SAN FRANCISCO | 181 Fremont | 802 FT | 52 FLOORS

[minesweeper]

John King says demo begins this week:

Town Hall restaurant at Fremont and Howard streets is on the verge of getting a big brash neighbor - the city's second- or third-tallest tower, depending on how you measure height.

Demolition begins this week on a pair of two- and three-story buildings at 181 Fremont St., just north of the popular dining spot. In their place, developer Jay Paul Co. will build a slender 54-story high-rise with offices for the bottom two-thirds and condominiums on the top.

[minesweeper]

J.K. Dineen of SFBT follows up, saying demo has started and tower construction should begin in November:

Jay Paul Co. has started demolition on 181 Fremont St., clearing the way for a 54-story office and residential condo building next to the Transbay Transit Center.

Right now the demo work is interior, but the construction fences are up and the heavy equipment on site.

Once the two existing buildings are razed, the Silicon Valley developer expects to start construction in November on the tower, which will top off at 800 feet and 684,000 square feet.

[...]

Baldauf said his group has already been exchanging proposals with tenants in the market for between 50,000 square feet and 150,000 square feet. He said he is confident that a lease or two will be inked in 2014.

[hruski]

Originally Posted by minesweeper

J.K. Dineen of SFBT follows up, saying demo has started and tower construction should begin in November:

Great news. In your opinion, does construction beginning in November mean that excavation will begin then or that concrete pour, rebar, etc will begin then?

[mt_climber13]

Originally Posted by hruski

Great news. In your opinion, does construction beginning in November mean that excavation will begin then or that concrete pour, rebar, etc will begin then?

It means it will begin in 2014, if we're lucky.

[minesweeper]

Originally Posted by hruski

Great news. In your opinion, does construction beginning in November mean that excavation will begin then or that concrete pour, rebar, etc will begin then?

November is probably a best-case scenario for excavation to begin. I can see demolition and site clearing taking the better part of two months to complete. Also, Jay Paul Co. is still waiting for the construction permit to be issued, and the Department of Building Inspection moves at its own deliberate pace. The good news is that the developers seem to be moving ahead as fast as the DBI will let them.

[minesweeper]

Jay Paul Co. has issued a press release confirming the news:

San Francisco (September 3, 2013) — Jay Paul Company’s highly anticipated construction of the Transbay District’s first office and luxury residential tower will commence in November 2013 according to its commercial real estate advisor Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank (C&CCNKF). Environmentally responsible demolition of the existing five-story structure at 181 Fremont Street began last week and will make way for a new, 54-story, 684,000-square-foot tower in San Francisco’s reconceived Transbay neighborhood, where the future Transbay Transit Center is a critical anchor for urban access and growth. Jay Paul Company plans to unveil the completed tower in the fourth quarter of 2015 and will pursue LEED Gold or Platinum certification.

Here's another photo of the site by Sergio Ruiz:


181 Fremont - ready for demolition by urbanists, on Flickr

[fimiak]

Looking back at the first page, it is pretty incredible how close the final product will look to the proposal from back in 2007. Typically a nearly 7 year lag would change a lot more of the design. I think 181 Fremont is going to be the hottest building going up in SF as far as architecture goes for the foreseeable future.

[tech12]

Originally Posted by fimiak

I think 181 Fremont is going to be the hottest building going up in SF as far as architecture goes for the foreseeable future.

And it's a Heller Manus design! It's kind of amazing that a tower by them can look so good, but there it is.

[cv94117]

Originally Posted by tech12

And it's a Heller Manus design! It's kind of amazing that a tower by them can look so good, but there it is.

Yeah, I'm skeptical. Renderings can be very deceptive and I've yet to see a Heller-Manus design outside of the hideous-to-lackluster range. Hope the renderings are true because with the size of this thing it will be a disaster on the skyline otherwise.

[fflint]

Originally Posted by cv94117

Yeah, I'm skeptical. Renderings can be very deceptive and I've yet to see a Heller-Manus design outside of the hideous-to-lackluster range. Hope the renderings are true because with the size of this thing it will be a disaster on the skyline otherwise.

I understand your skepticism, but in this case I think the project will turn out well. The exciting aspects of this tower are the shape and massing rather than the color or materials. While developers often make cosmetic changes (and often cheap out on materials), it's pretty rare for them to radically change the shape or massing of a permitted project.

[peanut gallery]

The smaller one is almost gone and they're working on the larger one as well:



That black door on the second story to the right (almost directly above the worker's head from this angle) looks like it was a door to a safe deposit room or something. Definitely had an extra large lock in the middle of it, but not as substantial as you'd see on a bank vault. Wonder what business put that in and when?

A better look at progress on the larger building:

[simms3_redux]

Building demo at 181 Fremont is progressing rapidly:

[minesweeper]

They've updated (and simplified) the website and the brochure.

The brochure now says "Q1 2016" for expected completion, which sounds a bit more realistic than the mid-to-late 2015 date from before.

[simms3_redux]

I walked by yesterday - there are more machines on-site and it almost looks like they are about to or are already doing excavation work.

[hruski]

I think they are having some sort of groundbreaking ceremony this week, judging from the Transbay webcam (top left corner).



http://transbaycenter.org/constructi...mission-camera

[minesweeper]

Nice catch. They've updated the website again: http://181fremontsf.com/

The most interesting addition to the site is a 360° view:

http://www.ccareydownload.com/181fremont/tour/lowrise/
http://www.ccareydownload.com/181fremont/tour/midrise/
http://www.ccareydownload.com/181fremont/tour/highrise/

Judging by the status of other projects in the area, it looks like the photos were taken within the last month.

[fflint]

The ceremonial groundbreaking with Mayor Lee and others was this morning. I saw it covered on today's Channel 2 News at Noon.

[tommaso]

This site is ceremonially active. Technically, we can move this into the active thread.

[minesweeper]

They've cut the number of residences slightly (from 74 to 68) and branded them as Park 181: http://park181sf.com/

Here's the press release:

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jay Paul Company, the award-winning, San Francisco-based real estate developer known for innovative projects throughout California, has announced that construction is underway at 181 Fremont, a world-class residential and office tower heralding the next phase of growth in the city’s South of Market (SOMA) district and taking the lead in defining the new Transbay Transit Center complex neighborhood. 181 Fremont is a 54-story office and residential tower development that marks Jay Paul Company’s first urban high rise project. The name Park 181 will refer specifically to the ultra-luxury residences located on the uppermost levels of the new high rise. Mayor Ed Lee will join Jay Paul to mark the commencement of construction at 181 Fremont’s official groundbreaking on Tuesday, November 12, and the mixed-use tower is scheduled to open in early 2016.

“As an iconic residential and office high-rise set to define San Francisco’s new downtown, 181 Fremont will be one of the most exclusive addresses in the nation,” said Jay Paul, Principal of Jay Paul Company. “181 Fremont is located in the heart of the nation’s strongest office and residential market and, in alignment with the company’s philosophy of bringing best-in-class projects to fruition, will encourage a sustainable lifestyle for all who live and work there.”

181 Fremont will ascend 802 feet and comprise 54 stories to become the tallest mixed-use office and residential tower in San Francisco and in the Western United States, affording homeowners commanding views of the waterfront, the Bay Bridge, San Francisco Bay, Treasure Island, and the city’s new downtown. The distinctive, strikingly designed steel and glass structure will elegantly transform San Francisco’s world-renowned skyline, effectively shifting the center of downtown to the area surrounding the new Transbay Transit Center.

181 Fremont epitomizes the astute and artful integration of a high-rise development with its existing and evolving surroundings. It is one of only two buildings that will be directly connected to the 5.4-acre rooftop park atop the adjacent Transbay Transit Center, and the $500 million residential and office tower will provide convenient access to the new public transportation hub connecting MUNI, CalTrain, AC Transit, SamTrans, and several other Bay Area transit lines.

The dazzling new structure will offer 411,000 square feet of Class A+ office space on 33 floors, providing open floor plates with optimum workspace flexibility and impressive views. Inhabitants of Park 181, the collection of high-end residences on floors 39 through 53, will enjoy exclusive amenities such as an Owners’ Lounge, Fitness Center, wrap-around balcony, BBQ grill, fire pit, kitchen, and dining room on the 37th floor, which provides an interval between commercial and residential spaces. Sixty-eight two- and three-bedroom ultra-luxury residences ranging in size from 1,400 to 3,600 square feet will occupy the tower’s upper levels. At its base, 181 Fremont’s open lobby will create a pedestrian-friendly experience for office tenants, guests, and passersby, and Park 181 residents will enjoy an exclusive, fully staffed residential lobby. All will benefit from local services available within the building’s 2,600 square feet of retail space on the first and fifth floors.

Targeted to achieve a LEED Platinum certification, 181 Fremont will incorporate innovative design strategies for sustainability, water savings and energy efficiency while providing a safer and healthier living and working environment. 181 Fremont is also within walking distance of San Francisco’s top employers, world-class restaurants, shopping areas, and the waterfront.

Designed by globally recognized architectural firm Heller Manus Architects, 181 Fremont will present a dramatic focal point for San Francisco, identifiable on the horizon by its unique exoskeleton design and magnificent spire that will ascend from the crown of the building. 181 Fremont’s design is an expression of world-class modernism, sustainability, and neighborhood integration, and is intended to reflect the spirit of the city’s transformation as the Transbay Transit Center emerges to define San Francisco’s new hub.

Jay Paul has retained The Mark Company (www.themarkcompany.com) to handle sales and marketing for the Park 181 luxury residences. Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank (www.ccareynkf.com) is responsible for leasing 181 Fremont’s commercial spaces.

They've also launched another site to split up traffic between the office space and residences: http://www.181sanfrancisco.com/

[JRinSoCal]

Wow. SF is on fire!