SAN FRANCISCO — Transbay Tower, slated to be the tallest skyscraper on the West Coast, has cleared two big hurdles on the road to construction.
Hines finalized a joint venture with Boston Properties to buy land for the 61-story building in San Francisco from Transbay Joint Powers Authority for $190 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013 and both Hines and Boston Properties will have a 50 percent interest in the venture.
In addition, the San Francisco Planning Commission has granted final planning approval for the tower to proceed. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the building will rise to a height of 1,070 square feet and total 1.4 million square feet.
“We think the tower will be a beautiful addition to San Francisco's beloved skyline as well as an extremely desirable and sustainable workplace next to one of the state's busiest transit hubs,” says Gerald Hines, chairman of Hines.
Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman and CEO of Boston Properties, adds the building will be a “landmark for generations to come.”
The new tower will be located next to the Transbay Transit Center, which broke ground in 2010. The $4 billion transportation and housing project will replace the former Transbay Terminal at First and Mission streets in San Francisco's South of Market area.
The Transit Center, also designed by Pelli, will connect eight Bay Area counties and the State of California through 11 transit systems. The vision is to create a “Grand Central Station of the West.”
— Liz Burlingame