From the San Francisco Business Times:
Sweet music to real estate investors TMG Partners and DivcoWest. Finance officials at the State Compensation Insurance Fund, however, must be feeling pretty short-sighted right now. TMG and Divco, both San Francisco-based real estate investment firms, more than doubled their money on the deal in less than a year, buying the property for $44 million in October of 2011 and agreeing to sell it this week for $109.8 million. Continue reading
Filed under economics
The Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Western SoMa Community Plan concludes:
“In general, it is anticipated that future development under revised zoning controls would result in more cohesive neighborhoods throughout the Project Area. New development within the Draft Plan Area, specifically, would exhibit greater consistency in land use and building types, and would include more clearly defined residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and high-tech/light industrial/PDR areas.” Continue reading
Filed under planning
Although I’ve always supported the Central Subway project, which isn’t really a very popular position among progressives in this town, it does occasionally try my patience.
When we carved out the area known as Western SoMa for our community-based planning process, we avoided the 4th Street corridor where the new rail line will run. The street is already developing all by itself as a neighborhood-serving commercial corridor and the addition of enhanced public transit seemed like a logical extension of reality-based planning.
Then the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development intervened, arguing that “we’re not gonna spend a billon dollars for this boondoggle without getting more bang for our buck.” Thus was born the Central Corridor planning process. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Salesforce.com recently backed away from its plans for a 2 million-square-foot campus in the Mission Bay neighborhood, another highly anticipated development in the same area as the Warriors arena and entertainment complex.
Mayor Ed Lee was understandably in an hurry to trumpet the news that he had persuaded the Golden State Warriors to relocate to a brand new arena along the Embarcadero, in the wake of a series of less than stellar developments in recent months.
The once heralded Americas Cup continues to scale back their once grandiose plans; Salesforce.com has abandoned its ambitious proposal to build a 2 million-square-foot campus in the Mission Bay neighborhood; even as Twitter moves into their new taxpayer-subsidized Market Street digs, Facebook’s stock tanks and the glow is coming off other high tech office projects; and the pending loss of the San Francisco 49ers remains a constant embarrassment. Continue reading
By ADAM DAVIDSON
The New York Times
When I was about 6, my dad and I were sitting near Wall Street when I asked him why so many men were wearing suits and ties. It was the 1970s, and we lived in Greenwich Village, a place where you could see men wearing almost anything except a suit and tie. My dad, a theater actor, told me that the people on Wall Street cared about money, and as a result, they had to dress formally. I even remember feeling bad for these poor chumps. Read more
Filed under community services, planning, quality of life
soma leadership council 