As plugged-in people know, San Francisco’s Transit Center District Plan would permit up to six new buildings with heights ranging from 700 to 1,000 feet to rise within the area generally bounded by Market, Steuart, Folsom and a line east of Third.

At the center of the District, the roof of the proposed 61-story Transbay Transit Tower would rise to a height of 920 feet, topped by a 150 foot “lattice-like steel sculptural element” for a total height of 1,070 feet under which 1.35 million square feet of office space, 20,000 square feet of retail, and parking for 300 vehicles would be constructed.

As part of the plan, bicycle lanes would be striped on Fremont, Beale, and Main Streets and the sidewalk along Mission Street will be widened from 15 to 19 feet for the most part.

Any moment now, San Francisco’s Planning Commission is set to review and vote on the proposed Plan, Planning’s approval of which would send the Transit Center District Plan to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors for adoption, net new shadows and all.

UPDATE: The Transit Center District Plan was approved by the Planning Commission. From the Planning Department:

Between now and 2035, approximately 17 percent of the projected job growth in San Francisco will occur in the area surrounding the new Transbay Transit Center. The project anticipates over 27,000 new permanent jobs will be accommodated in the District — the most significant concentration of projected job growth in the entire city.

The new district will feature more than six million square feet of new office space, over 4,000 new housing units of which at least 1,200 units will be affordable, up to 1,000 new hotel rooms, and improved streets to enhance transit service and support walking and bicycling. The new Plan also proposes to create and fund over 11 acres of new public spaces such as parks, plazas and living streets.

The Department projects the Plan will raise $590 million in revenue from development.

9 thoughts on “Planning’s Towering Transit Center District Plan Decision: Approved”
  1. If they are zoning Transbay tower for 1000′, but it is only proposed at 920′, yet the lattice element on top does not qualify under the zoning, then why not make the tower 1000′ and give us a total height of 1,150′?

  2. sf, the transbay tower itself will come up for review later this year and the less than now-legal maximum height of it will probably be discussed at that time. It’s not clear that simple upzoning allows the transbay tower to get around Proposition K, so just because a taller building is allowed via zoning doesn’t mean it will be approved.
    it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

  3. 8 Washington was approved enthusiastically by the BOS even though it will shade city parks. I hope 1070′ is not the final height- what a disappointment and loss of opportunity that would be.

  4. Only 50 feet taller than USBank Tower in Los Angeles and that structure does not have a huge “crown” but instead fills its space with over 18 more floors of office space. I would have loved for this to have been taller as well.

  5. Bizarre and arbitrary spot-zoning,
    seemingly based more on land-owners’ political skills – or, less cynically, the dart-board method – than any comprehensive planning concept.
    600-feet in the mid-block behind the palace hotel?
    850-feet at 50-First?
    Meanwhile 350 Mission appears to get bumped to 700-feet while the SOM design in the pipes for that site is only 355-feet:
    https://socketsite.com/archives/2011/09/permits_pulled_to_raze_and_rebuild_350_mission.html

  6. Yeah, it’s a bit disappointing they brought it down from (I believe) the original 1200 feet…
    But still, great news overall!

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