THE BAY AREA | Projects from San Francisco's Surrounding 8 Counties

[peanut gallery]

^True. I was looking at what our core MSA should be if not for a quirk of geography.

[fflint]

LOVE that Berkeley proposal!

[peanut gallery]

There are a couple of office proposals in downtown Oakland that could get dusted off if the trend highlighted in this SF Business Times article continues:

Even as tech companies keep signing blockbuster leases in San Francisco, the East Bay is quietly benefitting from tenants spilling over or priced out of the city. Leases or companies migrating or expanding out of San Francisco total close to 300,000 square feet of space during the past 18 months.

That count includes tenants like UCSF leasing 116,000 square feet in Emeryville; law firm Gordon & Rees taking 24,000 square feet in 1111 Broadway in Oakland; Del Monte moving some operations into 27,000 square feet near Pleasant Hill BART in Walnut Creek; and TCHO shifting its office, production and distribution space into 49,000 square feet in Berkeley.

……

Oakland and the East Bay do boast some great selling points, he said, such as access to transportation, lower cost of living for employees, great weather and a burgeoning food scene. Westcore recently held an open house to show if its available space and brought in local restaurants like Chop Bar, Hop Scotch and Rosamunde to sample their dishes.

[fflint]

Oakland is indeed primed and ready to take spillover from downtown San Francisco. Everything is in place already downtown--big Class A buildings, excellent public transportation, easy rail, bus, ferry and freeway access to SF, restaurants and shopping already in place. It's a natural move for firms and companies that can't or won't pay techie-level rents but want to remain in an urban locale. And what a boon it will be for The Town!

[peanut gallery]

Definitely! And with more residential coming (Brooklyn Basin and other proposals) there's room for the employees of those companies to live right there too. I'm pretty bullish on Oakland. It's already a much more vibrant city than many people realize and I think it will only get better.

[DIESELPOLO]

Originally Posted by fflint

Oakland is indeed primed and ready to take spillover from downtown San Francisco. Everything is in place already downtown--big Class A buildings, excellent public transportation, easy rail, bus, ferry and freeway access to SF, restaurants and shopping already in place. It's a natural move for firms and companies that can't or won't pay techie-level rents but want to remain in an urban locale. And what a boon it will be for The Town!

I'm bullish too - Oakland certainly has the bones.

I think I'm just surprised at how long it's taking and the amount of develop-able land in downtown/uptown/telegraph that isn't being taken advantage of ("yet", I presume). With this housing affordability crisis, I assumed we'd see 5-story apartments popping up all over the area at a rapid clip.

Note: Visiting Seattle this weekend and seeing the amount of new housing being built (and not just in downtown), puts our slow burn of construction in high relief.

[Eightball]

West Oakland will see the biggest change imo...

[patriotizzy]

NewPark Mall in Newark is getting a titanic redevelopment:

"Rouse Properties Inc. is rolling out plans for an overhaul of the NewPark Mall in Newark costing at least $40 million, including a 12-screen movie complex with an IMAX screen, and an elaborate new glass-walled restaurant area with views through the entire property.

Construction would begin this summer, and the 1.2-million-square-foot mall and its stores will remain open.

Rouse Properties has leased 140,000 square feet to tenants as part of the planned repositioning, including 55,000 square feet to AMC Theatres for an entertainment complex with stadium seating; the musically themed Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill; and John’s Incredible Pizza. All three will be accessible both from the interior of the 1.1 million-square-foot enclosed mall and directly from the parking lot."

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranci...res-rouse.html

As for my personal opinion:

This is my closest mall, and I am super stoked about this news. As I wrote in the news article, "I always wondered how a mall could look so boring and uninspired in the middle of Fremont. This is what Fremont deserves! I'm excited for this, and can't wait to watch IMax without having to drive more than 30 minutes!"

Yes, I know it's in Newark, but I consider it Fremont. Honestly, I don't know why Newark even exits, seem pointless. But I digress, I can't wait to walk in that spiffy new mall!

[peanut gallery]

^I thought that mall was on its last legs. Guess it's making a comeback. Glad you'll have a better theater much closer to home.

More good news for Oakland:

Guess Who's Moving To Oakland?

It's architectural giant Gensler, and it's got plans to make Oakland a green and smart city upon its arrival.

Its San Ramon office at 6111 Bollinger Canyon Rd will relocate to Oakland as soon as the end of this year, sources tell us, and it's likely moving to the downtown area. Some tech companies—some of Gensler's clients, in fact—are also migrating to Oakland. (You've got to bring your entourage.) Gensler is remaining mum on the move for now.

And from that same article, some good news for San Jose as well:

It looks like San Jose Mercury News has zeroed in on a new home at 4 N Second, planning on taking two floors and about 40k SF of space in downtown San Jose. The area is on the verge of blowing up in the next six months, sources tell us.

We recently learned about one of downtown's latest residential sites: The Pierce (rendered below). Sares Regis' project will have 232 luxury units and 4,300 SF of retail. Demo work started in April and occupancy is slated for summer 2016.

Article posted from Bisnow.com.

The Pierce will be located at the southwest corner of South Market Street and Pierce Avenue. It was a parking lot.

[simms3_redux]

I don't think this has been posted yet.

Pauls Corporation Plans $187MM Apartment Development in Redwood City
POSTED ON MAY 30, 2014 BY PUBLISHER IN HOT LOT, INDUSTRY NEWS, RESIDENTIAL
By Jon Peterson

Denver-based The Pauls Corporation is planning on the development of the 470-unit apartment Indigo project in Redwood City located at 525 Middlefield Road. The total cost is projected to be in the neighborhood of $187 million, according to sources familiar with the project.

Redwood City, Indigo, CBRE, The Pauls Corporation, Mount Kellett Capital Management, San Mateo real estate news, Bay Area news, development, housing“We think that the residential market in Redwood City is now very dynamic from a demand perspective,” says Paul Towers, president of Pauls Corporation. He declined to comment on the development cost of the property.

Pauls is no stranger to developing projects in the Redwood City marketplace. It’s now planning the Peninsula Park development for 230 condos and 402 condo homes at the Pete’s Harbor development in Redwood City.

...

Source

[simms3_redux]

And this from yesterday's Socketsite.

The designs for an 18-story building with over 300 apartments proposed to rise in Downtown Berkeley have been refined and the plans are working their way through the city’s Planning Department.

...

In addition to 302 apartments, the proposed development includes a six-theater cinema, 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, and a 171-space underground parking garage. A nearly 9,000 square foot public plaza would be constructed mid-block between the new residences and hotel.

Source

[fflint]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

I don't think this has been posted yet.

Source

My planner friends tell me Redwood City is really going to change in the coming years, and it sure appears that way given the numbers here.

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

And this from yesterday's Socketsite.

Source

Wow, Berkeley!

[timbad]

Originally Posted by fflint

My planner friends tell me Redwood City is really going to change in the coming years, ...

speaking of that, the Crossing 900 project adjacent to the Caltrain station has now just about filled out its future massing. here looking south from the northbound platform:



and here closer-up



and almost kitty-corner from this site, across the tracks, a residential project is also rising, which I think is part of this:



201 Marshall is also pretty much wrapped up

[timbad]

here is Bay Meadows, which should have been taller, given its location right next to a commuter rail station. from the train... objects in photo are closer in real life than they appear here:



these two buildings look awful; hope they get surrounded by better-looking ones

[peanut gallery]

^^Whoa, that RC project really grew fast.

[fflint]

Height limits on November ballot: San Bruno to vote to raise current limits to 90 feet near Caltrain station

July 24, 2014,
Angela Swartz
San Mateo Daily Journal

The area immediately north of San Bruno's downtown could get boost from a new November ballot measure to modify an ordinance that limits building heights, potentially raising them from the current maximum of 50 feet to 90 feet.
....
Currently, permits and approvals can’t be issued to allow construction of building taller than 50 feet or that exceed three stories unless approved by a majority of voters at a regular or special election. These outdated restrictions have contributed to severely limiting economic viability of development projects for decades and have discouraged private investment, as demonstrated by the continuing problem of deteriorating, underutilized and vacant properties in older parts of the city, a staff report states. The initiative measure would allow properties in the El Camino Real area to rise 20 feet or two stories; properties in the San Bruno Avenue area to rise 15 feet or two stories; buildings in the downtown area to rise five feet or one story; and buildings in the Caltrain station area to rise 40 feet or four stories.

“As a resident, I can state an opinion — the consensus of the council is that raising the height limits is really going to attract more growth,” Salazar said. “Most people are in favor of having downtown redeveloped and this seems to be an avenue to do it. Some people are concerned about the scale of projects that could come into place.”
....
Some local business leaders say the height limits need to change to give downtown a boost, with Dennis Sammut, CEO of the Artichoke Joe’s Casino on Huntington Avenue, noting that a lot of the buildings in the downtown 1600 block of San Mateo Avenue are 100 years old.

“The downtown is tired; it’s old,” he previously said. “Someday you’ve got to bite the bullet. I think they’re (the council) kind of caught. There’s a lot of resident concerns. It’s a very difficult decision for the council; it’s dynamic. If they want the town to move into the next century, it has to be an intelligently planned development. … Looking for the future of San Bruno, the way to help move it forward is increase height limits. … You can’t go crazy and put up a 90-story building though.”
....

[timbad]

cool. ever since the new Caltrain station opened, I've been waiting to hear what San Bruno was going to do to leverage the investment. there's not much around it

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by fflint

My planner friends tell me Redwood City is really going to change in the coming years, and it sure appears that way given the numbers here.


Wow, Berkeley!

Amazing. I remember they were protesting something much smaller. 18 stories is great for Berkeley.

[simms3_redux]

Apple's campus, construction updatet (Cupertino):



http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...-campus-2014-8

[1977]

New renderings, courtesy of sf.curbed.com, of the Santa Clara Centennial Gateway across the street from Levi's Stadium:

Santa Clara Centennial Gateway, will transform a parking lot into a mixed-use commercial and entertainment complex with 430,000 square feet of office space, 120,000 square feet of retail, and a 250-room boutique hotel on a 9.5-acre site.

Source and more info