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

[CyberEric]

I agree, that looks pretty bad now, they should go back to November.

[minesweeper]

Originally Posted by CyberEric

I agree, that looks pretty bad now, they should go back to November.

Yeah, it looks exceedingly bland and reminiscent of a suburban office park. It's still slightly better than what's there now though.

[flight_from_kamakura]

caught this image in the examiner and felt sort of sick, i mean, i knew it was deep, but this deep??


so, let's review:

1) a subway so deep that it'll take barely longer to walk the points between the stations than to wend one's way down to the platform;
2) a total of two stations - union square and chinatown - with no plan anywhere near in the works to extend out to washinton square/north beach or north point;
3) 1.7 billion bucks, including several hundred million in new muni bonds, this the existing system is a total piece of shit that could use those new bonds for across-the-board upgrades.

it's just so frustrating.

[1977]

a total of two stations - union square and chinatown

Actually, there are 4 stations - The 2 you mentioned, Moscone, and Fourth and Brannan.

http://centralsubwaysf.com/sites/def..._alignment.pdf

Stations aside, I am frustrated about it not reaching North Beach and the Wharf (F-Line) during the first phase of construction.

[viewguysf]

Originally Posted by wakamesalad

Bah- i dont like it when buldings are reclad or aesthetically renovated. Every building deserves its place in time. Why try to change history? It was built with a certain style in mind and should be respected that way. I know nobody agrees with me, but I prefer it to stay the way it is.

I agree with you in many cases wakamesalad, but not with this one since I always disliked the AAA tower and still feel that it's a poor example for its time. I have a full on view of two sides of it from my place, so I'm really excited about its repurposing and the totally new look that it will have. That tower is very prominent from the west and southwest because it is in the forefront of the view. These are older photos I took, but you get the idea.









Ugh...I haven't posted a photo in so long, I forgot how to do it. peanut, are you there?

[flight_from_kamakura]

Originally Posted by 1977

Actually, there are 4 stations - The 2 you mentioned, Moscone, and Fourth and Brannan.

http://centralsubwaysf.com/sites/def..._alignment.pdf

bah, those stations don't count.

[1977]

Originally Posted by flight_from_kamakura

bah, those stations don't count.

I'll give you Fourth and Brannan but isn't Moscone a legit station?

[peanut gallery]

Here you go, viewguy:







The trick is getting the URL for the image itself, which will end with .jpg, rather than the URL for the Flickr page for that photo. Hope that makes sense.

Note: I can't post the second one because it says I don't have permission to view it. You must have that one hidden from public view.

[pseudolus]

Originally Posted by flight_from_kamakura

so, let's review:

1) a subway so deep that it'll take barely longer to walk the points between the stations than to wend one's way down to the platform;
2) a total of two stations - union square and chinatown - with no plan anywhere near in the works to extend out to washinton square/north beach or north point;
3) 1.7 billion bucks, including several hundred million in new muni bonds, this the existing system is a total piece of shit that could use those new bonds for across-the-board upgrades.

it's just so frustrating.

Not to mention the very poor connection to the Market Street subway.

[mt_climber13]

I am a big fan of the central subway. It will connect the strongest economy in the world (Silicon Valley) with Moscone Center and downtown via subway and trains (the best form of transit). So its expensive- what isnt? Those that espouse liberal ideology can not then be surprised that that same ideology is used for union contracts which are exorbitant.
I also look forward to metro or Bart down Geary in 2325.

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by wakamesalad

I also look forward to metro or Bart down Geary in 2325.

That soon? Are you crazy?

[1977]

The old Hamm's Brewery was recently purchased by TMG Partners who will be investing 15 million in upgrades and possibly bringing back some of it's old charm. Here is the article if anyone is interested, but the best part is below:

TMG executives would love to find and put back in its rooftop prominence the famous 13-foot Hamm’s 3-D neon beer chalice that continuously “emptied” and “filled” with light. The sign was built in 1954 and was the largest commercial sign on the West Coast, appearing in movies like “Dirty Harry.” It was removed from the building in 1975.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranci...-new-site.html

The old Hamm's sign back in the day:


Source: www.sfgate.com

[Grantenfuego]

I think this line is necessary, especially with the ridiculous congestion in china town and the imminent population growth in the city.

Originally Posted by flight_from_kamakura

with no plan anywhere near in the works to extend out to washinton square/north beach or north point;

it's just so frustrating.

I can definitely agree on this though. Washington square is one of the hardest areas in the central city to get to by transit, in my opinion. Especially if you live Tenderloin/ Civic Center where I do. I'm sure the short extra distance would have tipped the scale on the budget a little too much, but as a MUNI rider who sees the system as incomplete, I have trouble comprehending why a city that is supposedly on the cutting edge, a leader in environmental transit, and geographically so small is having trouble connecting it's neighborhoods.

[peanut gallery]

Moscone expansion is still on track. According to this SF Business Times article, they've hired a company to oversee the next steps of the project (design, engineering and I think EIR):

Moscone inks $500 million expansion deal
San Francisco Business Times
Date: Friday, May 4, 2012, 7:21am PDT

A division of the Sares Regis Group has been selected to oversee the expansion of the Moscone Convention Center, an estimated $500 million project intended to allow San Francisco to remain competitive in attracting and retaining large conventions.

The San Francisco Tourism Improvement District has hired SRGNC CRES LLC, a division of Sares Regis Group of Northern California, to oversee the architectural design and engineering of an expansion of the Moscone Convention Center.

This is fitting with the timeline I saw in this SF Travel Foundation presentation:

Timeline
2012-2014
- Pre-construction activities
- MOU, Hire Architect, Environmental Review, Hire General
- Contractor and complete a constructability review
2014/2015
- Finish environmental review
- Start Construction
North and South Expansion Construction
- 2.5 -3 years
East Construction
- 3-4 years

And here's what's in store:

Ideal Changes to Moscone
- Add 100,000 to 150,000 s.f. of contiguous exhibit space
- Add additional meeting space in North and South (flexible space)
- Add more natural light in hallways and around meeting space
- Connect existing exhibit halls in North and South
- Increase functionality and flow
- Connect buildings with either a sky bridge or underground passage
- Convention expansion should correspond with additional hotel rooms

Moscone North & South Expansion
- Third Street building
- Howard Street Connection

Moscone East Expansion
- East Expansion under Third Street and in space of Moscone parking garage

[jbm]

on a different note, my office has a view of foundry III (or at least the parking lot where its going) and the last couple of days it has been entirely devoid of cars. hopefully that means construction is starting in the near future.

[1977]

Originally Posted by jbm

on a different note, my office has a view of foundry III (or at least the parking lot where its going) and the last couple of days it has been entirely devoid of cars. hopefully that means construction is starting in the near future.

Great, thanks!

Also, similar news about 1960 Market...

I'm writing with a question about the development project in the old gas station lot at Buchanan and Market. I know plans for a huge condo building were approved a couple of years ago, but the lot has sat empty since then, with the exception of some monthly parking and the smog station, supposedly because the owner was having trouble getting financing. Recently, however, the parking has been discontinued, the smog center closed, and Cahill signs placed around the perimeter of the lot. Is construction imminent?

http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2012/0...t_buchanan.php

And from the comment section...

Apparently, there has been some signs of life across the street at 2001 Market aka the Whole Foods project:

It also looks like the used car dealership that set up shop in the old Ford dealership building across the street is gone now as well. Do we know if this means that the Whole Foods + condo project is finally going to get underway there as well?

[peanut gallery]

Originally Posted by jbm

on a different note, my office has a view of foundry III (or at least the parking lot where its going) and the last couple of days it has been entirely devoid of cars. hopefully that means construction is starting in the near future.

IIRC, they bought the neighboring building that used to house the nightclub and Goat Hill Pizza to expand the footprint of FSIII. The next major step should be the demolition of that building.

[fflint]

Originally Posted by 1977

Apparently, there has been some signs of life across the street at 2001 Market aka the Whole Foods project:

Just noticed that a few minutes ago coming home--the windows are all covered up now. It won't be long...

[NOPA]

The Central subway would make a lot more sense if they increased the density near the stops. But of course that would make too much sense and god forbid the NIMBYs let improvements happen.

[viewguysf]

Originally Posted by NOPA

The Central subway would make a lot more sense if they increased the density near the stops. But of course that would make too much sense and god forbid the NIMBYs let improvements happen.

Not really in this case--Chinatown is as dense as it gets, Union Square is often packed and Moscone Center/Yerba Buena is also dense. What else would you do at this time? The air rights could eventually be developed over Caltrain, but that's not feasible now.