Transbay Block 8 (First and Folsom)

While the expected grand opening of San Francisco’s new Transbay Terminal has been pushed back a year to 2015, J.K. Dineen now reports the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency has “suspended efforts” to develop housing on Transbay Block 8.

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency has suspended efforts to develop housing on a key Transbay District parcel after bids for the property came in “well below the potential value of the site in a healthier real estate market,” according to a memo from Executive Director Fred Blackwell.

Blackwell said the agency decided to suspend the request for proposals process for Block 8, a 42,600-square-foot parcel on Folsom Street between First and Fremont streets. The agency is looking for a developer to build two market-rate structures: a 550-foot residential tower and an adjacent 50-foot residential townhouse development. In addition, the RFP called for a 100 percent affordable building 65 to 85 feet.

Noting “the agency should wait for conditions to improve rather than sell under current market conditions,” Blackwell expects to issue a new RFP in 2010 which we’ll call a bit optimistic considering the current trends and typical market cycle.

In The Pipeline For First And Folsom: 550-feet And 600 Units [SocketSite]

14 thoughts on “Transbay Block 8: No Deal Or Development In 2009”
  1. Saw that coming. Interesting how the City puts their business hat on when they need to but ask others to take it off.

  2. And, why is the market going to recover? Guys — don’t forget, if SF doesn’t get the job engine going — there may never be a robust recovery. There is plenty of other space around — demand may never govern that things like 100% affordable buildings are ever built. Why not put the housing near the jobs — in other states…

  3. what does “100% affordable building” refer to? Is it an all BMR units, or some other type of government housing?

  4. First things first…get the damn transbay terminal up…nobody is going to buy a redevelop near a freeway offramp until the whole thing is finished

  5. This highlights the danger in buying a home in a gentrifying area or an “up and coming” area. Many people bought in this area with the expectation that the neighborhood would change for the better, which isn’t necessarily a bad idea.
    The problem is that many people paid premium pricing ($1k/sq ft and higher) to buy in these areas, and seemed to neglect the very real risk that the plans wouldn’t turn out.
    It was in my opinion pretty obvious for several years that most of the planned buildings would never come to fruition, at least not in this RE phase.
    It shows how ridiculous the process is in SF. They are so strict with all their planning that most of the projects can’t get built during boom times… and then nobody wants to build them in bust times (for good reason).
    these prospective projects will have to wait for more than “good times”. They have to wait until credit loosens up. The banks will be strangled with their bad loans for many years, and thus will be hesitant to lend on big commercial or residential towers any time soon. This is one of the myriad of problems when you create a zombie banking system, as we have. It’s one of the reasons why people like me called for letting some of the banks go bankrupt.
    it’s a pity that most of these projects likely won’t happen for a very very long time (I’d guess 10-20 years minimum).

  6. Funny how the city is acting just like every other homeowner. If they can’t get their asking price, they’ll take their property off the market and wait until the market “recovers.”
    Good luck with that one.

  7. Noting “the agency should wait for conditions to improve rather than sell under current market conditions,”…
    Call me a “Bear”, but I continue to be astonished by the Optimism of people – especially ones that are in power to make changes to a City like Executive Director Fred Blackwell.
    Is there any statistical basis for what he is holding out for ? I bet this vacant area will soon be filled with homeless junkies relocating from the tenderloin.
    Ah, San Francisco, World Class City !

  8. “The problem is that many people paid premium pricing ($1k/sq ft and higher) to buy in these areas, and seemed to neglect the very real risk that the plans wouldn’t turn out.”
    Boy truer words were never said there. Man that koolaid was sweet.

  9. Great news, my home has an aspect that looks down onto this plot of land.
    Would agree, it would be great if there was something green here but I’m guessing it’ll simply become yet-another $12 a day parking lot.

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