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Connect San Francisco Mega Developments: Shaping the Skyline
Connect San Francisco brought hundreds of CRE professionals to the SPUR Urban Center for an afternoon of panels and an evening of networking and cocktails. The discussions covered such topics as major mega developments shaping the skyline, investment in the Bay Area, and the creation of communities. Here are the highlights of Mega Developments: Shaping the Skyline panel.
Moderated by JLL’s Jacqueline Dompe, panelists shared the projects they are bringing to life, how they are working with private/public partnerships, and addressed the issue of affordable housing.
- SF Giants’ Fran Weld shared the opportunity that large scale public/private partnerships provide for developers, namely the ability to use public land to solve citywide issues. For the SF Giants’ Mission Rock mixed-use development, eight acres of the 28-acre site will be public parks and open space, as the district had the lowest per capita open space. Thus, they are serving a need by working with the city and community.
- Forest City’s Jack Sylvan shared how the historic Pier 70 project is taking cues from the public to create a place for the local community. With the integration of art and local access to the waterfront, Forest City is asking the question “what do you want to be able to come and do here?” and developing the answer, literally.
- Kilroy Realty’s Brandon Wang is “bullish going forward,” and explained more about their project currently under construction at 100 Hoover, which is 400,000 square feet, and offers PDR (production, distribution and repair) space. For the deal to pencil, they were entitled to develop office space, of which Adobe has leased 315,000 square feet.
- Lendlease’s Tiffany Bohee explained that because of Lendlease’s own capital stack, they are able to conserve nature and prioritize sustainability of their developments by leveraging their global platform.
- The John Buck Company’s Evan Schwimmer discussed how mixed-use master planned communities are “transforming downtown San Francisco.” So, they develop for the flow and demand of space in the concentrated urban market, and right now, demand is moving south of the Financial District.
- ◦Financing
- ◦Development
