Parcel for Proposed SF Tower Commands $160M

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Rendering of the Salesforce Tower, the tallest of the towers in the Transbay development

San Francisco—F4 Transbay Partners LLC, a joint venture between Urban Pacific Development LLC and Broad Street Principal Investments LLC, has acquired Parcel F, the last remaining site available for development of a super-tall building in downtown San Francisco, from the Transbay Joint Powers Authority for $160 million, plus a $15 million premium in the event of an assemblage of the property with an adjoining lot.

“As part of the effort to build a new transit facility at the old Transbay Terminal location, the state entrusted us with significant land to be used both for its construction and to sell to fund the project,” Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, TJPA executive director, told Commercial Property Executive. “Based on the extraordinary market, the TJPA advanced this sale, along with others, to take advantage of the strong sales prices that have resulted over the last few years.”

Generally zoned for 750 feet, Parcel F is the final parcel that can directly connect to the Transbay Transit Center Rooftop Park via a pedestrian sky bridge. F4 proposes to construct a tower on the property containing 200-300 hotel rooms, 200 residential units, and 250,000-425,000 square feet of office space.

“This is truly irreplaceable property, located in the heart of what is arguably the best real estate market in the U.S., and we would be kicking ourselves if we missed out on an opportunity to acquire it,” Chris Collins, Urban Pacific project management director, told Commercial Property Executive. “As with Urban Pacific’s One Rincon Hill project, Parcel F will be an iconic, transformative, game-changing development. This is a perfect fit for us not only as a company, but also as individuals because we want to enhance the built environment of San Francisco.”

The Transbay Transit Center will be an innovative transit station in San Francisco that will connect eight Bay Area counties, 11 transit systems and see more than 100,000 passengers each weekday once opened. In 2003, the State of California donated several parcels of land, including Parcel F, to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority.

“The proceeds from the sale of these parcels will assist in financing the construction of the Transbay Center,” Ayerdi-Kaplan said. “Additionally, the developments planned for Parcel F and these other land parcels will become an important part of the new, vibrant Transbay neighborhood.”

The tower is ideally located in the heart of the Transbay area of downtown San Francisco, a dynamic neighborhood that continues to expand as both a business center and residential community with great opportunity for more hotel and retail.

“The project benefits from its location in the epicenter of San Francisco’s new social, cultural, and business neighborhood as evidenced by the leading companies within the dominant employment sectors locating in the immediate vicinity,” Collins said. “Notable nearby employers include Orrick, BlackRock, Twitter, Google, JP Morgan Chase, Zynga, Facebook, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and Salesforce.”

It also provides immediate freeway access to 80, 101, and 280 and job centers to the North, South, and East.

Image courtesy of Hines