Development and Real Estate

Cruise Ship Terminal Finances Terrified Port Director

By Joe Eskenazi Tue., May 14 2013 at 9:59 AM
Categories: America's Cup, Development and Real Estate
rsz_lusitania-002.jpg
How's that penciling out?
The news that the city's nascent cruise ship terminal could well lose the city boatloads of money is disturbing -- but hardly unanticipated.

Last year, SF Weekly obtained a January 2012 e-mail from Port of San Francisco Director Monique Moyer to members of her staff lamenting the proposed cruise ship terminal's financial baggage:

"I just don't see how we can commit the Port to financial instability by committing to these obligations. Frankly, the cruise terminal isn't worth the risk. ... Sorry to be the 'Debbie Downer' on this, but I spent a sleepless night and I came to the conclusion that I can't be the one who does this to the Port."

See Also: America's Cup Sailor Refers to Boats as 'Godforsaken Deathtraps'

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Development and Real Estate

8 Washington: Who's Gonna Pay for Rivers of Sewage?

By Joe Eskenazi Thu., May 9 2013 at 3:25 PM
Categories: Development and Real Estate, Politics
AndyInTunnel.jpg
Problems beneath the city?
The notions of luxury condos and torrents of raw sewage do not exactly jibe. Nor does the idea of the residents of those condos -- and the city -- being on the hook for said fetid rivers.

But that was the picture painted by Supervisor David Chiu today during a provocative hearing regarding the 8 Washington condo tower's proposed construction just a yard from a sewer line pumping 20 million gallons of waste daily.  That effluent is generated by 375,000 city residents and represents about a quarter of the city's sewage. You do not want that coming out of the pipe.

Chiu -- an outspoken opponent of the development -- alleged that he and his colleagues on the board were willfully kept in the dark about engineering concerns regarding the proximity of the proposed structure to the century-old sewage line. This, he says, was the case even as the supes were deliberating -- and ultimately approving -- the project.

"I do not have faith in the departments involved there has been an adequate investigation here," Chiu said. "I think there was information that people knew that should have been disclosed. I have e-mails and letters to show that. Staffers were either told or decided to keep that information to themselves at great risk to the public. I have a problem with that." 

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Development and Real Estate

Warriors Arena Booster Group Trims Swollen "Steering Committee"

By Joe Eskenazi Wed., Apr. 17 2013 at 2:10 PM
Categories: Development and Real Estate, Politics
SfWarriors0417.jpg
Anna Latino/SF Examiner
Yesterday we reported that the noontime City Hall rally planned by the nascent group "Warriors on the Waterfront" came as a surprise to even those listed as part of the organization's steering committee. 

The surprise was two-fold: Not only were groups taken aback there was a rally going on, they were unaware that they'd been drafted to be part of this organization. 

"I just gotta say, I have no idea what this group is or how our name came to be used in affiliation with them," Josh Arce, the executive director of the Brightline Defense Project, told SF Weekly Tuesday. "I guess we'll find out at some point." 

Arce's nonprofit was erroneously listed as "Brightline Defense Group" on Warriors on the Waterfront's steering committee page, and was also miscategorized as a labor union. The Carpenters' Local 22 -- which actually is a labor union -- was also listed on the page, though no one there knew anything about a rally or the organization throwing it. 

But, in a way, that problem has been solved. 


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Development and Real Estate

"Warriors on the Waterfront" Rally Catches So-Called Allies Off-Guard

By Joe Eskenazi Tue., Apr. 16 2013 at 9:05 AM
Categories: Development and Real Estate
wilt-chamberlain-warriors.jpg
The Wilt Chamberlain Group labor union was not listed on the steering committee, though...
The battle for -- and against -- the Golden State Warriors' proposed waterfront arena is heating up. So it wasn't a surprise to see a group calling itself "Warriors on the Waterfront" throwing a noontime rally on the City Hall steps today. 

Unless you're a member of the group's "steering committee." 

"We've been getting calls about a rally or a group, and, I just gotta say, I have no idea what this group is or how our name came to be used in affiliation with them," says Josh Arce, executive director of the Brightline Defense Project, a local nonprofit focused on sustainability and local hiring issues. "I guess we'll find out at some point." 

On the Warriors on the Waterfront steering committee page, Arce's organization -- which is supporting the arena project -- is, oddly, listed as "Brightline Defense Group" and erroneously categorized as a labor union. 

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Development and Real Estate

Controversial Hotel Approved -- But at Least You Won't be Seeing Naked People

By Joe Eskenazi Mon., Apr. 8 2013 at 2:59 PM
Categories: Development and Real Estate, Government
Exhibitionists by Fred Noland.jpg
Fred Noland
There are some things you cannot unsee
The Chronicle wrote today about the almost apologetic tone taken by Planning Commissioners after approving a contested 11-story, 220-room hotel only stumbling distance from Moscone Center.

You can complain about how yet another hotel sprouting in an area already thick with placard-wearing convention-goers and the soulless, high-rise boxes in which to corral them is doing little for the city's downtrodden and underprivileged. You wouldn't be the first.

But at least you're not going to be subjected to wall-to-ceiling views of non-placard-wearing exhibitionists.

See Also: Privacy Please!

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Development and Real Estate

Anchor Brewery Announcement Leads to Delightful Day-Drinking

By Joe Eskenazi Wed., Feb. 20 2013 at 12:59 PM
Categories: Development and Real Estate
Beer party C. Roberts.JPG
Chris Roberts
It's Beer O'Clock!
Had Anchor Brewery's proposed waterfront extravaganza been extant in the days of Otis Redding, sitting on the dock of the bay could have been a less melancholy experience.

Yesterday's big development announcement was made during a dreary gray morning. But, even on a clean, crisp Northern California winter's day -- like today -- things can always get better. You could be enjoying a beer during the daylight hours and wandering through this city's environs in a slightly altered state.

That appeared to be the happy plight of a number of our fair city's political movers and shakers yesterday, per the above delightful photo snapped by Chris Roberts. Among others, that would be Supervisors Jane Kim and Carmen Chu alongside Mayor Ed Lee and Giants' CEO Larry Baer.

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Community

Kezar Gardens: Haight Recycling Center to Close This Week

By Coburn Palmer Mon., Dec. 3 2012 at 6:15 AM
Categories: Community , Development and Real Estate, Government, Local News

Thumbnail image for rsz_recycler.jpg
In a move surely motivated by the Christmas spirit, the city's Recreation and Parks Department evicted one of the only recycling centers in Haight-Ashbury, Kezar Gardens.

Last week, sheriff's deputies arrived to boot employees, marking the end of an 18-month fight to keep the recycling center open. Rec and Parks has been trying to close the center, which has been at 780 Frederick St. for 40 years, and replace it with gardens of its own.

The center, run by the Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood Council, employs 10 people, hosts more than 100 San Francisco gardeners, and boasts a community garden and native plant nursery.

See also: Haight Recycling Center Advocates to Stage Protest Using Recycled Chains

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Tags:

christmas, district 5, garden, gentrification, golden gate park, haight-ashbury, homeless, jobs, KEZAR GARDENS, mayor ed lee, parks, recreation and parks, recycling
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Breaking News

8 Washington: Development Foes Say They've Got the Signatures to Force Referendum

By Joe Eskenazi Thu., Jul. 19 2012 at 10:25 AM
Categories: Breaking News, Development and Real Estate, Government
2010_04_8washington.jpg
SOM.com
The road to getting this development off the drawing board just took another twist
Anti-condo petition could spawn first successful referendum in 21 years

Halting the construction of 8 Washington, a waterfront development that would likely house the most expensive condos in city history, has blossomed into the progressive ur-issue.

And that figures to continue for quite some time.

Opponents of the tower, a group calling itself No Wall on the Waterfront, say they've amassed enough signatures to qualify a referendum, which could overturn the Board of Supervisors' decision allowing 8 Washington to proceed. Those signed petitions, as of around 9:45 this morning, were being loaded into a moving truck; they will be delivered to the clerk of the Board of Supervisors today and the condo foes are expected to make a triumphant City Hall announcement at around 4 p.m. this afternoon.

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Tags:

8 Washington, Aaron Peskin, Condo, referendum, Sue Hestor
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Development and Real Estate

Pier 29 Fire Causes More Than $2 Million in Damages

By Suzanne Stathatos Thu., Jun. 21 2012 at 4:45 PM
Categories: America's Cup, Development and Real Estate, Fire
fire2pier.jpg
Jeff Sandstoe
We gave tourists a good show

Firefighters still don't know what caused the four-alarm fire that ripped through the roof of Pier 29 yesterday afternoon, stopping traffic along the Embarcadero, and hypnotizing tourists near the Wharf.

What they do know is that it caused more than $2 million in damages, SFFD spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge told the press.

What began as a two-alarm fire at 2 p.m. on Wednesday quickly escalated into a four-alarm blaze, as flames spit from the top of the pier. The blaze burned for nearly two hours as a team of firefighters worked to control it.


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Tags:

America's Cup, fire investigtors, Mindy Talmadge, Pier 29
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Community

Floating Cities Could Be on the Horizon

By Laura Rena Murray Wed., May 30 2012 at 12:43 PM
Categories: Community , Development and Real Estate, Eco-Curious, Environment, Real Estate, SF Oddities

pic-01.jpg

This weekend, seasteading enthusiasts will be flocking to the city for their annual conference at the Le Meridien Hotel to plan future floating cities. 

The ultimate goal of the seasteading movement is to establish autonomously governed communities on the water -- an ocean city-state, so to speak. The conference is hosted by the Seasteading Institute, and this year participants will discuss ways to implement sustainable energy options and recruiting real estate investors. 

"We are not the first to see freedom on the high seas," writes Randolph Hencken, the Institute's senior director, "but we are the first to temper this idealistic vision with a realistic strategy."  


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Tags:

Seasteading Institute, Thiel Foundation
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