Looking Up

With a spate of new projects, high-rise condo construction in San Francisco gives new meaning to "vertical density."

By David Silva

Construction continues full-bore on three San Francisco high-rise condominium developments south of Market Street that, when completed, will dramatically redefine the city's skyline.

The projects -- the Millennium Tower at 301 Mission St., One Rincon Hill at First and Harrison streets and the Infinity at 300 Spear St. -- are part of a targeted effort by the city to generate 11,000 new housing units, 2,500 of them affordable.

San Mateo-headquartered Webcor Builders began excavation last year for the 1.7-million-sq.-ft., 58-story Millennium Tower, a major component of the city's Transbay Terminal redevelopment district. Located between Fremont and Beale streets, the $400 million project includes 420 luxury condominium units ranging from one to three bedrooms. Included in the number are two penthouses.

Millennium also features a two-story glass atrium; 8,000 sq. ft. of retail space; and 18,900 sq. ft. of amenities space, such as an enclosed pool and spa area, resident owners' lounge, kids' area with changing rooms and fitness facilities. A five-level underground parking garage will provide space for 350 cars.

"We went with a concrete core and a concrete frame as opposed to a steel structure, and so from that aspect it's a stout building," said Glenn Rescalvo, partner and project architect for Handel Architects, the development's New York-based architect of record. "We have exterior moment frames pulled away from the cornices to allow floor-to-ceiling glass with no parameter beams. The exterior moment frames are somewhat redundant, taking a 25 percent additional load of the building."

Handel employed a variety of glass and metal materials, chamfered corners and 10-in. aluminum fins to give the tower a look and shape reminiscent of crystal.

Construction on the Millennium Tower began in September, and final build-out is scheduled for late 2008. New York-based Millennium Partners is the developer.

Webcor is also general contractor for the 656-unit Infinity, formerly known as the Spear Realty Venture Residential Towers. Excavation was recently completed for the project, located a block from the Embarcadero in Rincon Hill.

The 1,736-acre mixed-use development includes eight-, nine-, 36- and 41-story residential towers providing a total of 981,489 sq. ft. of living space. It also features 12,644 sq. ft. of retail space, a health club and a five-level subterranean parking garage with 777 stalls.

Webcor would not disclose construction costs. Steve Newburn, project director for Webcor, said the Infinity would be built in two phases, with 367 units online in the first and 289 in the second. The condominium towers will sit atop the ground-level retail/amenities component of the project. Unit sizes range from studio townhouses at sidewalk level to penthouses with views of the San Francisco Bay.

Construction on the project started in July, and final build-out is slated for the fourth quarter of 2007. New York City-based Tishman Speyer Properties is the developer and Heller Manus of San Francisco and Arquitectonica of Miami are the project architects.

"This is one of the last significant developments near Embarcadero and one of the largest excavations in recent San Francisco history," Newburn said. "The excavation is a little more than 65 feet deep, and about 175,000 cu. yds. of dirt came out of that."

At the top of Rincon Hill a short distance from the Infinity site, developer Michael Kriozere of La Jolla-based Urban West Associates held a groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 10 for One Rincon Hill. The luxury condominium complex includes two residential towers rising without setback 55 stories and 45 stories above a relatively small 9,800-sq.-ft. footprint.

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When finished - a December 2007 completion date is anticipated - the complex will feature 709 condominiums and townhouses.

Each floor will contain about eight units, which will range in size from 600 sq. ft. to 1,800 sq. ft. All will have balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows. One Rincon Hill will also have a parking garage that will be surrounded by 14 townhouses in a podium structure, a health club, hospitality room and concierge service.

New York-headquartered Bovis Lend Lease is the general contractor and Solon Cordwell Buenz & Associates of Chicago is the architect for the first phase of the two-phase project -- the $270 million, 55-story South Tower.

At 550 ft., the South Tower when finished will be the tallest residential structure in the city, according to the San Francisco Planning Department. The cost of the second phase - the 319-unit North Tower - was not disclosed.

One Rincon Hill is a key component of the city's Rincon Hill redevelopment plan, wherein developers can have their projects fast-tracked in a municipal effort to revitalize the flagging industrial neighborhood. In return, developers agree to pay the city a fee, which fluctuates depending on the market, for public improvements.

Residential developers also agree to set aside about 12 percent of the project's units for affordable housing. In the case of One Rincon Hill, Urban West Associates will pay San Francisco $20 million toward affordable housing and $18 million for public improvements -- or about $25 a sq. ft., said Amit Ghosh, head of long-range planning for the city. The asking price for units could start at around $1 million.

"Under the old system, the development process was a quagmire of uncertainty," Ghosh added. "You could waste years doing Environmental Impact Reports with no idea what was coming out in the end. One Rincon Hill was the first project to prove that you can have a hearing before the planning commission that takes no more than 15 minutes. You can take care of land remediation as much as you can in advance, and whatever specific issues remain can be pared off the EIR.

"If you were to ask developers if they would spend money at the front end to gain some certainty on what the final outcome would be, they would say it's money well-spent."