The sitch for 555 Washington, the proposed Transamerica sibling, hasn't changed much in the three weeks since its public hearing date was postponed. On the agenda then was a slew of recommendations from the city's planning department in favor of acknowledging the 400-foot tower's "overriding benefits" and raising shadow limits on nearby parks so the twisty building could be built. Today, the Chron has some meaty quotables from names attached to the project. First, from the very planning department that's delivered favorable recommendations: "The more I see of this project (and its design) the less I like it." That's from the guy assigned to the project. Meanwhile, former supes president Aaron Peskin — who some have speculated was behind the recently pulled shadow legislation — complains the "nuclear power plant cooling tower" also "represents a departure from a quarter century of voter-approved mandate to not shadow our parks."
On the other hand, the president of the Jackson Square Historical District would like to remind everyone that "good planning gives you guidelines so that you can allow for the unexpected," like a nice new Redwood Park. And, notes developer Andrew Segal, the project would net San Francisco $71 million over 10 years. But what of this new park? The Chron notes that in internal memos, a city planner/designer found that to comply with a floor-area-to-lot-size ratio, the developers counted the Redwood Park as part of their lot's square footage — the very park they say they're gifting to the city. "That's a lot of chutzpah." The hearing's tonight... stay tuned!
· 'Battle royal' brewing over planned S.F. tower [SFGate]
· Supes Measure Would Put the Shadow Smackdown on Developments [Curbed SF]
· Hearing on Twisty Cylinder Delayed As City Leans Toward Approval [Curbed SF]
[Rendering via Heller Manus via Chron]
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