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

[hi123]

Wow! I've been looing for a rendering of 77 for months! Thanks BT! It actually looks like a solid well designed building, just like 818!

[nequidnimis]

Not the rendering I had seen before, but a great rendering as well: Very contextual, and yet distinctive.

[peanut gallery]

While Turnberry has leased a sales office for its 227-unit tower at 45 Lansing, it shows no sign of actually building out the sales office, which is likely to take nine months.

Even more troubling, the space they leased is also supposed to house their construction office. I walk by there at least once a week, sometimes peering in the windows, and have seen absolutely nothing happening. Nada. A sales office is one thing (it won't be needed for awhile), but they'll want their construction offices in place before starting work. Granted it won't take 9 months to get a construction office ready, but it's the next visible sign onsite that construction might begin soon and it ain't happening yet.

In my humble and novice opinion, ORH2 will be the last work we see on Rincon Hill in awhile. I'd like to hope that by its completion, 45 Lansing or one of the Fremont properties will get started. But I'm not optimistic.

[BTinSF]

:previous:

I'm not quite as pessimistic as that. For one thing, I don't think they need a construction office to do the excavation which takes at least 6 months typically. The excavator probably won 't even be the same company as the builder.

[peanut gallery]

Now, I'm Mr. Doom and Gloom. :(

Lets move back to smaller projects that are underway. Here's the latest from One Kearny showing how it fills the streetwall:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2657831594_2c4742fb2d_b.jpg

I'm hopeful these notches will add interest to the facade:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2657008073_5e08351831_b.jpg

This is what it looks like from the Geary side:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3288/2656999929_edb49b6bed_b.jpg

[peanut gallery]

It's not new construction, but the renovated One Ecker finally had the wraps removed:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3052/2657838336_6810afd3c6_b.jpg

This will be a great place to live if you want to live right in the FiDi:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2657842392_49ca0373cb_b.jpg

There's still a little scaffolding up:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3073/2657844644_e5321503c2_b.jpg

[BTinSF]

Friday, July 11, 2008
S.F. tower developer GLL goes to green extreme
Transbay action fuels new $220M highrise
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

In the latest sign that Mission Street continues to thrive despite the economic downturn, GLL Development & Management is pushing forward with a 27-story tower at 350 Mission St., a super green design that could be the first San Francisco skyscraper to use non-biodegradable materials like plastic bottles and Styrofoam in some places instead of concrete.

GLL, which also built 199 Fremont St., hopes to win planning approvals on the $200 million Mission Street building by early 2009, which would allow for construction to start in mid-to-late 2009, according to company President David Wall. The developer will start marketing the building late this month and is seriously considering building on a speculative basis.

"Right now my charter is to have it partially pre-leased, about 30 percent," said Wall. "However, it is possible that I will get approval to go spec. If the city gave me approval today, I would push very hard to go spec because I think we're in the right cycle."

The new tower would replace a five-story building Heald College occupies on the corner of Mission and Fremont streets. If the tower is built without a tenant in hand, it would be the third speculative tower rising within two blocks of the proposed Transbay Terminal and Tower along the burgeoning Mission Street corridor. Tishman Speyer is expected to complete its 550,000-square-foot 555 Mission St. at the end of this year, and Beacon Capital Partners received permits July 2 to start driving piles at 535 Mission St., which will be just under 300,000 square feet. Six months away from opening, 555 Mission is over 50 percent leased, with DLA Piper, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and Sequoia Capital all signing significant deals.

At 27 stories, the 340,000-square-foot building proposed is shorter than the current 550-foot height limit allowed and dramatically less than the 700 feet the proposed Transbay District rezoning would allow. But with its relatively small lot -- about 19,000 square feet -- a higher building doesn't work economically, Wall said. Going beyond 27 stories would require a second elevator bank and force GLL to increase the "load factor" -- the non-leasable portion of the building dedicated to elevators, restrooms and mechanical rooms -- from 20 to about 30 percent.

"It just doesn't pencil," said Wall. "Believe me, I wish it did. Everybody wants more height. Give me a larger parcel, and I'll get more height."

The green approach

While all proposed new office buildings in the city are striving for certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, GLL says it is committed to achieving a gold rating and hopes to create one of the first carbon neutral commercial buildings on the West Coast. Besides environmental provisions that are becoming increasingly common -- such as providing bike parking, harvesting rainwater, and creating HVAC systems that only heat and cool areas that are occupied -- the developer is hoping to use a new material Skidmore Owings and Merrill engineers are developing called a Sustainable Form Inclusion System. The system takes post-consumer recycled materials -- everything from plastic bottles to old recycled tires -- and uses it instead of concrete to fill voids within the superstructure and foundation. "Throwaway" materials, such as Styrofoam or plastic bottles, which would normally sit in a landfill for centuries, both decrease the weight of the building and add additional strength.

In 350 Mission St., the recycled materials used would be equal to approximately 5,400 cubic yards of concrete -- equal to 600 truckloads or enough to lay approximately 20 miles of residential sidewalk, according to Wall.

"David came to us looking for something unique and looking to create something great," said Masis Mesropian of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, who is designing the building with colleague Craig Hartman. "I think it's going to be a wonderful urban space."

A special public realm

What the building may lack in height, the developers are hoping to make up for with pioneering sustainable features as well as a dramatic public space at the street level. The design lifts the first floor of office 50 feet above grade, creating a spacious public lobby with 90 linear feet of space that will open up to the street, when weather permits, with folding glass panels. A glass and wood "grand staircase" will connect the ground floor with an additional mezzanine level facing the street, where an upscale restaurant and bar will open onto the existing plaza at 45 Fremont St.

"We are trying to blur the line between what is the public realm and what is the private realm," said Wall.

As an extension of the grand staircase, the architects have created a stepped amphitheater within the lobby allowing informal lunchtime dining and special event viewing. Digital lighting and metallic scrims will create an "ephemeral cloud-like effect," and video art installations will be projected in the lobby. A retail pavilion will be housed in a two-story translucent glass oval, lit from below and culminating in a floating cloud-like roof on which images, visible from the lobby, will be projected. The developer is also looking into lobby benches that automatically move. Bold statement

In addition to SOM, the development team includes engineers Flack + Kurtz and Cornish & Carey Commercial. Cornish & Carey's Nick Slonek, Karl Baldauf and John Cashin are handling the leasing of the building.

With the Transbay Tower slated to rise catty-corner from 350 Mission and the Millennium Tower under construction across the street at 333 Mission St., Wall said it was imperative to make as bold a statement as possible with the tower.

"It's a pretty powerful intersection surrounded by very tall buildings," said Wall. "It almost looks like it's in a bowl. Everything is converging on Fremont and Mission because of the new Transbay."

Given the size limitations of the site, the plan seems to strive to make the lobby "as gracious as possible," said senior planner David Alumbaugh.

"I do think they are working hard to connect the inside to the outside and activate the public space to make it seem as public and open as possible," he said.


jkdineen@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4971


Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/07/14/story3.html?t=printable

To make up for the lack of height . . . . I like the sound of that. His heart's in the right place.

The site--per http://www.socketsite.com/

http://www.socketsite.com/350%20Mission%20-%20Existing.jpg

[BTinSF]

Friday, July 11, 2008
California Pacific Medical Center forced to think small
Med center's $1.7B plan may hinge on St. Luke's
San Francisco Business Times - by Chris Rauber

California Pacific Medical Center, backed into a corner by recommendations from a blue-ribbon panel on salvaging its St. Luke's Hospital, must now design a new 60- to 80-bed version of the now 140-bed Mission District hospital that won't be an economic basket case.

In large part, insiders say, success on that front will depend on CPMC gaining swift support from San Francisco officials for its proposed $1.7 billion, 555-bed Cathedral Hill medical campus at Geary Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue.

"Time is money. There's an urgency here to fast track both this hospital and the Cathedral Hill hospital," said Stephen Shortell, dean of the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and the panel's chairman. That will require "the continued support" of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the mayor's office, Shortell said, noting that all the key players "understand the interdependencies here."

If the huge new Cathedral Hill project moves through the city approval process quickly, Shortell suggested, CPMC could save many millions of dollars in construction inflation costs it would otherwise incur. But without that fast-tracking, the compromise solution could fall apart.

"It's kind of threading the needle," he noted, "but we're optimistic."

Shortell and CPMC officials agree the new plan only makes sense because the new St. Luke's would be part of an integrated system that includes other campuses, support capabilities and financial resources. "This would be dead at the beginning if it were a stand-alone, free-standing hospital," Shortell said.

CPMC hopes to move much of its citywide inpatient services to the new Cathedral Hill complex, shuffling other services among St. Luke's, its Pacific campus in Pacific Heights, California campus in the Richmond District and Davies campus in the Castro District. Judy Li, St. Luke's chief administrative officer, agreed that the panel's recommendations can only work if the new St. Luke's is envisioned as "a portal of entry to the CPMC system," fully integrated into CPMC 's overall planning.

Planning for that has already started internally, she told the Business Times on July 8, although it's still unclear exactly what services and departments would be part of a rebuilt, slimmed-down St. Luke's.

The 31-member panel -- which included representatives of key labor unions, CPMC, the mayor's office, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, various local politicos and other community, health-care and business groups -- recommended early this month that CPMC build a smaller facility to replace the aging 143-bed structure (including 66 acute-care beds), focusing on preventive, senior and family care. But it also insisted that the facility include an emergency department, an ICU, urgent care and medical-surgical care. That would make the rebuilt St. Luke's a full-fledged hospital, subject to all the regulatory requirements hospitals face. San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier estimated the new facility's cost at $120 million, but at the Bay Area's approximately $2.5 million-per-bed recent average, a new St. Luke's could check in at $160 million to $200 million, if it included 80 beds.

CPMC -- and parent Sutter Health -- faced severe political pressure to accept the panel's recommendations because the Cathedral Hill hospital's fate is in the hands of the Board of Supervisors, which in turn is heavily influenced by labor unions, especially the politically powerful United Health Care Workers West local, part of the Service Employees International Union.

Sal Rosselli, president of the Oakland-based local, has long made it clear that UHW sees Cathedral Hill's future as dependent on a satisfactory resolution at St. Luke's, and other issues important to the union.

Earlier, CPMC CEO Martin Brotman, M.D., dug in his heels and insisted that St. Luke's days as an acute-care center were over, and that it should be converted to an outpatient hub for CPMC in the South of Market area. He also insisted that CPMC couldn't afford to continue subsidizing St. Luke's, arguing that Sutter has invested close to $300 million in the facility since 2001, including improvements and accumulated financial losses averaging $35 million a year.

But political reality has apparently dictated otherwise. San Francisco "is a pretty unique landscape" politically, St. Luke's Li acknowledged.

CPMC is working to schedule a special board meeting on the issue, which is expected to happen "as soon as possible," according to Li. Brotman was not available to comment on the situation.

crauber@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4946
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/07/14/story2.html?t=printable

Anybody want to lay odds on the city not screwing this up?

[Gordo]

Anybody want to lay odds on the city not screwing this up?

:(

I just really want the nasty-pedestrian-hating Cathedral Hill Hotel to bite the dust soon, so I really hope nothing delays the new hospital at Geary/Van Ness. That's my least favorite block of Van Ness to walk on, just because there's a good chance that you'll be mowed down by a car exiting one of the garages speeding through the curb cuts...

[BTinSF]

I want the nasty building on Geary between Van Ness and Polk that I used to work in to bite the dust. My former employer sold it to CPMC which plans to build on both sides of Van Ness (hospital on the west, offices on the east) with a tunnel connecting them.

[Reminiscence]

Nice tidbits there BT, definitly some exciting projects in the works. Its too bad 350 wont be as tall as we thought, but the description given about the lobby and such makes it all for the better. I'd apreciate it if CPMC had an easy time going through the city as well, but I wont hold my breath.

[livin' in the city]

Sounds like there are renderings for 350. I would love to see those if anybody out there can get their hands on them.

[JAC6]

As to 350 Mission, here are some additional shots of the existing building to get some context, particularly as to 301 Mission and 50 Fremont.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg30/jcrotty_bucket/skyscraper/35001.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg30/jcrotty_bucket/skyscraper/35002.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg30/jcrotty_bucket/skyscraper/35003.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg30/jcrotty_bucket/skyscraper/35004.jpg

[BTinSF]

818 Van Ness now has a web site: http://www.theartani.com but there's not much there. Not even a rendering.

But it does tell us this will join Arterra and Argenta in the Ar.... group of condo names. What's with that?

[CityKid]

. . .is coming out of the ground. This rendering is from socketsite.com:

http://www.socketsite.com/1299%20Bush%20Rendering.jpg

Here are photos I took today:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/2669857648_0a13ff6ef1_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/2669859126_d16a656ce6_b.jpg

[Gordo]

:previous: They need to just build up and not worry about taking down that BMW ad - that way when I'm old and one of the buildings is coming down, we'll have an old picture of a "gas-powered car" to show all the young whippersnappers :)

[c1tyguy]

For those of you who have yet to make it over to SocketSite, here is a rendering of 350 Mission:

http://www.socketsite.com/350%20Mission%20Rendering.jpg

[POLA]

oh hell yes...

[Reminiscence]

Thats a gorgeous rendering, one that deserves more than one view. This may seem like a pedestrian-like question, but in order to maximize height, why dont they make this into a mixed-use building with residential on top of office?

[BTinSF]

. . .is coming out of the ground. This rendering is from socketsite.com:


Ah, so that's the crane I see looking way up Larkin as my bus crosses it. Assuming it was another 9-story T-Loin infill (they are sprouting like mushrooms), I never bothered to walk that far up to look. But it IS nice looking--in some way it looks a lot like 818 Van Ness.

[BTinSF]

Thats a gorgeous rendering, one that deserves more than one view. This may seem like a pedestrian-like question, but in order to maximize height, why dont they make this into a mixed-use building with residential on top of office?

I'm guessing they want nothing to do with residential right now and their lenders probably don't either. I'm just thrilled they are apparently willing to go ahead building office "on spec" if necessary.

[BTinSF]

Thats a gorgeous rendering

Yes, it is. But a bit disingenuous. It makes the building look wedge-shaped which it won't be--it'll be a standard rectangle and with all the public space inside (so no open plaza next door), a little "chunky" appearing I fear.

[JAC6]

That rendering of 350 Mission is quite dramatic. Seems like an interesting angle at the top of the building at the corner of Mission and Fremont. Looks like an impressive glass atrium as well. Hard to get much on what it will look like in context though. But intriguing, to be sure.

[JAC6]

Yes, it is. But a bit disingenuous. It makes the building look wedge-shaped which it won't be--it'll be a standard rectangle and with all the public space inside (so no open plaza next door), a little "chunky" appearing I fear.

Then the rendering isn't much good, as that angle seems like the key feature above the first few floors. Is that narrow plaza next to 55 Fremont that leads to the Blue Cross of California going to be gone?

[Reminiscence]

Yes, it is. But a bit disingenuous. It makes the building look wedge-shaped which it won't be--it'll be a standard rectangle and with all the public space inside (so no open plaza next door), a little "chunky" appearing I fear.

I suppose its all about making a good first impression. When I first saw it, its roof looked similar to the roof of Millenium, but it seems like its just the angle of exposure. The lobby looks impressive, but I agree that the building will look "chunky", which is why I think this definitly deserves more height to it (at least for being in the location where it is).

[peanut gallery]

Is that narrow plaza next to 55 Fremont that leads to the Blue Cross of California going to be gone?

According to the description from the SF Business Times that BT posted, the plaza will remain as they are designing the public space for 350 Mission to take advantage of it:

The design lifts the first floor of office 50 feet above grade, creating a spacious public lobby with 90 linear feet of space that will open up to the street, when weather permits, with folding glass panels. A glass and wood "grand staircase" will connect the ground floor with an additional mezzanine level facing the street, where an upscale restaurant and bar will open onto the existing plaza at 45 Fremont St.


it'll be a standard rectangle and with all the public space inside (so no open plaza next door), a little "chunky" appearing I fear.

From the description you posted above, I think the public space will open to the narrow plaza next door. They describe movable glass panels to open it up on nice days. It sounds similar to 101 Second, which I think works very well.

[peanut gallery]

Update on the new SPUR Building:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2673383626_a25ea51886_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2673381398_3d5fbb0f5e_b.jpg

Lots of concrete block going in.

[peanut gallery]

Finally, something new on 680 Folsom. That's the building at Folsom and Third that is getting a new skin:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2678963182_afcb1bb8bf_b.jpg

At the Folsom entrance they have mounted some glass for testing purposes:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/2678958800_e8dff40d00_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2678139599_d0c792421d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2678960836_6b0b729ddb_b.jpg

Can't wait to see it go on the building.

[Reminiscence]

That is some nice skin indeed. If the silver fins seen there are a part of it, it should resemble 555 Mission somewhat. 555 turned out very nice in my opinion, so this should not dissapoint :)

[peanut gallery]

They are definitely part of the facade, not bracing to hold this piece in place. Fins and green glass -- seems to be a theme lately.

[northbay]

wow, a vast improvement :tup:

[BTinSF]

Friday, July 18, 2008
Millennium Partners, JMA Venturs tapped for tower
Mexican Museum gets boost
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

The last undeveloped parcel in the Yerba Buena district could become home to a 220-unit condominium tower in addition to the Mexican Museum and possibly the new International Museum of Women, under an exclusive negotiating agreement reached July 15 between the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the developers.

Under the proposed scheme, the development team -- a joint venture between Millennium Partners and JMA Ventures -- would build the core and shell of a 35,000- to 40,000-square-foot Mexican Museum at no cost to the museum. The museum would be housed on the lower floors of the condo tower, which will be built on a 25,000-square-foot site on the north side of Mission Street between Third and Fourth streets. The site includes a 9,000-square-foot site the Redevelopment Agency owns and a 16,000-square-foot parcel Millennium and JMA bought in 2006.

The museum and condo tower would be connected to the historic Mercantile Building at 706 Mission St., the 1903 structure with baroque ornamental details that JMA and Millennium Partners own. The height of the residential tower, which is being designed by Mexican architect Enrique Norton and Glenn Rescalvo of Handel Architects, has not been determined; however, a portion of the residential tower will be built over the existing Mercantile Building, according to Amy Neches, project director for the Redevelopment Agency.

Neches compared the integration of the historic and new tower with the nearby St. Regis hotel and residences, which is connected on the southwest corner to the 1907 Williams Building.

"This will complete Jesse Square," said Neches. "You have St. Patrick's, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, and now the Mexican Museum completing this public square. It's a sacred public place."

If approved, the agreement would not be cheap for JMA, which recently opened Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square, and Millennium Partners, which is building a the Millennium Tower at 333 Mission St. In addition to building the Mexican Museum, the developers have agreed to establish a $5 million endowment to help the cultural institution establish itself. Also, Millennium and JMA have agreed to pay $22 million into an affordable housing fund in lieu of meeting the city's affordable housing requirements. The payment would be equivalent to making 28 percent of the units below market rate.

While the use of the Mercantile building is still being decided, the ground floor will continue to be retail and will be the entrance to the residential tower. The agency and the developer are also talking to the International Museum of Women about moving that organization to the lower floors of 706 Mission. The upper portion of the 100,000-square-foot building could remain office or become housing. Tenants in the building include Yelp, which recently expanded into 32,000 square feet.

Neches said the non-historic gold brick exterior on 706 Mission would be removed to restore the original exterior.

"It's going to be a beautiful building, the exterior has not been preserved over the years," said Neches.

Neches stressed that the exclusive negotiating agreement would be the start of a long public process of traffic studies, shadow studies and public debate.

"We think Millennium and JMA are great partners," said Neches. "They have a great understanding of downtown development and working with the public on complicated projects."


jkdineen@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4971
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/07/21/story2.html?t=printable

[BTinSF]

:previous:

As usual, the editors of Socketsite have been reading the BizTimes and posted this photo of the Mexican Museum et. al. site (it's a bit old, though, because the Contemporary Jewish Museum and Jesse Square are now finished):

http://www.socketsite.com/706%20Mission%20and%20Adjacent%20Lot.jpg
Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2008/07/muy_bien_proposal_to_restore_and_develop_adjacent_to_70.html#more

[SFView]

Finally, something new on 680 Folsom...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2678960836_6b0b729ddb_b.jpg

Can't wait to see it go on the building.

This is an excellent example that typifies the current trend towards the glass curtain wall style in San Francisco, after decades of deliberate avoidance. Only now, the glass is often accompanied by some sort of finning, along with very thin aluminum mullions. Sometimes varied textures in glass are used, as in 555 Mission and 350 Mission, adding interest to the designs. If I am not mistaken, the glass on 350 Mission looks as if alternating panels are tilted at slightly different angles. This could create rather interesting reflective patterns on itself, as well as the surroundings - very nice if true!

[peanut gallery]

Hopefully when they say they will build out over the Mercantile building, they just mean the plain, solid brick section at the back (away from Third, far left in the photo below). I'd hate to see too much encroachment on the rest of the building. Look at the Ritz-Carlton addition to the old Chronicle. I wouldn't want this to cover even that much of the older building.

I'm really curious about the gold brick comments. Is he referring to that plain brick portion in the back and the ground level facade? Because I'm having a hard time seeing them strip all the brickwork from the other parts of this building. It doesn't look like this could be covering an older facade to me:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/2477729248_29a8168d96_b.jpg

[BTinSF]

:previous: I think the brick to be removed is on the modern addition and the first floor (which is also modern). If they plan to put 220 condos in a tower that occupies just the footprint of the Mexican Museum site, they are going to have to go way tall--I'd say 40 stories like the surrounding buildings at least.

[peanut gallery]

That's what I'm hoping for, on both counts.

[c1tyguy]

I searched this thread for renderings of the new SPUR building but only found construction photos. Can anyone provide a link?

[peanut gallery]

Here's a rendering I've seen on SPUR's and the architect's websites. I pulled this from CurbedSF because it was only available in Flash on the other two sites:
http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/SPUR_Exterior_web.jpg

You can also keep up to date on the project at SPUR's website (http://www.spur.org/programs/spurcenter/default.shtm).

[peanut gallery]

Anyone know what is going in on Army near Valencia or Mission (I didn't note exactly where)? I'm thinking it will be housing, but curious if anyone has info on that project.

[peanut gallery]

Well, this sucks. From Socketsite (http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2008/07/when_being_green_costs_too_much_525_golden_gate_avenue.html):

“Lofty city plans to construct an ultra-green windmill-studded, solar-panel-embedded, water-recycling office building near City Hall have been thwarted by growing costs.

Work on the 12-story San Francisco Public Utilities building was slated to begin this year but SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington announced Tuesday the project will be placed “on hold” because of rising costs [and lower than expected efficiencies].”

http://www.socketsite.com/525%20Golden%20Gate%20Avenue.jpg

[c1tyguy]

:previous: Yeah.. was looking forward to seeing that one. It would have (will?) really enhanced the area.

[Downtown Dave]

Mercy Housing update. The lack of strained construction is evident:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/NelsonAndBronte/SanFrancisco/Random/MercyHousing-5401.jpg

Pouring concrete on the annex (or whatever this part of the project is)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/NelsonAndBronte/SanFrancisco/Random/MercyHousing-5390.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/NelsonAndBronte/SanFrancisco/Random/MercyHousing-5394.jpg

One of the City's new pirate buildings exposed:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/NelsonAndBronte/SanFrancisco/Random/Arterra-5425.jpg

[Gordo]

Anyone know what is going in on Army near Valencia or Mission (I didn't note exactly where)? I'm thinking it will be housing, but curious if anyone has info on that project.

Are you talking about 3400 Cesar Chavez? That's the infamous ex-paint store that is going to be 60 units above a Walgreens. MAC fought it for years and it was finally completely approved several months ago. Socketsite has some more on it here:

http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2008/05/justquotes_3400_cesar_chavez_permitted_excavation_on_th.html

[peanut gallery]

Oh, that's where that is. For some reason I pictured it further north up Mission. Well, the site is cleared and there is construction equipment all over, so it's actually moving forward.

[BTinSF]

Well, this sucks.

I am now convinced that ugly, derelict old pink state building will be around longer than I am. :hell:

[BTinSF]

Pouring concrete on the annex (or whatever this part of the project is)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/NelsonAndBronte/SanFrancisco/Random/MercyHousing-5390.jpg


We determined a few pages back that this part of the project will be for seniors and is dubbed 66 9th St.. It will look like this:

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u33/PBuchman1729/9th_and_Jessie.png
Source: http://kodamadiseno.com/

[viewguysf]

Anyone know what is going in on Army near Valencia or Mission (I didn't note exactly where)? I'm thinking it will be housing, but curious if anyone has info on that project.

Army? Come on Peanut--the change to Cesar Chavez was years ago!

[viewguysf]

I am now convinced that ugly, derelict old pink state building will be around longer than I am. :hell:

Since they already started clearing the interior, can't they just demolish it? I hesitate to say it, but even a surface parking lot would be better than that thing.

[peanut gallery]

Army? Come on Peanut--the change to Cesar Chavez was years ago!

That is pretty bad! Old habits die hard, I guess. I've just never been able to adjust to the new name.

[nequidnimis]

Since they already started clearing the interior, can't they just demolish it? I hesitate to say it, but even a surface parking lot would be better than that thing.

Might make sense to wait before tearing it down. A few years back, the Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/11/BA199358.DTL featured a proposal by Heller Manus to remodel it:
http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2003/08/11/ba_justice01.jpg

[viewguysf]

Might make sense to wait before tearing it down. A few years back, the Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/11/BA199358.DTL featured a proposal by Heller Manus to remodel it:
http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2003/08/11/ba_justice01.jpg

Hmmm...looks like something from the 50's, but then it is Heller Manus after all.

[Reminiscence]

I too am somewhat dissapointed with the turn of events regarding SFPU. I've only seen the pink building a few times, but I can see why people want it gone, or at least blocked. It could be worse I suppose, at least its only on hold and not cancelled.

[Reminiscence]

Looks like we should all keep our eyes open on our surroundings:

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2008/07/24/ba-crane_collaps_0498830515.jpg

Okla. crane fall kills man watching construction

By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, July 24, 2008

(07-24) 12:45 PDT Oklahoma City (AP) --

Church members watching the steeple being raised on their new building looked on in horror Thursday as a crane holding the structure toppled, crushing a car and killing an 80-year-old man who had been watching from inside the vehicle, firefighters said.

The man's 78-year-old wife, who was also in the car, was transported to a hospital in good condition, ambulance officials said.

A group of people had gathered in southwest Oklahoma City to watch the installation of the steeple when the crane collapsed in the parking lot, said Deputy Fire Chief Cecil Clay.

Grace Assembly of God Pastor Joe Hancock said the couple were longtime church members.

"Just great people," he said. "It's just a huge loss."

Hancock said he was taking photos from the back of the church when he realized something had gone wrong. The crane started to tip when the steeple was about 10 feet off the ground, he said.

Caleb Fellenstein, the church's youth minister, said the crane started to lower the steeple just before the accident.

"And then it just quickened," he said. "The whole boom and the crane just flipped over. It was like a movie. It was like something unreal.

"I was just standing there in disbelief and panic."

The boom of the portable crane came to rest on the car, the smashed white steeple still attached.

The operator of the crane was not injured.

The woman was in the back seat of the car and the man was in the front passenger seat, said Lara O'Leary, spokeswoman for the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which operates emergency transport for the area. The couple's names weren't immediately released.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the state Labor Department and the owner of the crane, Barnhart Crane and Rigging Co., were to investigate.

Jeff Latture, Barnhart senior vice president, said it had been years since the company had an accident.

"We do about 10,000 jobs a year without incident," he said. "We are very upset about this and certainly are concerned about families involved."

Latture said the cause of the accident will likely be a structural failure of the 90-ton crane, some kind of a problem with the ground it was sitting on, or operator error.

"It was at the beginning of a very simple lift, which is somewhat troubling to us and not far into the lift when the crane went over," he said.

Clay, the fire official, said he saw no obvious equipment failure or problems with the ground the crane was on. He said about 150 feet of the telescoping boom was deployed at the time of the accident.

There have been several deadly crane accidents around the country this year, including one in Houston last week that killed four workers and injured seven others. Crane-related deaths have also occurred in New York, Miami and Las Vegas.

An Associated Press analysis in June found that cities and states have wildly varying rules governing construction cranes.

Cranes in Oklahoma fall under OSHA regulations but operate without any state oversight, state Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields said. He said Oklahoma may join other states considering improved regulatory oversight of cranes. Oklahoma is among 35 states that do not require crane operators to be licensed.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/24/national/a093827D57.DTL&tsp=1

[peanut gallery]

766 Harrison now has a name: Cubix Yerba Buena (although the URL is cubixsf.com). At least it's not another A-name.

Source: SocketSite (http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2008/07/766_harrison_update_condos_indeed_and_a_brand_new_brand.html).

[BTinSF]

More on 700-706 Mission

Millennium, JMA to buy garage as part of deal

The city's Jessie Square garage could soon have new owners.

Under the exclusive negotiating agreement being hashed out with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the joint venture team of Millennium Partners and JMA Ventures would agree to acquire the 450-stall garage for $43 million -- the full value of the city's outstanding bond debt on the parking structure.

The deal would provide parking for residents of the 220-unit condo tower that Millennium and JMA are proposing to build at 700-706 Mission St. It would also serve the new Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Mexican Museum, which is slated to be part of the mixed-use JMA/Millennium project.
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/07/28/newscolumn1.html

Friday, July 25, 2008
Building deals giving museums new chance
San Francisco Business Times - by Sarah Duxbury

What a difference a building makes.

Two Bay Area cultural institutions in search of a home, the Mexican Museum and International Museum of Women, will make significant internal changes following last week's agreement between developers JMA Ventures and Millennium Partners and the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency on a plan that will allow the museums to land at a mixed-use project at 706 Mission St.

For the Mexican Museum, finalizing the agreement for a physical space is a first step to rebuilding the struggling institution, which has had little more than an art collection and skeleton board in recent years. Not least, it means the museum can hire its first paid employee in years.

Within 90 days, and likely sooner, the museum will name an executive director, a position that has been vacant since William Moreno left in October, 2006. Victor Marquez, president of the museum's board of directors, also hopes to complete the board, currently is at half capacity, by adding 10 new board members by the end of the year.

With a physical staff and paid employees, the museum can now return to fundraising, which proved the deal breaker in the Mexican Museum's near-decade-long quest to raise $8 million for a standalone museum on Jessie Street designed by Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta.

Under terms agreed to last week, the developers will build the core and shell of what will be a net museum space of up to 40,000 square feet, most likely consisting of two galleries and education space and facing Jessie Street. JMA and Millennium will also seed the Mexican Museum with a $5 million endowment.

"It's a great accomplishment in the sense that we are financially secure," Marquez said.

Marquez hopes to raise at least an additional $10 million from private sources to have a $15 million endowment by the time the museum opens. A best-case scenario has the museum open in four years.

Marquez is confident the museum will be able to compile $5 million to $6 million for a build-out. Much of that funding is available from various government sources and should be in place within a year.

"Finally we can focus our energies as an institution on programming and do what we do best," Marquez said. "We have had a very challenging past. ... Once you have a building, then it's quite different (to raise money) than it is when you are trying to build a building."

The International Museum of Women, by contrast, has a $2 million annual operating budget and has been remarkably successful at fundraising and developing programming. But it, too, is coming up against the limits of being a "museum without walls," said Corrina Marshall, IMOW's interim executive director.

"For people who like to have a physical embodiment of their giving, their focus, their imagination, (a museum) will make a huge difference," Marshall said.

IMOW pulled out of a bid to open a 100,00-square-foot, $120 million museum on Pier 26 back in 2005 and has been looking for something ever since. Odds are that something will be 706 Mission St.

IMOW met with JMA and Millennium last week to begin drafting a memorandum of understanding for how the museum could fit into this project, though the museum won't commit to the site until its board approves it.

sduxbury@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4963
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/07/28/story10.html?t=printable

[caramatt]

I don't think this has been covered yet, but the former San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum has been renamed the Museum of Performance & Design and is in the process of selecting an architect for a new location at the corner of 3rd and Folsom.

There are some big names in the running, including Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl and Diller Scofidio & Renfro. Architect Mark Dziewulski, who has his office based here in SF, was the only firm to release renderings, which I've attached below.

http://www.designboom.com/tools/WPro/images/rid12/md1.jpg

http://www.designboom.com/tools/WPro/images/rid12/md.jpg

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/16/HO3D11JP1Q.DTL&hw=museum+of+performance+design&sn=002&sc=850

[Gordo]

:previous: Wow. That's cool.

[San Frangelino]

Thats neato!

[peanut gallery]

Wow. I guess part of the negotiation TMG Partners had with the Performing Arts Museum included design control of 666 Folsom. Previously, we saw this:
http://www.socketsite.com/690%20Folsom%20Future.jpg

That folded building above would look great in front of the new and improved 680 Folsom.

[Reminiscence]

Wow, what a bizarre looking building ... I like it :)

[SFView]

Alright..., who let that giant roll of toilet paper go...?

I like it too. San Francisco can use some fun looking buildings.

[BTinSF]

Prediction: They'll never build anything that looks like that in San Francisco. There's no one in SF with enough of a sense of fun.

[Reminiscence]

Prediction: They'll never build anything that looks like that in San Francisco. There's no one in SF with enough of a sense of fun.

I dont think I've ever said it, but I hope you're wrong. Its buildings like this that catch the eyes of people, both residents and tourists.

[viewguysf]

Alright..., who let that giant roll of toilet paper go...?

I like it too. San Francisco can use some fun looking buildings.

I also think that it's really fun and hope that we can get with it for a change! It would certainly spark up that area. :P

[BTinSF]

1285 Sutter (at Van Ness)--project in limbo and property on the market according to Socketsite:

http://www.socketsite.com/1285%20Sutter%20Design.jpg
http://www.socketsite.com/1285%20Sutter.jpg
All images: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2007/12/1285_sutter_street_the_proposed_design_to_replace_the_g.html

[northbay]

Alright..., who let that giant roll of toilet paper go...?

Prediction: They'll never build anything that looks like that in San Francisco. There's no one in SF with enough of a sense of fun.

i like the white - it gives it a 'clean' look

and yes, i would like to see it built, but chances are -
wont happen

even if theres no nimbys (yea right), theyll prob run out of $

[peanut gallery]

1285 Sutter (at Van Ness)--project in limbo and property on the market according to Socketsite:

http://www.socketsite.com/1285%20Sutter%20Design.jpg

Not that it really matters if the project is dead, but I'm surprised SocketSite isn't using the latest render:
http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2047/2512669700_f981cafd7d_o.png

Maybe something better will come along (ie: something more like the original design).

[BTinSF]

:previous: I thought there was a newer version but was too lazy to look for it. And I'm also not sure if a new developer might have the option of doing the older plans if he/she wanted to. Probably not since I think the changes were made to appease the Planning Dept. (and make it look almost like a twin of Symphony Towers).

I'm really surprised by the number of new condo projects now getting cancelled after long delays. Can nobody think in terms of development cycles? Sure you can't sell a condo now but in 2010 or whenever a building like this might actually be ready for sales? Perhaps they are thinking that even if condos are selling again by then, the prices will be a lot lower than when the project was conceived in 2006 or whenever so there would be no profit in it--building costs have just kept going up as sales prices have come down.

[SFView]

Prediction: They'll never build anything that looks like that in San Francisco. There's no one in SF with enough of a sense of fun.

You're right. I am thinking this too. Actually, I think there are people in San Francisco with a sense of fun, but there just aren’t enough of them in the right places. As we have seen with so many other projects in San Francisco, especially when there are different choices, the most interesting or daring designs almost never survive the process. I still think San Francisco is getting a little looser and better with some of the more recent projects being built, but it is doing so cautiously. I begin to wonder if something like Coit Tower could ever be built, if it were happening in today's San Francisco instead of 1933.

[nequidnimis]

:previous: I thought there was a newer version but was too lazy to look for it. And I'm also not sure if a new developer might have the option of doing the older plans if he/she wanted to. Probably not since I think the changes were made to appease the Planning Dept. (and make it look almost like a twin of Symphony Towers).

It almost looks like Symphony Towers because it is by the same architect: Christiani Johhson. The changes were not made to appease the Planning Dept. or Planning Commission, but to take advantage of the departure of Planning Commissioner Dwight who had exerted a major influence on the previous design (Mayor Gavin Newsom asked for and obtained Commissioner's Dwight resignation, presumably at the request of developers who resented his insistence on good design.)

[BTinSF]

San Francisco Forever: Supes Favor Historic Preservation Commission
Yes, the Board of Supervisors did ban the sale of tobacco in pharmacies— that highly-controversial mandate passed at last night's board meeting. Hidden in plain sight at the very bottom of the Chron's report on the ban, however, is another gem: The Supes also elected (unanimously, at that) to place a measure on the November ballot that will create a Historic Preservation Commission. If voted into power— and judging by the city's track record, one might safely assume that it will be— the Commission will encrypt historical buildings, landmarks, and neighborhoods at will, "saving" all from harm (and repair). Commission members will be hand-picked by Mayor Newsom; Peskin was initially set to spearhead the effort, though with his recent election as head of SF's Democratic Committee, we wonder if he'll be able to serve on both. This is serious, folks: if the Historical Preservation Commission is, in fact, voted into place, its decisions will trump those of the Planning Commission which, unlike most cities— welcome to SF!— has authority over issues of preservation, too. So yes, if Peskin (or his replacement puppet master) have their druthers, the Commission won't only wield power over a couple of Vics and crumbling theater or twelve. Affordable housing, zoning discrepancies, building heights— all could fall under its jurisdiction. Serious business here, people.

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/9June08_Peskin.jpg
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/

I gotta admit that picture of Peskin made me :lmao:

[Reminiscence]

So I'm guessing that now it may be even more difficult to get proposals through the powers that be? If this is so, this is probably the worst thing that could have happened.

[Gordo]

So I'm guessing that now it may be even more difficult to get proposals through the powers that be? If this is so, this is probably the worst thing that could have happened.

I actually don't think that will be the case. If we can get "historic preservation" handled by someone else impartial, it takes out a key place that NIMBYs have used to kill projects that they don't like in the past, by having something tagged as "historically significant" on the fly.

We'll see how it plays out, of course, but this is one case where perceived additional bureaucracy could actually be the exact opposite, I believe. If a developer can find out before even starting the planning process whether or not his building is "historically significant" (and the baggage that oftentimes goes with that), it could help immensely.

[BTinSF]

:previous: The neighborhood plans for every 'hood already identify historically and architecturally significant buildings. They are no mystery. What this will create is a hurdle that sees preservation as its mission, not development--which, for all its faults, the Planning Commission largely does.

I don't think it will impact downtown or high rises so much because few if any of them are contemplated where buildings now deemed significant stand (although new projects involving old buildings such as at 350 Bush or 706 Mission could become a lot harder to pull off). But neighborhood projects like the Pagoda Theater on Peskin's home turf (and I'm sure this project has a lot to do with the whole idea) could be stalled or blocked virtually forever. I'm also wondering what impact it could have on Mid-Market. And there are identified "significant" buildings up and down Van Ness such as the one on the corner or Eddy (the former Honda Motorcycle dealership that has sat empty for 2 decades now) that would likely remain derelict because the possibility of adaptive reuse would become much less flexible.

[Gordo]

:previous: The neighborhood plans for every 'hood already identify historically and architecturally significant buildings. They are no mystery. What this will create is a hurdle that sees preservation as its mission, not development--which, for all its faults, the Planning Commission largely does.

Ok, there aren't plans for every neighborhood, which is the reason that many times a delay occurs regarding historic preservation, because it can be brought up during the early planning process. Park Merced is a great example. The vast majority of the city (none of the west side of the city, most of the south, even parts of the northeast) has no "neighborhood plan" in place.

The post above indicates that this group would be appointed by the mayor. Anyone know the details on that?

[peanut gallery]

They've started fireproofing on One Kearny, so we should see glazing shortly. I know that's not a big deal from looking at the renderings, but I am curious how this will work with the classic existing building (which, by the way, is getting a facelift).

[hi123]

I am very happy to hear the old building is getting a facelift! Is it covered in scaffolding?

[peanut gallery]

Yep. And all the windows are taped on the other "modern" bookend.

[hi123]

Taped? Are they all broken or something?

[peanut gallery]

It looks kind of like that, but I think it's a preventive measure.

[POLA]

^No, just as a precaution. But they must be doing some work on it too.

edit: you beat me to it.

[BTinSF]

Crunch hits downtown S.F. landowner
Two prime sites for sale
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

California Mortgage and Realty President David Choo is selling off nine properties, including two downtown development sites, in a bid to save his struggling private mortgage company.

In a July 23 Securities Exchange Commission filing, CMR details "cash flow problems" stemming from the fact that 84 percent of the private lender's borrowers in its second fund are delinquent on payments. In the filing, Choo said $5 million of the profits generated from the real estate sales would pay CMR's debts and obligations; another $1.5 million would be set aside for the company's overhead and operating costs.

The properties listed for sale include an office tower development site at 524 Howard St.; a two-family building in Pacific Heights; a condo at the St. Regis; houses in Piedmont and St. Helena; a condo in New York; and the seven-parcel assemblage at First and Mission where Choo and development partner Solit Interests Group had sought approvals to build six razor-thin 1,000-plus-foot towers designed by celebrity architect Renzo Piano. The First and Mission property was recently assessed at $140 million. CMR CEO James Gala said that three properties, one in the South Bay, one in Las Vegas, and one in San Francisco, are in contract to be sold. The loan balance owed on these properties is not known.

"We expect that these sales will provide the balance of the capital needed to meet these obligations," Gala said in a written statement.

Selling real estate he owns by himself or with other investors is just the latest of a series of measures Choo has taken to help CMR weather the financial markets' turmoil. He voluntarily deferred or waived over $3 million in servicing and asset management fees over the past 18 months; he took over $1.5 million of fund obligations onto his own books; he bought approximately $18 million of defaulted loans and foreclosed properties from CMR's funds.

The actions "bolster our cash resources and improve the likelihood of our continuing operations through 2008," according to SEC documents.

A risky industry

Private mortgage lending, or hard money lending, is a business that provides high-interest, short-term capital for borrowers in challenging situations. Some borrowers, mostly developers and investors, are unable to qualify for traditional financing; others need cash quickly without the red tape than large institutions typically require. The business can be lucrative for lenders: in the case of CMR, annual interest rates have averaged between 12 percent and 13.9 percent, bringing handsome returns to investors, according to filings.

But starting in late 2007, CMR borrowers started running into problems. Delinquencies in CMR's fund II portfolio increased $52.9 million from December 31, 2007 to May 31. As of May 31, 21 CMR loans worth $84.9 million were delinquent, of which $81.9 million was delinquent more than 90 days, according to the SEC filing. CMR says its borrowers have been "increasingly unable to make their loan payments, find equity partners, sell or refinance their properties in order to meet their obligations to our investors."

"Their problems have increasingly become our problems and our investors' problems," said Gala. "We continue to work to collect on our loans to our borrowers, to foreclose when necessary and manage the assets of the fund."

Not surprisingly, other companies in the private mortgage sector have also been hammered by the credit crunch and prolonged housing slump. On June 2, 48-year-old Scott Coles committed suicide with a combination of alcohol, oxycodone and zolpidem as his company Mortgage Inc., a $727 million fund and the largest in Arizona, unraveled. The company filed for bankruptcy after his death.

Suspended cash distributions

For now, CMR investors have no choice but to be patient. The company suspended redemptions and cash distributions to investors on March 31. As of May 31, $29.9 million of redemption requests are currently outstanding. Gala said that while "many investors in CMR funds have expressed their support and confidence" the firm has also seen "our share of investors requesting redemptions."

Bill Wessels, who has $1.4 million invested in CMR funds and has been an investor with Choo for a decade, said he is willing to give the company time to work through the foreclosures and bankruptcies. He said he has never had a loss in nine years of investing with Choo and that CMR deserves time to work through the current credit mess.

"You're either a doubting Thomas or you keep the faith," said Wessels. "The ones who get shaken out of the bowl are going to be the losers."

He added: "What would one of the Wall Street guys do here? Take his stock, take his money and say 'bye-bye, see you later.' David is hanging in there."

John and Noreen Harrington, who are investors in CMR along with their eight children and other relatives, echoed Wassels support in the fund. The couple says they have "great faith in David's personal integrity and leadership of this firm."

"We believe that investors have to be patient and wait for the market to rebound," said the Harringtons in a statement.

Credit crunch hits the Big Island

More than half of the delinquent loans CMR is working out come from one development: a $98 million bridge loan funded by CMR and Canyon Capital Realty Advisors for the 2,000-unit Royal Kunia housing development in Hawaii that was current at the end of last year, but has now moved into the delinquent category. Attorney Jonathan Durrett, who represents Royal Kunia developer Halekua Development Corp., said his client is negotiating forbearance plans with the lenders to prevent foreclosure. He said Halekua has been scrambling to replace the bridge loan, but has been unable to attract more equity to the project because of the credit crunch.

"It's been difficult -- I'm sure California Mortgage and Realty didn't need another headache in Hawaii, but they have been mature and professional and seem to be sympathetic to the extent they feel is commercially reasonable," said Durrett. "We have appreciated that attitude because they could have jumped the gun and proceeded to foreclose."

He said that the Royal Kunia project, which is still in the entitlement phase and will target middle- and working-class families on an island known for its tough development politics and lack of housing, would eventually be a success.

"The project is intrinsically good, and this is a traditionally strong market for this kind (of housing)," he said. "Unfortunately, the timing is lousy."

jkdineen@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4971
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/08/04/story2.html?t=printable

[peanut gallery]

524 Howard is the Heller-manus tower that's supposed to go right next to Foundry Square IV, right? I didn't hate the design for that, but it wasn't inspiring in any way. Maybe a new owner will come up with a better design.

BT, you usually have a sense for these things: any indication that the Mission/First assemblage will be sold whole or in pieces? I'm thinking the space has more value whole and with a starchitect design in place. But what do I know? Not much, that's what!

[BTinSF]

BT, you usually have a sense for these things: any indication that the Mission/First assemblage will be sold whole or in pieces? I'm thinking the space has more value whole and with a starchitect design in place. But what do I know? Not much, that's what!

I certainly think you are right. Aside from the Transbay tower itself, at 800 ft this is the tallest building opportunity in San Francisco and really only works with the entire assemblage of properties.

[BTinSF]

Mexican Museum Inspires Nascent NIMBYism

Allow us (and the Chron) to reiterate: The Mexican Museum has found a new home at 706 Mission Street after thirteen years' worth of drama culminating in a shuttering that, at this point, has lasted for two years. The 35,000 to 40,000 square-foot space shall reside at the bottom of a 220-unit condominium project which, in turn, will stand atop the Mercantile Building; Enrique Norton and Glenn Rescalvo of Handel Architects are on board for the museum re-design (famed Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta drafted the initial design). Now, as we all know too well, a development proposal isn't legit here in San Francisco until somebody expresses "concern" about . Aaaaand here we have it. Says a condo owner (and real estate lawyer) at none other than the St. Regis, as quoted in today's Chron article:

[i]"I'm concerned about the scale of the building, incredible amount of traffic on Third Street and shadows, just to name a few" ... Any time you have a public-private partnership and cultural and historical issues, that's a complicated real estate transaction."

And so it begins...

http://sf.curbed.com/uploads/mn_mexican_museum.jpg
Source: http://sf.curbed.com/

:lmao: The guy lives in a building virtually identical is size, scale and architectural context to the one under discussion but he's CONCERNED about scale blah, blah. What he's really concerned about is his view. Let's be honest.

[peanut gallery]

Unreal. Hypocrisy can be such a blind spot for people.

[Reminiscence]

This is the same old story all over again. People just watching out for their own best interests and using false aspects as reasons for stalling development. I really do hope people begin to ignore comments like this.

[WonderlandPark]

That corner has that great historic tower, I hope that is being saved.

[BTinSF]

Read back a couple of pages. The new project will preserve and restore the existing midrise very much like the St. Regis.

[WonderlandPark]

I was travelling a bunch when that got posted, now I see. The way the box was drawn on that map made it look like the condo tower would eat the whole corner at 3rd.

[Jerry of San Fran]

A view of Trinity Plaza (1st tower) taken 07-31-08 from my balcony on the 27th Floor of the Fox Plaza.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2723120221_9b6edaf448_b.jpg

[peanut gallery]

Excellent shot, Jerry. If you ever want to post other photos of the city from your balcony (not necessarily construction shots), please feel free! Your view must be fantastic from up there.

[BTinSF]

Watcha all think of this:

http://www.socketsite.com/Pine%20Street%20Rendering.jpg
Source: www.socketsite.com

Numerous other views at http://www.saitowitz.com/portfolio.html

It's called "Pine St."

Also interesting: "1600 Market St.", "1022/1028/1029 Natoma" and others.

[Reminiscence]

Strange, I found the link on their page, but it does not seem to want to work. Judging by what I was able to see, they seem to like using the vertical and horizontal fins or lines on their façades. I like the building posted above, but I can only imagine it'll get some fire for not fitting in with the rest of the block.

[peanut gallery]

I like a lot of those, mostly the Octavia project we've seen before. Stanley has a definite look. It's a strategy that has worked for the likes of Pelli. You certainly have an idea of what you'll get if you hire them.

[Jerry of San Fran]

Peanut Gallery - Thanks. My view is about 50 square miles, all the way down to San Jose. I used to see the North Bay area but downtown highrises as obscured it.

BTinSF - I like the Polk/Pine Street building proposal. The Polk Street corridor has become quite bulky. When I came to San Franicsco I never thought that I would see a church building on Polk Street, but there it is!

[Jerry of San Fran]

Mercy Family Housing - and then there were two construction cranes. Picture from my balcony on Sunday, Aug. 3rd. of the second phase of construction. The second crane placement stared about 3 days ago.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/2729641540_cd8beacc77_b.jpg

[BTinSF]

BTinSF - I like the Polk/Pine Street building proposal. The Polk Street corridor has become quite bulky. When I came to San Franicsco I never thought that I would see a church building on Polk Street, but there it is!

I was going to post something about the very same thing. As many of you know, I only spend half the year in SF these days and when I'm here I don't get everywhere, but I took a walk down Polk St. last evening from CA St. to Eddy. I was astounded at both some of the new construction (mostly on the east side of the street including the Church of Christ building you are referring to) but also at the apparently lively straight nightlife and new eateries springing up. The last time I remember walking that part of Polk it was pretty depressing with marginal businesses and street kids selling drugs and themselves. But things looked very different last evening.

One facadist reuse on the other end of the same block with the church particularly caught my eye but the church too is a stunner.

Anyway, I see in your photo that the second phase of the Mercy Housing project now has its own crane. It seems like only a couple of weeks ago when I went by there they were driving piles.

I also noted on Pine St. that the apparent location of the Saitowitz building is all boarded up and derelict looking so I would hope they actually proceed soon, though as dramatic as that rendering looks I can't believe they could put it next to a Victorian in SF without all kinds of neighborhood screeching.

[Gordo]

:previous: For what it's worth, that building has been boarded up for at least three years, but the other businesses that would likely bite the dust are still operating.