Groundbreaking Held for San Francisco’s One Rincon Hill Phase II
The groundbreaking for One Rincon Hill Phase II was recently held in the South of Market District of San Francisco. Designed to achieve LEED certification, the Phase II project is a 52-story, 299-unit residential development meant to be a companion to the existing 64-story Phase I tower.
By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer
San Francisco—The groundbreaking for One Rincon Hill Phase II was recently held in the South of Market (SoMa) District of San Francisco. Designed to achieve LEED certification, the Phase II project is a 52-story, 299-unit residential development meant to be a companion to the existing 64-story Phase I tower.
“We believe the market fundamentals in San Francisco make this the perfect time to build this project,” Rod Vogel, managing director at Des Moines-based Principal Real Estate Investors, which is partnering on the development with Pacific Urban Investors LLC, tells MHN. He adds that vacancy rates in the city are below 4 percent, and the company’s forecasts indicate substantial demand for housing in San Francisco for the foreseeable future.
“Robust demand for office space from the tech industry in the SoMa submarket suggests there is a need for high-quality rental product within this submarket. In addition, capital markets are very attractive today, which demonstrates the strong interest investors have for San Francisco residential real estate,” he says.
The last buildable hill in San Francisco is Rincon Hill, and One Rincon Hill is among the best-recognized buildings on the landscape due to its position atop that hill. Crowned with a glowing weather beacon, the four-year-old Phase I tower is home to more than 650 residents who reside in 376 luxury condominium homes and another 14 townhomes.
Its location in SoMa is also significant. Upscale eateries, bars, boutiques and adjacency to the waterfront all combine to make the district a highly sought place to live, work and play. One Rincon Hill is two blocks from the MUNI F line, and is close to major freeways connecting to Oakland, Silicon Valley and beyond.
Observing “there are always challenges with new development,” Vogel notes that in the case of One Rincon Hill Phase II, they include the now-complete task of garnering the appropriate entitlements, as well as the challenge of designing and building a structure of such great magnitude.
“With the skilled team of professionals we have assembled, the construction risk for the project is minimized, while we maximize the end product for consumers,” he says, adding Principal Real Estate Investors’ experience over 30 years and $7 billion worth of development will stand it in good stead on this project.
One Rincon Hill Phase II is certain to serve as a continuation of the City of San Francisco’s goal of providing high-quality housing in the SoMa District, Vogel adds. “This building will be a strong complement to the Phase I development on San Francisco’s skyline, and reinforce the fact that the SoMa District is a highly desirable place to live,” he says.
Adds Mike Kriozere, Urban Pacific Investors development principal: “We are thrilled to be breaking ground on the second half of what still is the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi.”