50 First St. (Planning, Design or Conception) – San Francisco – 94105

Having been on hold for a few years, the plans for a few big towers to rise at First and Mission, a.k.a. the 50 First Street site, have been reworked and resubmitted to Planning.

Local Map

As currently envisioned, the existing office/retail buildings at 50 First, 62 First, and 76-78 First would be razed to make room for a 850-foot tall, 59-story tower fronting First Street as well as a 605-foot tall, 56-story tower fronting Mission Street.

The 850-foot First Street Tower One would contain 1,220,000 square feet of office space over ground-floor retail, as was previously proposed, with a garage for up to 187 cars.

Plans for the 605-foot tower fronting Mission now call for 500 residential units over ground floor retail and a five level subterranean parking garage with 136 parking spaces. Earlier plans to include hotel and entertainment components in the tower have been dropped.

Plans for a third tower on the corner of First and Mission have also been dropped and the existing building at 88 First Street would be rehabilitated as part of the 50 First project.

Noting that because of its height, “the proposed [850-foot] Tower One would stand out as a major landmark on the skyline,” and as such, “the design should exceed conventional standards and should be a stellar piece of contemporary architecture comparable to the best tall buildings worldwide,” the Planning Department has offered a few suggestions for the tower’s design, the images of which above are simply placeholders at this point:

Consider design options that sculpt the building to create a unique feature on the skyline. The top of Tower One should feature a dynamic and interesting top that presents an interesting profile. To the extent that shadow considerations, based on further analysis, might prevent major additional decorative rooftop elements from rising above a height of 850 feet, the Department expects a reduction of sufficient occupied space at the top of the building below 850 feet to allow for a satisfying sculpted building top within the 850-foot height envelope.
As part of the project, Jessie Street would be rerouted and the portion of Tower One that spans the existing Jessie Street route would be converted into a three-story public galleria (Jessie Street Galleria); Elim Alley would be converted to a two-story galleria with lobby and retail uses (Elim Alley Galleria); and a public plaza would sit at the base of Tower Two.

The project site, comprising seven parcels, and portions of Elim Alley and Jessie Street, is approximately 56,860 square feet in size. All lots are within Block 3708 and include 50 First Street, 62 First Street, 76‐78 First Street, 88 First Street, 512 Mission Street, 516 Mission Street, and 526 Mission Street; the three parcels with addresses on Mission Street are currently vacant.

The three proposed towers would accommodate a mix of office (approximately 1.25 million square feet), residential (about 182 dwelling units), retail (approximately 43,000 square feet), and hotel (about 266 rooms) use, along with a 15,000‐square‐foot entertainment venue (performance theater), five levels of below grade parking (about 310 spaces), off‐street loading spaces, and publicly accessible open space.

Tower One would front on First Street and would span the portion of Jessie Street that runs through the project site. The 64‐story building would be 850 feet tall to the roof (915 feet tall to the top of the parapet and solar/wind energy collection features), and would include an 83‐foot tall base that would also have frontage on Stevenson Street, where the proposed performance theater would be located. The building would contain approximately 43,000 square feet of retail and the 15,000 sf performance theater on levels one through three. Mechanical space would occupy the topmost story. The remaining 60 stories would provide approximately 1.25 million square feet of office space. The tower would span the easternmost portion of Jessie Street, which would be closed to vehicular traffic and converted into a 20‐foot‐tall public pedestrian passageway (Jessie Street Galleria) flanked by retail space and lobbies serving the office use. The First Street frontage, moving from north to south, would include the theater entrance, office lobby, entrance to the Jessie Street Galleria, second office lobby and a retail store. The Stevenson Street frontage would include retail space and a garage/loading dock driveway separated by an open pedestrian entry to the interior passageway linking Stevenson Street, Mission Street and First Street via the proposed Jessie Street Galleria. An approximately 5,100‐square‐foot publicly accessible roof terrace would be developed atop the 83‐foot tall theater, fronting on Stevenson Street.

Tower Two would front Mission Street and Ecker Place. The 56-story building (605 feet to the roof, 640 feet to the top of the parapet) would include residential and hotel uses above the ground-floor entrances and two levels of hotel service space. Approximately 266 hotel rooms would be located on floors four through 22 and approximately 160 residential units would occupy levels 23 through 55. A mechanical level would occupy floor 56. The ground floor would include a hotel entrance, a residential lobby on Ecker Place, and a retail space at the corner of Mission and Ecker. The hotel lobby would be on the second floor, and hotel function space would occupy level 3. Publicly accessible open space would occupy the set back area between Tower Two and the Mission Street and Ecker Place property lines.

Tower Three would be located at the northwest corner of Mission and First Streets. This 15-story, 174-foot tall building (184 feet tall to the top of the parapet), would include retail space and a residential lobby on the ground floor and 22 residential units on the upper levels. Tower Three would be separated from the rest of the proposed project by a “T” shaped parcel (84 First Street) that is not under the control of the project sponsor and not included in the project site.

The project as proposed would either require approval of the proposed Transit Center District Plan and accompanying rezoning with respect to increased height limits or a site-specific amendment of the Planning Code and General Plan height maps by way of the Board of Supervisors upon recommendation from the Planning Commission.

Next step, the preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR).

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