Organized Labor

by Paul Burton
Contributing Writer

The proposed design for a new Transbay Transit Center and Tower by the team of developer Hines and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects was chosen by the board of directors of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) Sept. 20. The Board’s decision gives the TJPA Executive Director the authority to enter into exclusive negotiations with the Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/Hines team. An international competition over the past nine months had generated designs from several world-renowned architects. Three design/development teams were chosen to present their proposals to the TJPA in July.

The $3.14 billion development is expected to generate jobs totaling 8,000 person years from the construction of the Transit Center and Caltrain Downtown Rail Extension. Thousands of additional construction jobs will be created during construction of 3,400 new homes and new office and retail buildings in the Transbay Redevelopment Area – a 40-acre area of downtown – and long-term jobs will be created through the operation and maintenance of the Center.

The TJPA vote follows the recommendation made Sept. 10 by the Design and Development Jury, an expert panel of design, planning, engineering, transit and real estate development professionals. The jury unanimously recommended the Pelli/Hines team over the other two teams to reach the final stage of the Design and Development competition, Rogers Strick Harbour and Forest City Enterprises with MacFarlane Partners and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Rockefeller Group Development Corporation. According to the jury’s final report, “the Pelli/Hines design for the Transit Center and Tower best met the TJPA’s operational, functional and aesthetic requirements.”

The winning proposal by Hines and Pelli features a five-and-a-half-acre public park that will sit atop the new transit center. This new “City Park” will double as a “green roof” for the transit facility, and include a natural system of small streams and marshes to collect and purify rainwater.

The developer also proposes a 1,200-foot office tower that will become the tallest building in the U.S. west of Chicago. The architect said it was designed to include state-of-the-art security, safety, and sustainability features, following the guidelines set by the TJPA. When completed, the Transbay Transit Center will serve as a hub for local and regional public transit systems, linking busses, trains, and BART.

“The selection of Pelli and Hines to build this transit hub and tower is a testament to the values, the vision and the excitement of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area region,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “We look forward to continuing the planning process and finally realizing the more than 20-year vision of a central transit station connecting our City with the region, state and country.” The TJPA Board envisions the new Transbay Transit Center as the Grand Central of the West, with a million square feet of transit and public areas.

TJPA Executive Director Maria Ayerdi said that, “We are very pleased with the quality of the submissions and the professionalism and integrity of the jury. We are also proud of the Board’s decision to select the Pelli/Hines Team for its beautiful, functional design and economic contribution to the Transbay Program—this will be an asset for the community and for the entire region as a whole.” “We are thrilled to team up with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/Hines to make the Transbay Transit Center a reality. Their proposal was a thoughtful consideration about what San Francisco needs in a transit center and in a new landmark tower,” said TJPA Board Chair Jerry Hill.

The TJPA was created in 2001 to design, build and operate the new Transbay Transit Center Program. The new Transbay Transit Center at First and Mission streets will centralize the region’s transportation network by accommodating nine transportation systems under one roof, including AC Transit, Caltrain, MUNI, Golden Gate Transit, SamTrans, Greyhound, BART, WestCAT and future California High-Speed Rail. The area surrounding the Transit Center will be redeveloped to include housing, retail, and an adjacent tower.

A new Transbay neighborhood with 3,400 new homes will be developed around the new facilities, with 35 percent set aside as affordable to working families.

Architect Cesar Pelli said, “I am incredibly happy and excited with the news that our proposal has been selected for the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco. The Transit Center, with its accompanying tower, will have an immeasurable impact in the life and form of the city. We are looking forward to working with our clients, TJPA, and Hines, as well as the citizens of San Francisco to make this a successful and exciting project.”

“It is a tremendous honor for our firm to have been selected, especially considering the quality of the other teams and designs,” said developer Gerald D. Hines. “This project includes the most innovative thinking from around the world in the fields of sustainability, transit design and urban planning. It will be one of the great places in San Francisco and a model for other cities.”

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. Since 1979 the firm has developed or redeveloped six projects and acquired another nine in San Francisco. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (PCPA) has designed over 80 million square feet of urban, mixed-use projects for government, private, and corporate clients worldwide since1977, including the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur.