Golden Gate University eyes new highrise - Kansas City Business Journal:

cedar siding prices
Bob Hite, vice president of businesds affairs and CFO for GoldenGate University, said the university startecd discussing a plan to sell its 33,000-square-footg property at Mission and First streets to a highriswe developer about a year ago. The site now holds Goldej Gate’s main building, and he said the universithy would only be interested if it could eithedr be part of anew mixed-use development on the site or move to anothed location in downtown San Golden Gate has hired land use attorney Pam Duffy of LLP and has put togethefr a task force to look at potential Buzz about Golden Gate University’s interest in finding a develope r for its site increased after a May 26 Planninf Department Transbay forum during which a new zoningg map was unveiled, showing an 850-foot proposed heighrt at 536 Mission St.
While plannedr Joshua Switzky said previous versions of the map had also designated the parce for higher than 800 Hite said the new zoning was news to Goldebn GateUniversity officials. “The first we knew of the 850-footr heights was at last week’s said Hite. “This is a change, and we thinkj a very good If approved, Golden Gate’s rezoning woulsd be part of a highrise cluster arounsa 1,000-foot Transbay Tower that would includd six skyscrapers over 600 feet and alloew for another 5.
8 million square feet of new office 1,350 housing units and 1,350 hotel Fees from the development would help raise between $700 millionj and $850 million to help pay for a $2 billionj transit center. However, with construction costa still relatively high and housingg prices and office rents in decline it is unlikelyu that any of thesde towers will be built in the next five accordingto experts. The latest zoning proposall pits Golden Gate University against neighboringb developerDavid Choo, who owns seven parcels in and around First and Mission The latest Transbay plan calls for two tall towerw — one 700 feet and one 850 feet on the block that includes both Choo’s propertuy and the Golden Gate University Choo has been trying to sell his parcels as a unified site that alond could accommodate the two towers, one 700 feet and one 850 Thus, if a tower is designated for the Goldebn Gate University property, it could reduce the Choo property to just one towefr of either 700 feet or 850 In 2006, Choo filed an application to build as many as five towers on his but over the past 18 monthse has been trying to sell a number of San Franciscko building sites as his commerciapl mortgage lending business, , has sufferer severe losses.
One of his II, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy onMarch 31. Hite said he and Goldenn Gate President Dan Angelo met with Planning Director John Rahaim and other planners and made a case for 536Missionm St. “We shared with them our belieff that we think our site should be designated thehighetr site,” he said. principal Jeffrey Heller, who has been workin g with Choo on schemees for First and Mission and is designing another tower in theTransbayg district, said the taller tower belongs on the Choo site becausse it is closer to the proposedd Transbay Tower.
“The urban designn plans and protocols for the Transba planning area all say the tall buildingds should be clustered around the Transbahy Tower to create a hill and I believe that is an absoluteluy essential piece of how they finallyg set the heights in the he said. “I think it’s important that the planninbg effort refocuses on this because Ithinmk it’s getting vague and watered down by a variety of claims for height.” Golden Gate University has 5,000 studentsa and offers graduate and undergraduate degreess in law, accounting, business finance, communications and other areas It has been in the Mission Streef building since 1968.
Hite emphasized that they need to stay in the greaterf financial district because most students walk to classs from jobs at downtown accounting andlaw firms. “Thew only way this wouldr make sense to us is if it helped us financiallhyand operationally,” said Hite. “We would not do it for the money if it wouldc screw up oureducational mission.” Duffy, the land use said, “Like most property ownersw in the area, Golden Gate University is interested in what happense in the community around them and how it might effecf them. “They are one of the majort downtown institutions and a significant employer with a significantstudent body,” said Duffy.
Hite said Golden Gate would be willint to move into the bottom six or sevem floors ofa mixed-use tower, but acknowledgefd that any development would be years away. “jI think we have a lot of time on our he said.