San Francisco city and business leaders gathered today to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Transbay Transit Tower and the sale of the property to the developers who will build the 60-story building.
The 1,070-foot tower at First and Mission streets in the city’s South of Market neighborhood will be the tallest building on the West Coast and seventh-tallest in the U.S. when it is finished in 2016, according to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority.
Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, executive director of the TJPA, a collection of Bay Area government agencies collaborating on the project, said the tower “will stand for generations as a model for elegance and functionality.”
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said the tower will transform the city’s skyline and serve as a “critical anchor” for public transit in the Bay Area.
Supervisor Jane Kim, whose city district includes the construction site, said upon completion of the project, the Transbay Transit Tower will serve as the “new center of downtown.”
Elsewhere
Hathaway Dinwiddie, Clark nab Transbay Tower contract [Biz Times]
Transbay developer delivers money to SF [Chron]
Hines, Boston Properties sling ceremonial dirt in Transbay ground-breaking [Biz Times]
Transbay Tower project breaks ground in SF [Ex]
Ceremonial Groundbreaking Held For SF’s Transbay Tower [KCBS]
With demolition of the old Transbay Terminal finished, TJPA today also announced the closing of the sale of the 50,000-square-foot parcel at 101 First St. to Hines and Boston Properties, the firms that will develop the site.
The property, which sold for just under $192 million, will also include a new bus and rail station with a 5.4-acre park on top of it and will include 1.375 million square feet of office space as well as residential and retail space, according to organizers.
“We are dedicated to making this an iconic tower that will stand as a landmark for all who travel to San Francisco and add to its appeal as one of our most sought after 24/7 cities in the U.S. on top of being the technology capital of the world,” Boston Properties CEO Mort Zuckerman said.
Updates on construction of the tower and the adjacent transit center is available online at www.transbaycenter.org.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
