SAN FRANCISCO—Obviously, the massive $2 billion-plus Salesforce Transit Center is one of the largest developments in the Bay Area in the past 50 years, and when complete, will serve tens of thousands of weekday visitors including commuters, area workers, residents and tourists. And, it will be the focal point of the new walkable high-density mixed-use neighborhood that will include more than 4,500 new residences, more than 6 million square feet of new office space and 11 acres of new parks.
The transit center is under construction as part of the $6 billion Transbay project, which is replacing the former Transbay Terminal at First and Mission streets. The new regional transit center will connect eight Bay Area counties and the entire state through 11 transit systems.
Constructed in two phases, the center is slated to open later this year. Phase 1 includes design and construction of the above-grade portion of the transit center, including the 5.4-acre landscaped rooftop park, retail areas and a public art program, among other transportation infrastructure elements.
Phase 2 will include the construction of a rail tunnel and other infrastructure innovations designed to extend Caltrain commuter rail service from its current terminus to the lower level of the transit center. A key portion of the Phase 2 design feature will allow it to accommodate future high-speed trains. Once constructed, the downtown train station at the Salesforce Transit Center will be the northern terminus for the state's proposed high-speed rail system.
Colliers International has launched an inaugural marketing campaign for the retail portion of the center with a website detailing the retail opportunities there. Colliers' retail vision is to deliver a retail experience throughout the day and evening, while efficiently meeting the needs of commuters passing through what many have termed the “Grand Central Station of the West”.
“It has been decades since a new retail-centric project has been constructed in the Financial District,” said Julie Taylor, Colliers executive vice president, who is leading the brokerage firm's retail leasing team. “We are creating an amenity-rich pedestrian environment with more than 30 new retail businesses, topped by a gorgeous 5-acre park.”
Strategically, Taylor noted that the Colliers team is targeting local and regional businesses that will cater to the thousands of mass transit riders, office workers, tourists, and residents who will pass through the facility every day. About 100,000 square feet of retail space is available mainly on the ground and second levels, and in Salesforce Park on the roof of the building. The first floor will likely cater to restaurants, along with grab and go tenants serving commuters, while second-floor users will have larger footprints up to 24,476 square feet, GlobeSt.com learns.
“We have 25 to 30 spaces to lease, depending on how it's demised. We're getting contacted by food purveyors, fitness centers and online retailers wanting to try brick and mortar,” Taylor tells GlobeSt.com. “These retailers will have a unique opportunity to express themselves. We are keeping tenants local, meaning based in the city or nearby, with all price points and having diverse offerings; Thai, Greek, what have you. The neighborhood will respond to that.”
Taylor will be joined on the Colliers team by senior vice president Erika Elliott and vice president Ann Natunewicz. Together, the team has negotiated retail transactions for many of the city's high-end retailers, national credit tenants and best-known landlords.
“This is a momentous first step in our overall marketing plan,” said Colliers executive managing director Alan Collenette, who oversees the San Francisco, Marin and Sacramento offices. “This project is in the very heart of San Francisco, and San Francisco is the heart of the world's new knowledge-based economy. We are now in the center of everything. Our duty and expectation, now, is to live up to the confidence that has been placed in us.”
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
