of the east half of the building opened up for the last few weeks, maybe moving Bayer in, but it's all zipped up now and all the staged stuff is cleared away, so they are able to get back to work on the new site! or maybe that was the pause that WildCowboy mentioned between indicator piles and the real thing. anyway, this is what things look like from the roof of the South St garage:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4918426013_bb90148160_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918426013/)
IMG_4491 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4918426013/) by timbad (http://www.flickr.com/people/94342695@N00/), on Flickr

btw, in the renderings of the two buildings together, I like that the new one, being just green and white, will tend to dilute the orangey elements of the first building. I think the overall effect will be an improvement.

in other news, as I mentioned briefly at the beginning, they are working hard over at the roundabout, but it still doesn't look much different than a few weeks ago: the piles seem to shift, but basically a lot of dirt.

they also continue to work on the medical center site, but nothing of note to photograph yet.

but, we are back up to - count 'em - probably three major new buildings underway, with the neurosciences one, Radiance, and the Alexandria one. plus the major roundabout streetwork, and the Commons. I'll give that a :tup: too!!

[1977]

Thanks for the updates Timbad! Mission Bay is really beginning to take shape.

[peanut gallery]

Nice update, timbad. Thanks for keeping us up-to-date!

[WildCowboy]

Great update...thanks! I was actually back in SF for the past week and spent a little time over in MB on Friday afternoon. Didn't get off of UCSF's campus much, but nice to see all the work that's gone on there in the year-and-a-half since I left SF.

The warehouse at Mariposa and 3rd being gone makes a huge difference...really opens things up. Of course the hospital will be a massive facility, but should make for a much more pedestrian-friendly environment.

[viewguysf]

Not meaning to be repetitive, but I echo my appreciation too timbad. Nice presentation! I don't get over there very often yet find it very exciting when I do.

[timbad]

thanks everyone - with that kind of encouragement, I'll go ahead and post more!!

MB's green meter just bumped up a level! the next section of the Commons has gotten its new carpet (looking east from Third):

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4936222381_e5e345d78d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936222381/)
IMG_4536 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936222381/)

and looking west from the new section's east end:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4936216123_f2acf93513_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936216123/)
IMG_4533 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936216123/)

and another look at the amenities:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4936219267_8acdef71e7_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936219267/)
IMG_4534 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936219267/)

almost all the remaining paving stones had been laid, so the only thing I could tell was left to do was install some of the lampposts. we'll have to give the grass some time to root in to its new home, I imagine, but I hope this will open up in the next few weeks!

(I don't know if this has come up before, but one other thing that was quite obvious again today - and which you might be able to discern from the pic - is that the wind really whips through Mission Bay many days, seemingly rolling in straight down off the hills ahead of the fog in summer. when it runs into a building like Strata or the CVRB, a pedestrian gets a full lateral blast as s/he approaches from either side. I wonder if that will settle down once more stuff is built up to block the air, or whether it will just be channelled into tighter spaces, :( )

since we're in the neighborhood, I have to take back what I said earlier about the Radiance construction mostly being on the south side. at least some stretches all the way to the northern edge:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4936815098_e95e8e279e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936815098/)
IMG_4539 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936815098/)

we'll just have to wait to see what gets put in and up there...

back over on Fourth, here is a shot looking west down what will be South Mission Bay Blvd on the south side of the rest of the Commons.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4936802958_233c2d1e18_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936802958/)
IMG_4527 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936802958/)

since the shot from the post last week from the same location, we can see 1) they have begun laying down some piping under the future roadway, and 2) benches have been put in under the palms in the little entry plaza (identical ones have also been put in across Fourth in front of the CVRB).

this might be a good place to post this one too, taken from the other end of the same axis, looking back at where the previous photo was taken from (you can see the space between Radiance and CVRB in the distance through the freeway columns). behind the shooting point of the pic is the RR crossing leading to Seventh St - source of the roads that will lead ultimately to the roundabout and Mission Bay Blvd. I don't think it's apparent in the pic, but they had started to excavate shallow trenches that seemed to follow the course of the future roads starting from this location.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4936353711_c4e0c9119e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936353711/)
IMG_4524 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936353711/)

I especially like to remind myself of this connection because I am often slightly disoriented in MB, since the road grid is rotated something like 30 or 40 degrees clockwise compared to South of Market across the creek. it's going to be a straighter shot from that crossing to Third than in the past.

and, a special feature this time around: the nighttime edition of the update! the other evening I walked down to the CVRB after work and was happy I did. that slick metallic glass panel section glows from the inside at night, giving a whole different look which together with the other lighting they've got going on works to produce a nice overall effect:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4936207829_f28f6856cc_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936207829/)
IMG_4515 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936207829/)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4936210941_5efc44784e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936210941/)
IMG_4519 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94342695@N00/4936210941/)

[NOPA]

Wow, that green space looks great! Does anybody know when that hospital is going to break ground?

[WildCowboy]

Well, in some respects, it's already under construction. They are currently doing a lot of excavation and site prep, and I believe that they've driven some test piles for the foundation.

My understanding is that the Regents are supposed to approve the final building and funding plans at their meeting in just a couple of weeks, and then full-on construction is planned to begin in December.

[timbad]

this doesn't really add to what WildCowboy already posted, and doesn't mean all that much to me, but for what it's worth, this is from an email sent out a few days ago to area residents, regarding the medical center construction:

"I just wanted to give you a heads up on an upcoming phase of site preparation for the new hospital called “mass excavation,” which is scheduled to start Tuesday September 7. There will be some large machinery moving dirt around the site. We don’t foresee excavated materials leaving the site during this time. The process is expected to take about 12 weeks (ending late November 2010)."

[WildCowboy]

The UC Regents are set to approve the financing plan for the Mission Bay hospital on Thursday. If they give the thumbs-up, it should be full-speed ahead on construction.

http://today.ucsf.edu/stories/UC-Regents-to-Consider-Financing-Plan-for-UCSF-Medical-Center/

[WildCowboy]

The Regents gave their approval (http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/09/13/daily48.html) a short time ago, so official construction should begin in December.

[peanut gallery]

Excellent! With a 2014 opening that would be 3-4 years. I have to assume building out a hospital takes a long time. But the outside should be done in around 2, wouldn't you say?

[WildCowboy]

3-4 years is an awfully tight timeline for something of this size and complexity. The plan is for about six months of commissioning and fit-out in the second half of 2014, but obviously considerable interior work will have been done even before then. I think two years is optimistic for seeing a complete exterior shell, but we'll see.

Last month, the Regents separately approved the first phase of the parking garage (621 spaces) for along Owens Street. The garage is planned to open by April 2012 to support the largest surge of construction workers for the hospital. Given the tight timeline and size of the project, that site is really going to be a beehive of activity for the next few years.

[peanut gallery]

Thanks for the info, WC. Refresh my memory: is the garage going on lot 39 or 33 and the hospital itself on 36? Or do I have those mixed up?

[WildCowboy]

Here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/exuberance/1919359655/sizes/o/) is a map for those who have forgotten the block numbering.

Hospital is on 36/37/X3...everything on the block bounded by 16th, 3rd, Mariposa, and future 4th. The only exception is the 16th Street frontage which is planned to see an outpatient building that is not included in this round of construction but should follow on soon after the hospital.

Parking garage should be slated for the western portion of 39, or at the southeast corner of 16th and future Owens extension. When it's time to expand the hospital, the garage would be expanded south along Owens on to Block 38 and towards Mariposa Park. Hospital expansion would occur along the eastern portions of 38 and 39.

[WildCowboy]

One other item of note: At yesterday's Regents meeting, UCSF announced two new anonymous donations to the hospital program at approximately $25 million apiece. The new donations bring total commitments to roughly $375 million out of a goal of $600 million for the private philanthropy portion of the funding plan.

If I remember correctly, UCSF had been hoping to have $400 million committed by the time of final approval from the Regents, so they're only slightly behind that target, and that seems pretty darn good given the economic climate.

[peanut gallery]

Thanks again, Cowboy. I recall future expansion plans across the street and was trying to envision how that was supposed to work with a garage there. Makes sense now. Also, thanks for that map. I've been looking at another version that is much harder to read (I misread "38" as "33"). I also never noticed that retail is planned for Radiance II along Third.

[WildCowboy]

As some may have heard the Borders at King and 3rd is closing, and it now looks like it will be replaced by upscale bowling (http://www.livesoma.com/2010/09/23/the-scoop-on-a-proposed-bowling-alley-in-south-beach/)...could be interesting. :)

And in somewhat-Mission-Bay-related news, social gaming firm Zynga is taking 270,000 sf (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/24/BUOR1FHJ4Q.DTL&tsp=1) in Townsend Center. Some may recall that Zynga had been set to move into the still-vacant Mission Bay building at 500 Terry Francois next to Old Navy, but that deal fell apart when something happened with the owners/lenders.

That same article also notes that Twitter is looking for 200,000 sf, Dolby Labs 250,000 sf, and Salesforce 100,000 sf. Would have to think Mission Bay stands a decent chance of landing some of that business given the ability to accommodate such large space demands. They just have to be able to build the space fast enough to satisfy these fast-moving companies and I think Mission Bay could be very attractive to them.

[WildCowboy]

The Examiner reports on the dilemma of what to do with 16th Street at the train tracks. The best solution from a car/bus/bike/pedestrian perspective would be to leave 16th at-grade and trench the trains. But that would be a much more pricey option, and I'm not sure just how it all plays out with maximum possible grade requirements to get the trains down below street level and then back up for either the crossing near the roundabout or keeping them underground past there as well while getting back to ground level for the station.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/16th-St-presents-transit-pickle-103907974.html

[WildCowboy]

A couple of articles about Mission Bay projects today...

Neuroscience center under construction (http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/10/04/focus5.html): Not much new here, as we know UCSF's next project is underway. Targeting April 2012 completion date.

Bosa restarts work at Radiance condo site (http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/10/04/focus2.html): Again, we knew this was underway, but some details such as 240 units in this phase set for completion in summer 2012 with the final 160 units apparently set to start a year from now. And he'll move on quickly from there:

Bosa has told the Business Times that once he gets the green light for the last Radiance building, he will waste little time before moving onto Lot 13, a site close to Mission Creek that is entitled for 265 condos. “Most of (the Bosa Mission Bay projects) are going to be built in the next cycle, and I think it will be one of the finest neighborhoods in the city,” said Bosa. “We will hit it very hard, go from the Radiance to the next one to the next one. The more that we build in Mission Bay, the better the neighborhood will be. It will be self-generating. Nobody likes an orphan.”

Mercy Housing is also moving forward with plans for its 150 units of affordable housing at 1000 Fourth Street, hoping to begin construction in early 2012.

[northbay]

^ a triple punch of good news! (when does that ever happen?!) :D

i like bosa's quote "nobody likes an orphan." it could definitely be misunderstood taken out of context but in this regard he's totally right.

thanks wildcowboy as usual for the updates

[WildCowboy]

For those who don't know, Google Maps has updated its satellite photos in a number of areas of the country, and the ones at Mission Bay are now very up-to-date. You can see the neurosciences building under construction, the completed second block of Mission Bay Commons park, and the rough grading for the street grid and roundabout in the western portion of the area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=San+Francisco,+CA&sll=37.021983,-113.62082&sspn=0.007504,0.011984&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=San+Francisco,+California&ll=37.770172,-122.392019&spn=0.007429,0.011984&t=h&z=17

[Potrero]

Thought some of you on the forum would appreciate this treat from UCSF:

http://www.onsiteview.com/ucsfmedcenter/

Does anyone has info on the infrastructure work on the NW corner?

[WildCowboy]

Ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is looking to expand and consolidate (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/14/BUKI1FSCNC.DTL) in a rumored 125,000 sf location. Jeff Goodby mentions Mission Bay by name as an option, but possibly just as a "bookend" along with the Presidio for a broad geographic swath encompassing essentially all of SF's prime office space.

Add that to the 60 new hires for its San Francisco offices, bringing the local head count to more than 800, said Goodby. He is also looking for more office space. Agency executives wouldn't say how much, but I've been told 125,000 feet or more by real estate sources, to put its four existing San Francisco offices under one roof.

In a tightening commercial real estate market, and with other companies looking for similar size spaces here, that has been proving easier said than done.

"We're looking everywhere, from the Presidio to Mission Bay," he said. "But we want to stay in San Francisco."

[NOPA]

Any new photos? I always mean to drive through and take photos when possible but forget.

[timbad]

I haven't been posting because mostly there hasn't been much visibly new to take pics of, but it's been a while now, and this coming weekend I'll put up more.

WC, thanks for pointing out the new google maps images, those are great.

and thanks, Potrero - I keep forgetting to check out the new camera when it's light out.

very nice that Bosa thinks they see another 'cycle' coming - sure will be nice to put some people on those streets down there.

[LWR]

Does anyone know what the "tent structure" is all about (just north of the Neurosciences building)? It's now showing in the construction camera photo of today.

Thanks (ahead of time).

[peanut gallery]

No clue, but I had to chime in to say hello, LWR! Long time, no see.

[timbad]

Does anyone know what the "tent structure" is all about (just north of the Neurosciences building)?

It seems to be for something called 'Cavalia' (if the trailer you can see in the photo is evidence), which I'm guessing is some sort of circus that focuses on horses?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5113139258_b831249314_b.jpg

ah, wikipedia to the rescue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalia

[timbad]

as promised, a long-delayed update. sorry it coincided with some gloomy weather, but sometimes the muted lighting actually helps with visibility, evening out the shadows.

starting with the construction in the northwest corner... mostly all one sees from ground level still are mounds of dirt. this is looking roughly east down what will be the 'outbound' road leading from the new roundabout (indiscernible in the distance) to the RR crossing at Seventh St, where this photo was taken. I think I have posted a pic from this same vantage point previously.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5111617674_565c887bc7_b.jpg

... and this is looking down the 'inbound' road from roughly the same place:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1133/5111020251_654fe1bdc0_b.jpg

this is looking south-southwest from what was the corner of Sixth and Channel (the curb and hydrant are the last remnants of the intersection). for many years there was a golf driving range here. 1500 Owens and Gladstone building in the distance.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1123/5111626382_82c651f4c6_b.jpg

this is looking southeast from Channel along what will be a short corridor that lines up with Fifth Street across the creek, behind the point of view of the photo. this is parcel P5, slated to become a dog run:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1314/5111631368_76489cda9b_b.jpg

on the south side of Channel St itself, the sidewalk has been partially chewed up and I imagine will be redone soon. here looking southwest from Fourth:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1417/5111635572_ebef3eaf39_b.jpg

here also looking southwest from Fourth, down what will be Long Bridge Street, which is the one that runs parallel to Channel to the south, eventually angling between Fourth and the west end of the Commons - for the moment there are still a couple buildings in the way of the western end.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1086/5111640256_f439daa175_b.jpg

so inroads are being made into the wide no-man's land, but there is plenty of nothing still out there. looking west from Fourth:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1182/5111042573_2029dccd7b_b.jpg

and just because it's been a while, here's a shot of the CVRB from Fourth:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5111045855_d5784b7360_b.jpg

jumping over to Radiance II, it looks like the bases for two cranes (only one visible here) have been set up, and construction continues across the entire footprint of the large parcel. looking south with Bayer/Nektar in the distance:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/5111052055_fce04b6df5_b.jpg

and, one of the most interesting new developments for me, new concrete piles are being driven after all on the site south of the Bayer/Nektar companion building along Third! this is taken looking northwest from the roof of the South St parking garage.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5111057503_fed4eedc7b_b.jpg

on the northern site it looks like they are done driving those piles (which here were steel), and it seemed they were busy cleaning up and setting up fencing maybe so that the passage between the two sites (barely visible on the left in the photo), running from Third to the little plaza and lane behind the parking garage, could be opened to pedestrians.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1436/5111669624_e4c4ffec82_b.jpg

here is a shot also taken from the South St garage, of the medical center site. they have recently put in a parking lot (not really visible here, hidden behind the parking garage in the foreground) for the anticipated influx of vehicles when construction gets into full swing next month. also, not sure if you can really see, but they were digging up Sixteenth on the east side of Third, looked like they were about to lay large sewer pipes there (which are waiting in the wings on Illinois):

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1411/5111661948_edb6303251_b.jpg

and last and maybe least, in the Commons parcel in front of the CVRB and Diller Cancer building, it looked like they had recently tidied up and graded, and they were repairing the section of North Mission Bay Blvd that had been torn up while they were doing the construction there on the sewer and pumping station earlier this year and last. I'm guessing they will be opening that street to pedestrians soon too? looking west from Third:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1064/5111665106_583b777a28_b.jpg

[northbay]

thanks for the photo update! looks like there's a lot going on!

[peanut gallery]

Yes, thank you! So happy to see Radiance moving along again. Did you stop in the visitor center when you were over on Channel? I'm curious if they've updated the maps and models lately.

[KVNBKLYN]

Thanks for posting these great, comprehensive updates! Although I live in NYC, I used to live in SF in the 1990s and worked South of Market on Townsend. I've watched the whole area transform, including suffering through every frickin' pile driven for the Ballpark and watching in semi-awe when the big machines came in to demolish the last remnant of the Embarcadero Freeway along Berry where now a whole neighborhood has blossomed.

It's good to see that work is still continuing despite the lingering bad economy. The second phase of Radiance is really going to help to start to fill in the south-of-the-channel neighborhood. Too bad some of the buildings are utterly bland (like Bayer/Nektar) and too bad that the roadways are wide enough to befit a suburban office park (the roadway of 4th Street could be significantly narrower and the sidewalks significantly broader, imho), but all in all it's a fascinating neighborhood to watch slowly take shape.

I usually make it to SF every year or so, so I'm glad you're willing and able to fill in the gaps with posts like these!

[LWR]

Thank you timbad,

All of the campus is seemingly progressing very well. Again, thanks for the solution to the "mystery tent".

[NOPA]

Thanks! That's great.

[WildCowboy]

Thanks for the shots, timbad! Exciting to see test piles at 1515 Third next to the garage...would be magnificent to see 1455 and 1515 go up at the same time. With the Diller Building and UCSF housing across the street, we'll have our first real section of Third Street corridor through Mission Bay South.

Article (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/28/BUO61G2HU9.DTL) from the Chronicle today discussing the Giants' hopes for the area south of McCovey Cove. Not much new, but a nice rehashing of where things stand and how the overall development of the area was spurred by AT&T Park. Mentions of a possible NBA arena as part of a mixed use development if the Warriors want to make the hop across the bay, but everything still seems very preliminary.

[peanut gallery]

Salesforce.com is planning a large new headquarters in Mission Bay. From SFGate: (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?entry_id=75983&tsp=1)

Salesforce.com, one of San Francisco's largest and fastest growing technology companies, plans to announce today that it will build an enormous new headquarters at Mission Bay.

The online sales software company, founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, has acquired eight parcels totaling 14 acres in the fast emerging neighborhood around AT&T Park, locking down most of the remaining commercial space in the 303-acre redevelopment zone.

The $278 million land deal will allow Salesforce to build a two-million-square-foot corporate campus over roughly the next decade, nearly quadruple the amount of space it occupies in San Francisco today.

Much more at the link. I'm mostly curious about which parcels they bought. Since we're talking eight(!) parcels, I assume it's most of what's still available on the eastern edge of Mission Bay (26, 27, 29-34, etc.). This is definitely good news for Mission Bay, but I kind of wish they were taking available space downtown, which might help bring some other projects to life (350 and 535 Mission, SOM's new proposal at First and Mission, Transbay). Plus it's not biotech, but I guess that was always more of a goal than a strict rule for MB. But that's nitpicking. This is huge news!

[peanut gallery]

Found Salesforce.com's press release (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/salesforcecom-purchases-site-for-new-san-francisco-global-headquarters-106480198.html). It confirms they bought the undeveloped parts of parcels 26 and 27 and all of 29 through 34.

[WildCowboy]

Huge news is an understatement. 2 million square feet...wow.

I read somewhere that they've also purchased the South Street Garage on Block 27. This explains the pile activity we've seen on Blocks 26 and 27 along Third, as they're already moving forward with plans to start moving in within two years, although we don't know what the pace of building will be on the campus.

Makes terrific sense for Benioff given his new long-term relationship with UCSF Children's Hospital.

To be clear, they've soaked up all of the available commercial land east of Third...from Mission Bay Commons south to 16th Street and then the skinny piece bordered by 16th, Illinois, Mariposa, and Third that I've thought would be the best site for UCSF's physicans' offices.

Read somewhere else that the Redevelopment Agency says that there is now less than a million sf of commercial space entitlements left in Mission Bay, and UCSF is expected to grab 500,000 for the physicians' offices.

The only remaining commercial land will be the existing "west" campus along the freeway where Alexandria has already built out much of the plans, and Block 40, the odd-shaped lot between 16th and Mariposa abutting 280 and across the street from UCSF's future hospital parking garage. That has to be the top contender for the physicians' offices now.

Definitely mixed feelings on this one. The close proximity to UCSF made total sense for biotech-focused development. I was fine with mixing in a few hundred thousand sf of tech, but two million sf?

The city is spinning it that it gives a boost to biotech-zoned space along Third in Dogpatch and then down into the Pier 70 revitalization project. That may be true, but I would have much preferred the tech stuff go in at Pier 70 and have biotech up by UCSF. (For those who are curious, the Pier 70 plan calls for 700,000 sf of reuse in the historic buildings and an additional 3 million sf of infill construction.)

[timbad]

Huge news is an understatement....
Definitely mixed feelings on this one.

but this means the vexing parking lot will be no more! that must tip the scales to the favorable side ;)

[WildCowboy]

Apparently Ricardo Legorreta, the man behind UCSF's Mission Bay community center, is likely to be tapped to design the Salesforce campus. That gives it an awfully good chance of escaping the bland architecture of much of the rest of the area.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2010/11/salesforce-taps-legorreta-in-mission-bay.html

I know that Alexandria had plans drawn up for a couple of large buildings along Terry Francois, and I can only assume those are being scrapped. But I wonder about some of the northern ones...like what about the 10-story one that was supposed to be the companion of the shorter Bayer building?

[peanut gallery]

I hope they design each building individually, or at least give them each their own individual flair. If they go with the typical SV campus approach, that will be an awful lot of the same look in that area. Though I'm happy that Salesforce will be pushing along the build-out of MB, I hope they build in such a way that these buildings could be broken up for smaller, life-sciences related companies in the distant future if circumstances play out that way. I know they always could, regardless of the architecture, but I'd like it to look like that was the intention, if that makes sense. I'd basically like to see a variety of height, color, bulk, etc.

[Potrero]

I had a couple of pleasant surprises taking a walk on third and fourth St. this evening.

A new passage way is now opened between Third and Illinois between Mission Bay Bld. South and South St.

They also replaced the stop sign on third Street in the middle of UCSF with a stop light.

A new restaurant (bar looking place) has opened in the Rock Hall. Nice place.

On the other side of the tracks on 16th Street they really cleaned up the parking lot at the corner of 16th and 7th. Removed all the beat up cars and trucks from the lot and installed a new fence. Hopefully a sign that construction on Daggett Place will start soon.

[WildCowboy]

Apartment developer UDR, the current owners of Edgewater on Berry Street, have acquired Block 2 in Mission Bay South and plan to begin construction in the third quarter of 2011 on 315 rental units. Completion is expected in 2013.

Block 2 sits between Third and Fourth up near the channel and just south of a proposed hotel site on Block 1.

Here (http://sfredevelopment.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2101) is the RFQ for UDR's project on the site, which calls for a 6-story building with one level of below-ground parking. 9,000 sf of retail, presumably along Fourth, but maybe along the northern edge across from the hotel.

http://www.socketsite.com/archives/Mission%20Bay%20Map.jpg

I don't think it was mentioned on here, but UCSF has also exercised its $5 million buyout that will allow it to NOT build affordable housing for its employees on Block 7 East. Some may remember that as part of taking Blocks 36-39 off the tax rolls as part of the hospital land purchase, UCSF agreed to purchase the eastern portion of Block 7 and build subsidized employee housing. But the deal came with a buyout clause that allowed UCSF to pay an additional $5 million and allow the land to revert back to the Redevelopment Agency, which they have now done, claiming that they are not in a financial position to execute the project. So we'll just call it a $10 million contribution toward affordable housing by UCSF, and the SFRA can now go about arranging its own project for the site.

When UCSF acquired the "X3" parcel that consisted of the warehouse at Third and Mariposa and the Burning Man headquarters building just north of there, a similar deal was struck for UCSF to build employee housing on Block 7 West. UCSF has reaffirmed that it intends to follow through on this plan, although it would certainly not be surprising if they took a similar out down the road when the deadline for starting that construction approaches.

[WildCowboy]

Not really sure how much news about Pier 70 is appropriate for this thread, but the two areas are pretty close in proximity and targeting similar types of tenants, so I'll put this here:

The Port has extended by a month the deadline for developers to respond to the RFQ for Pier 70. The thinking seems to be that with Salesforce snapping up almost all of the remaining commercial land in Mission Bay, developers may now be more interested in Pier 70 due to both the disappearance of Mission Bay options and possible synergies with the rapidly-growing base in Mission Bay.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2010/11/suddenly-hot-pier-70-deadline-extended.html

[WildCowboy]

Things moving very fast in the Mission Bay development world, as it now comes out that the VA is looking to move from Fort Miley into about 2 million sf of space, preferably at Mission Bay.

The only problem is that, with Salesforce snapping up its 2 million sf campus, there isn't 2 million sf left for the VA. They say they may not need the full 2 million if they can synergize with UCSF, or perhaps they'll try to take on the Pier 70 project.

Very interesting times....

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2010/11/12/va-med-center-targets-mission-bay.html

[WildCowboy]

Am I talking to myself here? :D

In addition to the aforementioned purchase of Block 2 by UDR, with construction to begin on 315 rental units in the third quarter of next year, Urban Housing Group (the developers behind Strata at 555 Mission Rock) has snapped up the western portion Block 3 directly south of that site, and will begin construction on 150 units in early 2012.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2010/11/12/salesforce-spurs-mission-bay-housing.html

And that hotel site north of these projects right on the channel between Third and Fourth? That might sit awhile, at least until the next round of housing comes online and the Mission Bay hospital and Salesforce get up and running.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2010/11/mission-bay-hotel-site-to-languish.html

[northbay]

Am I talking to myself here? :D


no, your talking and all the rest of us are listening attentively like excited school children ;)
keep the info comin! at least i find it very interesting and informative!

[viewguysf]

no, your talking and all the rest of us are listening attentively like excited school children ;)
keep the info comin! at least i find it very interesting and informative!

I second that!

[spyguy]

^Yup. I enjoy seeing all of the construction updates and reading the articles about leasing activity.

[timbad]

:previous: yes, thanks WC, appreciate the news and your helpful analysis/summaries/explanations.

it'll be nice to get the sort of 'gateway' to Fourth built up (as one is coming into Mission Bay from the north) with those three projects on blocks 2, 3, and 13 all supposed to happen in the next few years.

a couple random updates from MB...

here are a few shots of the new passageway between Third and the little road which I think is called Bridgeview Ln or something - the one that runs behind the South St garage. looking east from across Third:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/5173970741_3d92e0f69b_b.jpg

looking east as one is walking down it...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/5175713668_5013508332_b.jpg

looking back west from the other end (on a different day)....

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/5175710648_fa95460d1c_b.jpg

... and, this means that the little plaza tucked back behind Bayer/Nektar is also newly opened finally:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/5174571538_faa3c42017_b.jpg

here is a random shot of the work in the northwest corner of MB. this is looking north from the stub-end of Owens (the future roundabout should be in the field of view, since Owens is to run into it, but I can't make it out yet):

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5173969497_e8b9773cbc_b.jpg

the Commons in front of the CVRB is now green (anyone know why?), but not the way we would want it to be:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/5174579436_0d53d775ae_b.jpg

they were working on the south side of Sixteenth St in front of the hospital site, had most of the street blocked off. this is looking west from approx Third St:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/5173967335_0968bb2919_b.jpg

elsewhere,

- the newest Commons parcel remains fenced off
- pile-driving has stopped on the east side of Third
- work continues mostly laying sewerpipe along the routes of the streets that are slowly being brought into existence in the northwest and in no-man's land
- the Radiance site is not much visibly changed
- South MB Blvd is open again to pedestrians in front of CVRB and Diller
- repairs to North MB Blvd on the west side of Third are done but that stretch is still fenced off for now.

oh, and, PG I think you asked, I never get over to the MB visitors' center during its limited opening hours, so I haven't seen the inside in years. I'm curious too!

[WildCowboy]

Thanks for the great shots...nice to see things still moving along.

the Commons in front of the CVRB is now green (anyone know why?), but not the way we would want it to be

It's hydroseeding...a mixture of grass seed, mulch, and starter fertilizer. So the question is why are they doing that on this parcel when they've been sodding the other ones.

Unfortunately, the couple of places I've seen hydroseeding used in Mission Bay is as a temporary solution to get a base of low-quality grass in there on parcels that aren't yet set to be developed...enough to limit water and wind erosion.

And that's what looks like is going on here, since they've covered the whole block with it.

[Busy Bee]

This is sort of related...

It is knid of unfortunate that the Third Street light rail line couldn't have run in a grass median like you see in France and in Europe quite a bit. With all the improvements, Third still looks harsh and empty. A sweeping ribbon of green running through the area would have done wonders...

http://railforthevalley.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/2-alstom-citadis-tram.jpg
@ (http://railforthevalley.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/2-alstom-citadis-tram.jpg)

http://www.photo2ville.com/photos/france/strasbourg/tramway-de-strasbourg.jpg
@
(http://www.photo2ville.com/photos/france/strasbourg/tramway-de-strasbourg.jpg)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/344980141_1ebb113892_o.jpg
@ (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/344980141_1ebb113892_o.jpg)

[peanut gallery]

^It looks great, but we don't get rain for many months during summer so it would take a lot of watering to keep green. Probably best to keep our limited water focused on parks and other open space.

Thanks for all the updates timbad and WC. It's good to hear a lot more residential will be coming online south of the channel.

[WildCowboy]

The City and UCSF are joining forces to hire a full-time staffer to court biotech businesses as the city seeks to expand the Mission Bay biotech zone to encompass Pier 70, and eventually Hunters Point.

And from the article I guess Nektar officially opens for business in Mission Bay tomorrow.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/17/BUVG1GDKAG.DTL

[WildCowboy]

500 Terry Francois is up for sale again.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2010/12/empty-mission-bay-building-on-block.html

[1977]

There are some renderings of 1000 Fourth St. here (http://www.dsolomondesignpartners.com/assets/SolomonProjects-OnTheBoards.pdf) as well as some other 'on the boards' projects by Daniel Solomon Design Partners.

And just to refresh:

Beyond the market-rate Bosa developments, the next housing to be built in Mission Bay will be Mercy Housing’s affordable 150-unit apartment complex at 1000 Fourth St. On April 20, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency gave design approval to the development, which is being designed by veteran affordable housing architect WTC Solomon ETC along with rising star Owen Kennerly.
The $80 million development recently received $17 million in funds from the state and will sell tax credits to finance the rest, according to Barbara Gualco, director of housing development for Mercy Housing. The project will also have 11,000 square feet of retail along Fourth Street.
Mercy hopes to begin construction at the beginning of 2012.
Roberts-Obayashi Corp. will be contractor on the project.


Read more: Bosa restarts work at Radiance condo site | San Francisco Business Times
Source:http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/10/04/focus2.html

[timbad]

Happy New Year everyone! yesterday I finally got into the Mission Bay Visitors Center for the first time in years, and I wanted to share a little of what I found inside.

first, there were a couple of aerial 'before' pictures which help to show just how far we've come in the development of the area. from the best I can remember about when things started changing, I think these must be from about 1996.

(apologies for the flash reflections, but I think neither one obscures an area that has changed much.)

there is one taken from the northwest, one from the northeast (my photo of the one from the south did not come out well).

notable to me:

- the massive remnant of the stub of 280 which had been intended to continue on through the current ballpark site to connect with the Embarcadero Freeway. by the time these photos were taken, it had already been amputated and the new off-ramps onto King are in place.

- the number of buildings that used to exist in Mission Bay. I had forgotten how many there were, particularly the long one along the west side of Third north of 16th.

- Sixth Street used to reach all the way to 16th (from Channel), and apparently was the main way to get through the site, except for Third.

- the view of the current ballpark site, with Berry St running through it

from the NE:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5246/5337174909_ec2eb87502_o.jpg

from the NW:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5045/5337156015_4abcd35c05_o.jpg

[timbad]

at the Visitors Center there were also diagrams and renderings of some of the open space parcels that I had not seen before (or hadn't seen in as much detail), and wasn't able to find online after a brief search except for this one, which is along the north edge of Mariposa in the southwest corner of the MB project site:

http://www.sfredevelopment.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=779

(some of the images above have been posted here previously, but I didn't remember the link or the overall diagram)

in any case, this first one is a closer-up look at the dog-run and children's park that will be located just south of Mission Creek in approximately the center of the residential section of MB:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5046/5337792226_10974f31fa_o.jpg

this is a view looking southeast (from the upper-left-hand corner of the previous image) along approximately what will be the dog-run, as of yesterday (and yes, they are taking down the Cavalia tents):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/5337773264_700ea9bca3_b.jpg

[timbad]

here is a diagram with renderings of the parcels in the northwest corner, which include the roundabout and the rest of Mission Creek Park fronting the houseboats (I wasn't aware that the park at this end would include parking spaces presumably for the houseboat residents, tho that makes sense):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5046/5337794200_409a8bd700_o.jpg

... but it's still hard to see any of that in the current state of affairs. looking southeast from Channel, along what used to be Sixth Street:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5129/5337172337_acd41e1b56_b.jpg

and looking east from approx the RR crossing at Seventh, down what will be the outbound road from the roundabout. I assume they are wrapping up the sewer work since we have sprouted a new fire hydrant:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/5337765778_62ce7ee160_b.jpg

[timbad]

these are the two parcels in the far southeast corner of MB adjacent to the ugly Fibrogen building, along Terry François Blvd. the one on the left is the more northern of the two; the other is the one that currently contains the Bluepeter building.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/5337183701_c3b686dc49_b.jpg

[timbad]

OK, that's all for the Visitors Center... there is more there, mostly about the initial planning process and concepts for the area - interesting, but since that was not new I have not included it here.

other news and views from around the area...

here is a shot of the medical center site from the South St Garage (in the distance you can see that a crane has been set up at the large mixed-use development (http://www.2235thirdstreetsf.com/) down Third St at about 20th St):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5337801226_218ddcab77_b.jpg

speaking of cranes, both have been set up at the Radiance IIa site!! (here in the distance. in the foreground you can see they are still working on the south side sidewalk on Channel)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/5337186143_9d839b4505_b.jpg

here looking east from Fourth St, with Radiance I behind them:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5089/5337775568_9c175cef13_b.jpg

both Nektar (seen here) and Bayer have their names on their respective halves of the ugly building south of the Commons (and employees entering and exiting), and the CVRB seems to be open for business:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5123/5337803426_8cbaaea27b_b.jpg

here is a shot of the construction along what will be Long Bridge St, which parallels Channel to the south. here looking southwest:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5201/5337170035_f411d8a24f_b.jpg

in other random news:

- the Commons parcel in front of the Nektar/Bayer building is still fenced off
- the stretch of North Mission Bay Blvd between Third and Fourth is now open
- 16th Street is still half blocked off as underground work continues on both sides of Third St

[timbad]

agh, forgot one thing from the Visitors Center:

diagrams of the next two Commons parcels west of Third. the lower one is the one in front of the Diller Cancer building and the CVRB, the upper one is the adjacent one to the west:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/5337789996_98b81bc4f4_o.jpg

I guess I should have said at the beginning I am not sure how current or final these diagrams are. for example, for the lower parcel, the pump house, completed, was not constructed in the location the diagram has for it (in real life it is on the right-hand end about between where the redwood boxes are), so at least some of this seems subject to change.

in any case, here is a shot looking west down what will be approximately the sidewalk along South Mission Bay Blvd adjacent to the upper parcel above:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5337166541_905b9f4ba7_b.jpg

[patriotizzy]

I'm digging these updates. Thanks a lot man! Are these open spaces due to the America's Cup? The boat racing event thing.

[timbad]

I'm digging these updates. ... Are these open spaces due to the America's Cup? ...

I'm glad if they are helpful!

as for the open space parcels, some open space has been part of the overall Mission Bay plan in some form for decades, though their current planned sizes and locations did not become finalized until about ten years ago or so, and their design somewhat less than that (when I moved back into the area in 2007 I was handed a map that already had little versions of some of these designs on it - this one (http://missionbayparks.com/future.php)).

I don't think the America's Cup was ever going to impact any of Mission Bay proper - an early version of the arrangement with the City had them on Piers 48 and 50, some of which belong to the adjacent (to the northeast) seawall lot 337 that the SF Giants are trying to put a development plan together for. I think under the revised agreement there are no longer any Cup facilities planned for those piers?

[KVNBKLYN]

first, there were a couple of aerial 'before' pictures which help to show just how far we've come in the development of the area. from the best I can remember about when things started changing, I think these must be from about 1996.

- the massive remnant of the stub of 280 which had been intended to continue on through the current ballpark site to connect with the Embarcadero Freeway. by the time these photos were taken, it had already been amputated and the new off-ramps onto King are in place.


I worked on Townsend from 1996 to 1998 and I distinctly remember the King Street widening and connection to 280 was still under construction in 1996. I think it opened in 1997. Until that time all cars exited onto Berry Street and the 280 "main lanes" continued as a stub all the way to Third Street. The section between Third and Fourth was the first to go, I believe. The rest was demolished mostly after I stopped working in the area, so I'm guessing it started in 1998 and finished up in 1999. I also remember the warehouses between King and Berry where the Ballpark is now had only been partially demolished in 1996 (I helped someone move out of their office in one of those buildings in 1996).

So this is a small quibble, but I think these photos are from 1997.

And it's great to see the old RV park on Townsend between Third and Fourth! That was always such a freaky sight on my way to work in the morning.

Despite what many say about the quality of architecture in Mission Bay, the redevelopment has certainly been an enormous improvement for the area.

[timbad]

So this is a small quibble, but I think these photos are from 1997.


thanks KVNBKLYN, I bet you're right.

[WildCowboy]

Thanks for the updates, timbad! I'd been waiting with anticipation for some new photos, and you certainly delivered.

Particularly excited to see the Radiance cranes up.

[patriotizzy]

I'm glad if they are helpful!

as for the open space parcels, some open space has been part of the overall Mission Bay plan in some form for decades, though their current planned sizes and locations did not become finalized until about ten years ago or so, and their design somewhat less than that (when I moved back into the area in 2007 I was handed a map that already had little versions of some of these designs on it - this one (http://missionbayparks.com/future.php)).

I don't think the America's Cup was ever going to impact any of Mission Bay proper - an early version of the arrangement with the City had them on Piers 48 and 50, some of which belong to the adjacent (to the northeast) seawall lot 337 that the SF Giants are trying to put a development plan together for. I think under the revised agreement there are no longer any Cup facilities planned for those piers?

Very cool. Crazy how long things can take to get going. Even when it's just a bunch of small parks that don't require as much attention as buildings, and their impact. Thanks again :D

[WildCowboy]

Still not sure if Pier 70 talk should be included here (possibly officially expanding the title of the thread to add it) or if it might better belong in a new thread, but since Pier 70 seems destined to almost become an annex of Mission Bay in some regards, I'll keep adding things here.

Six big developers vie for San Francisco's Pier 70 (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2011/01/six-developers-vie-for-sfs-pier-70.html)

Six teams are in the running to redevelop Pier 70, a project that represents the next frontier of commercial development in San Francisco, according to the Port of San Francisco.
The groups responding to the port’s request for qualification were: Build Inc.; Forest City Development California; Mission Bay Development Group; San Francisco Waterfront Partners; TMG Partners, partnering with the Sobrato Organization; and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. All of the developers responding have built projects in San Francisco while the Veterans Affairs agency has been looking to build a new San Francisco medical center near Mission Bay.

A lot of interest and a nice group of teams involved, several of which have participated in either development of or proposals in Mission Bay and the Port's nearby Seawall Lot 337. I've mentioned the VA in this thread previously: They've outgrown Fort Miley and are looking to relocate in up to 2 million sf of space. They were looking at the land that Salesforce grabbed, so they'd really like to lock up Pier 70 I'm sure. Locating so close to UCSF's Mission Bay hospital would be a major, major plus for both them and UCSF.

[Gordo]

Thanks for the timbad and WildCowboy!

WildCowboy - is the VA looking to relocate all operations from Fort Miley and close that location down? I assume so, with your 2 million sf number, but I was still curious.

[WildCowboy]

WildCowboy - is the VA looking to relocate all operations from Fort Miley and close that location down? I assume so, with your 2 million sf number, but I was still curious.

Yes, they are looking at a complete relocation away from Fort Miley. The current facility is 1.1 million sf, and they're looking for 2 million at a new campus, although they could do away with less if they get some synergies with UCSF to consolidate some services.

The Fort Miley facility can't really be expanded, and they're already short hundreds of parking spaces there, so relocation is their plan of action, as they likely don't want to go to a split-campus plan if they don't have to.

Not clear what would happen to Fort Miley, although suggestions have been turning it over to the Presidio Trust or doing a land swap with the city somehow.

[WildCowboy]

Grabbed this shot from the UCSF neurosciences building webcam (http://oxblue.com/pro/open/clarkconstruction/ucsf19a)...exterior starting to come together.

http://i54.tinypic.com/20rl16r.jpg

[1977]

Grabbed this shot from the UCSF neurosciences building webcam (http://oxblue.com/pro/open/clarkconstruction/ucsf19a)...exterior starting to come together.

http://i54.tinypic.com/20rl16r.jpg

Awesome. Thanks for the update.

[1977]

Here are some renderings and info about SFPD's new Mission Bay building.

SFPD's Mission Bay building could set design tone

Whatever its other virtues, San Francisco's young Mission Bay neighborhood has never won praise for architecture of dignified heft. Now that might change, courtesy of an unlikely source: the city's Police Department.

The folks in blue are the future tenants of a $164 million, 285,000-square-foot public safety building whose conceptual designs were released without fanfare this month. The question now is whether the earnest but elegant potential of the design will be realized - or if what gets built instead is another missed opportunity in the 300-acre redevelopment district.

The proposed half-block complex at Third and China Basin streets would include a neighborhood fire station and police station as well as the city's new police headquarters. Plans also include restoring a 6,600-square-foot brick firehouse on the southwest corner of the site for community use.

Where the fire station is snug and almost domestic, with a pitched roof and diminutive stone arches, the public safety building would be a large collage of right-angled forms.

One 90-foot-high wing would line Third Street north of the fire station, five stories of glass-skinned office space perched on a concrete base. Its companion would extend the length of the site's west edge, with one less floor of offices and taller concrete walls that hide a garage for police vehicles.

Described in these bare terms, the block could be the latest leaden addition to Mission Bay's blocky landscape. And with security concerns ruling out ground-floor retail, the sidewalk environment could be as bleak as many of the laboratory buildings at the neighborhood's UCSF campus.

Delicate rigor

Fortunately, project architects and the planners at the Redevelopment Agency recognize that a bureaucratic bunker is the last thing Mission Bay needs.

The design team is headed by the San Francisco office of HOK, the world's third-largest architecture firm. But the stylistic approach owes much to the local firm on the team, Mark Cavagnero Associates: There's the same delicate rigor found at Cavagnero's Sava Pool in the Parkside district, or his ODC Theatre in the Mission.

The concrete base that provides a shield would be syncopated with deep vertical slits, for instance, while the glass facade above would be enlivened by varied patterns of clear and translucent glass. Most imaginative of all, each wing of office space would come wrapped in a detached metal scrim that doubles as an eye-catching frame, projecting 15 feet beyond the west-facing walls.

The scrim would also serve as a sunshade, testimony to HOK's emphasis on sustainable design. There are other green touches as well, including 12,000 square feet of rain-absorbing rooftop plants.

No matter how humane, modernism at this scale would be out of place in many neighborhoods. Here, though, it could provide a needed gravitas to Mission Bay - where too many residential buildings are three-dimensional planning diagrams, and too many lab buildings look like they should sit near a highway exit.

This doesn't mean success is assured.

Striking a balance

Scale is a challenge; the complex is modest by neighborhood standards, but it's imposing alongside the cozy fire station that is the only historic structure for blocks around. That disparity, combined with the mostly solid ground-floor walls, make the fine-grain architectural details all the more important.

Another danger is that what gets built could be too monochromatic. The metal scrim shouldn't be Giants' orange or police squad blue, to be sure. But if all the materials are variations on concrete gray - with subtle distinctions only an architect can appreciate - casual passers-by will see just another government slab.

This is a pivotal year for Mission Bay. Housing developers again are pitching proposals. Software firm Salesforce has purchased 14 acres of land across from the UCSF hospital now under construction.

The public safety building already has bond funding, and it could break ground by the end of the year. What happens between now and then is crucial. The city has the chance to set a tone of civic substance, and the final round of design decisions will determine if it succeeds or fails.

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/01/28/ba-missionbay30__0502897038.jpg

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/01/28/ba-missionbay30__0502897035.jpg

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/01/29/ba-missionbay013_SFCG1296184279.jpg

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/30/BAM61HFN28.DTL

[peanut gallery]

There's definitely some potential here and I'd like to see the Mission Rock elevation. That screening ("detached metal scrim") could turn out really cool, or look really dirty and cheap. I like the glass, but we've seen a similar approach on 1500 Owens and CVRB. You can have too much of a good thing, so after this let's call a moratorium on the varying-sizes-and-tints-of-blue-glass look in Mission Bay. ;)

For anyone who doesn't already know, the historic firehouse is far more interesting than those renders depict. I wish it could remain a working fire station, but I imagine that's not very realistic operationally.

[peanut gallery]

timbad - thanks a lot for the updates from the visitor's center! Great look at the future northwest corner of MB. It looks to me like the west end of parcel 12 will be retail and the eastern half will be residential over retail or just residential (if the units around the perimeter are townhouses maybe?). And I like the look of those small parks along Terry Francois so far. Can't wait to see P21 and P22.

[timbad]

:previous: I'm with pg that reflective blue-gray glass etc will get old quick if applied too many times in a small area. and overall I'm not sold on that building either - that screen/scrim is not enough to make it interesting to me, but we'll have to see in real life.

a few gray shots from over the weekend...

thanks to WC for pointing out the progress on the neurosciences building. I don't usually post with updates on that one since the webcam does a good job of that already, but here is a shot of the exterior along the west façade which the camera doesn't show:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5407108710_df80c20963_b.jpg

and from a little farther away, on Owens:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5093/5406502675_7b01505efe_b.jpg

both cranes at Radiance IIa were busy on Saturday:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5135/5407116350_894a90d2bf_b.jpg

... and a forest of concrete trunks and rebar foliage is growing from the south side of the site. this is looking at the southwest corner from Third (and maybe I should point out that you can see the brick firehouse in the distance on the left - the new police building will be across the street to the north of the Radiance II site, in case that wasn't clear from the article):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/5407111134_30b1416bf8_b.jpg

back over at the northwest corner of MB, they have done some grading and compacting, so maybe they are ready to start making some of the surface changes soon. there was this path newly poured, but I don't know if that's just a temporary one or will be part of the final product. this is looking southeast, and I think the future roundabout must be about where the pile of gravel is behind the backhoe:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5407114848_940fb1ae09_b.jpg

this is looking back west-southwest at what used to be the corner of Channel and Sixth. you can see that what looks like the masts of streetlights have been delivered and are lying on the ground on the right side - another sign that we might finally start to see the first signs of what the area will look like, soon. the previous pic was taken thru the fence beyond those posts. the area in the foreground of this shot is probably about where the westernmost parking spaces for the houseboat folks will be.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5406506107_cdf701a499_b.jpg

[1977]

Thanks Timbad! It's great to see Radiance II coming out of the ground. It looks like they'll be building at least one of the 'towers' in the first phase.

[timbad]

a few updates from the weekend...

first, a building permit issued to Mercy Housing has been posted on the fence on the corner of Fourth at Channel. this would seem to be for the project on block 13 East, which currently looks like this (looking south, so Fourth is off to the left behind the green fence):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5055/5444086415_070283c568_b.jpg

if that gets going soon, it will be quite satisfactory to have *four* major buildings in progress at once again (in addition to the infrastructure). it seems that the current construction in the area aims at defining block 13, meaning its sidewalks and the streets that bound it. on the west end, there is the short connector street(s) that will run between Channel and Long Bridge and have the dog run in its 'median', and which might be called Fifth St. they were busy grading and compacting it on Saturday:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/5444669330_b3e6dc40e3_b.jpg

on the block's south side, Long Bridge has already been smoothed flat:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/5444070617_558c53b5de_b.jpg

next, a few shots of the brick fire station, since it was in the news. looking south down Third (with Radiance II rising behind it):

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/5444084577_ee13da1165_b.jpg

looking north up Third:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/5444667692_c7bdd92be3_b.jpg

and a close-up:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/5444064523_d411548b59_b.jpg

speaking of Radiance II... I had thought that I could tell that most of the construction was being done on the south side of the large parcel (which corresponds to the taller side of the project and which we had speculated represented phase IIa), but looking around the site this weekend, it seems that the building is rising equally across the entire thing. here is the northwest corner:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5052/5444684620_bfc4e1523d_b.jpg

here looking north along Third from the *newly opened* Commons parcel:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/5444079915_4369d8d7c8_b.jpg

and taking in a bit more of the southwest corner:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/5444679342_c33bfd3c7d_b.jpg

the lighting wasn't really optimum for taking pics of the Commons - here is just one shot looking west from the end of the adjacent parcel:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/5444081615_6867c23b3d_b.jpg

couple of random shots... first, just because it's a perspective I don't usually shoot, here is a look at the med center site from the southeast corner looking north:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/5444074921_6c1bc7fb62_b.jpg

... and although there were decent looks at it from a distance in earlier shots, here is the north side of the neurosciences building with its exterior in place (Rock Hall on the left):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/5444072233_71367df622_b.jpg

Nelson Rising Lane, which is the street you sort of see in that pic, is shaping up to be the utilitarian back alley of the campus; all the buildings so far pretty much turn their backs to it.

over in the northwest corner of MB, there hasn't been much change since the last shots posted, disappointingly. I really thought we were about to see something other than dirt these last couple weeks, but it can't be far off.

[peanut gallery]

As always, thanks for the great updates, timbad! You can still make out where the street used to cut diagonally right next to the old firehouse -- some of the old curbs are still visible in the middle of what's now a block. And I love seeing the progress on Radiance II. When they announced phasing the project I assumed they'd do the whole foundation at the same time but it sure looks like they're going well beyond that. Perhaps they'll do the whole podium and build up from there in phases. Or perhaps they've decided to do it all at once, which would be fantastic.

[1977]

Timbad! Thanks again for the updates. I've been trying to find a Radiance West webcam so this update was extra special. Does anyone have a link to one? I figured there might be an oxblue cam out there but my searches have come up empty.

[viewguysf]

Yes timbad, you're the best!

[WildCowboy]

Great shots as always, timbad!

Looks like Salesforce could break ground as soon as later this year. They've brought on Strada as a development firm to work with Legoretta on the campus.

I don't have access to the full article, so anyone with more details is invited to share. :)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2011/02/18/salesforce-strada-mission-bay-HQ.html

[1977]

Great shots as always, timbad!

Looks like Salesforce could break ground as soon as later this year. They've brought on Strada as a development firm to work with Legoretta on the campus.

I don't have access to the full article, so anyone with more details is invited to share. :)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2011/02/18/salesforce-strada-mission-bay-HQ.html

You can read the full article here (http://digital.bizjournals.com/launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=&refresh=9q1F0Kd38n0P&EID=dc24b782-de2c-479e-a190-00904bfc57d5&skip=). Flip to page 4.

[WildCowboy]

You can read the full article here (http://digital.bizjournals.com/launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=&refresh=9q1F0Kd38n0P&EID=dc24b782-de2c-479e-a190-00904bfc57d5&skip=). Flip to page 4.

Awesome...thanks!

[1977]

I found some renderings and info about 'Block 5' (see map below for reference). I'm not sure how current these renderings are but the project looks pretty clean, imo.

MISSION BAY
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - COMPLETION 2013
Mission Bay is a multi phased residential mixed-use development that forms a new urban center with the UC biotech campus. The master plan is by Johnson Fein. The 8 towers range up to 16 floors and contain over 1000 units and 30,000 square feet of retail. We are currently designing Block 5. Block 10A has been built and block 10 is under construction by Bosa Development. Working with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency these sites will have the highest quality streetscapes integrating parks, bike routes, mass transit, and retail activity.

http://www.cfdarchitecture.com/CFD_Architecture/Mission_Bay_files/shapeimage_3.png

http://www.cfdarchitecture.com/CFD_Architecture/Mission_Bay_files/shapeimage_2.png

http://www.cfdarchitecture.com/CFD_Architecture/Mission_Bay_files/shapeimage_1.png
Source: http://www.cfdarchitecture.com/CFD_Architecture/Mission_Bay.html

[WildCowboy]

To be clear, Block 5 is only about 200 units. I'm not sure what the 1,000 units they're referring to is, but it seems to be some subset of the overall master plan. Same with the comment about 8 towers.

Still, not bad looking...it'll do as far as I'm concerned.

[peanut gallery]

I'm almost positive the last two renderings both show the eastern elevation along 4th, but they look quite different from each other, especially at ground level. I wonder which is more current? That's supposed to be retail along that side, and the rest of the triangular lot (on the west side) will be a park.

WildCowboy: I think the subset they are talking about is what's highlighted in red on the map. Not sure why those are associated with each other though. BTW, that would mean two more "towers" are slated for block 2.

[1977]

I'm almost positive the last two renderings both show the eastern elevation along 4th, but they look quite different from each other, especially at ground level. I wonder which is more current? That's supposed to be retail along that side, and the rest of the triangular lot (on the west side) will be a park.

WildCowboy: I think the subset they are talking about is what's highlighted in red on the map. Not sure why those are associated with each other though. BTW, that would mean two more "towers" are slated for block 2.

Yeah, I think you're right PG. The road that is 'cutoff' in the smaller rendering looks to be Mission Rock Blvd with the park (Timbad's post #760) out of sight to the west.

I'm not positive but I think all of the "8 Towers" are associated with Bosa Development. The finished Radiance building (2 'towers') + the under construction Radiance West (2 towers) + Block 5 (2 towers) + 2 (?) towers at Block 2 = 8

[dr_strangelove]

My worst nightmare is that the city is devastated by an earthquake and we use the Mission Bay model to rebuild.

[WildCowboy]

I think the subset they are talking about is what's highlighted in red on the map. Not sure why those are associated with each other though. BTW, that would mean two more "towers" are slated for block 2.

Makes sense, but like you, I don't understand why they're lumped together here.

I'm not positive but I think all of the "8 Towers" are associated with Bosa Development. The finished Radiance building (2 'towers') + the under construction Radiance West (2 towers) + Block 5 (2 towers) + 2 (?) towers at Block 2 = 8

Nope, or at least the "red" blocks don't exactly correspond to Bosa's holdings. The map shows blocks 2, 5, 10, and 10a in read. Bosa does own 5, 10, and 10a, but Block 2 is owned by UDR. Bosa also owns Block 13 West, which is not included in the red portions of the above map. Whether that's an error by the folks who created the map (highlighting the wrong block) or this subset has some other meaning, I don't know.

Here (http://www.sfredevelopment.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2410) is a good up-to-date map showing ownership and plans for each of the blocks.

[WildCowboy]

Another development...this one's not in Mission Bay, but right next door to it. CCA has bought up the old Greyhound maintenance yard on the block between its main building and 7th. No immediate plans for permanent development, but they're looking at temporary uses.

Terrific news...that maintenance yard area has been an eyesore for quite some time...love to get more things going on along 7th to spruce up that edge facing Mission Bay.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2011/02/28/cca-buys-25-acres-in-mission-bay.html

[timbad]

:previous: yes, encouraging news re: Seventh St! altho having both the freeway and the train tracks there reinforces the feeling of Seventh as a border (not to mention how wide the street itself is), it sure would be nice to soften the transition a bit with some development that might help to link MB with Showplace Square and even the foot of Potrero Hill. (side note: even tho rather unlikely, managing to sort things out in a way that would allow undergrounding of the tracks further south when - I optimistically say 'when' - high-speed rail comes through would help a lot there too; maybe then a BRT or streetcar line out Sixteenth even. we dream)

and, I'm OK with that rendering of the block 5 project, whichever way it finally gets built. has some nice height and either way does break up the streetscape a little. having it and block 13 East and block 2, which I think we have said previously is also coming along in the pipeline, all in place in the next couple of years will do a lot to frame the northern entrance to the residential heart of MB, link up lonely Strata, and get us toward critical mass needed for the retail on Fourth. :cheers:

couple of updates, since it's been a while...

speaking of the northern gateway into MB, Long Bridge (the street running for a short distance along one side of the block 5 project) is getting its streetlights! here looking through the fence showing the extension of the stub that had already been done when Fourth Street was completed:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5501972826_9be6d193d2_b.jpg

and here a clearer shot down the new street (block 5 will be on the left; block 13 on the right):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5501381553_0c28c319f3_b.jpg

of course, eventually it will continue on through the building currently in its path, but as mentioned before, they seem to be putting in just the block 13 portion, plus the little bit by the future dog run that connects it with Channel to the north. here is the state of that part (looking southeast; block 13 on the left, future dog run under the pile of debris on the right, beyond it the future triangular children's park that is the rest of block 5. in the distance they were busy assembling the roof structure on the neurosciences building on Saturday):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5211/5501981172_522f46ccd2_b.jpg

and over at Radiance II, here's how things are looking (anyone find a webcam yet?).... seen from Fourth, the building is solidly peeking above the fencing, and it won't be too long before it blots out Radiance I:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5060/5501979090_7d77554a99_b.jpg

looking at the southeast corner from the Commons:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5056/5501383091_8ba3e8b06b_b.jpg

and looking at the north side from Third. I'm not sure why they had the sidewalk partially torn out on the north side of the street:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5501977560_42b9aa8c7e_b.jpg

and, almost forgot, here is what things look like in the northwest corner of MB. still pretty much dirt, but a lot of flat, orderly dirt just screaming for structure to be thrown on top of it. looking south:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/5501970652_6f8b40624d_b.jpg

not in the picture, the asphalt path noted in an earlier photo has now had fencing put around it, and seems to be a new temporary pedestrian path around the site, which might mean that where the old path is, nearer the creek, will be torn up soon.

[1977]

Makes sense, but like you, I don't understand why they're lumped together here.



Nope, or at least the "red" blocks don't exactly correspond to Bosa's holdings. The map shows blocks 2, 5, 10, and 10a in read. Bosa does own 5, 10, and 10a, but Block 2 is owned by UDR. Bosa also owns Block 13 West, which is not included in the red portions of the above map. Whether that's an error by the folks who created the map (highlighting the wrong block) or this subset has some other meaning, I don't know.

Here (http://www.sfredevelopment.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2410) is a good up-to-date map showing ownership and plans for each of the blocks.

Thanks for the map and clarification WildCowboy.

Timbad - Thanks for the photo update! Much appreciated as I rarely make it to that part of town.

[timbad]

brief update from this weekend... the neurosciences building is getting some glass on its west side:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5524885075_b85dca629c_b.jpg

you can also see it in the distance in this shot showing some of the northwest MB work (which does not show much change):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5525477504_7b44c38a43_b.jpg

the biggest change on the ground there is that, as suspected, they've dug a shallow gash from the site of the current work to the creek, cutting through where the pedestrian path ran until this week. this is looking roughly north from the newly re-routed ped path:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5140/5524889627_a0e94f6ccd_b.jpg

in the first image in this post (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=5118937&postcount=761), the place where the gash is is occupied by a multi-colored swath that might be a bioswale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioswale), but I have no idea whether the two are related at this point.

elsewhere, I noticed that a long trench that had sat open for months, running along the future South Mission Bay Blvd west of Fourth, had been covered and smoothed over. since it seemed to reach all the way to, and probably connect with, the northwest work, it might be another indication that they are wrapping up underground and ready to do some stuff that we can see.

[Potrero]

Good news,

I drove by the hospital construction site Saturday and they had started putting up the crane. We should see things going up pretty soon.

[WildCowboy]

From the webcam (http://www.onsiteview.com/ucsfmedcenter/). It's pretty poor resolution, but I've added an arrow where it looks like the first section of the yellow crane tower is coming up.

http://i56.tinypic.com/nc1dp3.jpg

[timbad]

... It's pretty poor resolution, but I've added an arrow where it looks like the first section of the yellow crane tower is coming up.

I can corroborate - that's how I saw it from the train this morning too.

not to try to be a wet blanket, but if this site is anything like Radiance II, the crane-stub could sit there for a couple of months before anything more vertical happens. but we'll hope this is different!