According to Mike Monroe, vice president of commercial leasing at Catellus, the company doesn't expect the down-turned market to last forever. Negotiations are reportedly underway to fill about 270,000 sf of space left vacant when a web-based consulting company backed out of its lease last year.

The Mission Bay North development consists of about 65 acres bounded by Third Street, Townsend Street, Mission Creek and Seventh Street. It is adjacent to the Pacific Bell Park and the Caltrain terminal. Mission Bay South encompasses about 238 acres south of Mission Creek and is bounded by the 280 Freeway. Mission Bay North is slated to include 3,000 housing units, 505,0000 sf of retail and six acres of open space. Mission Bay South will have a 43-ace, 2.65-million-sf UCSF research complex, a 500-room hotel, five million sf of commercial improvements and 210 sf of retail.

The Gap has committed to 283,000 sf of space in a building that is planned to be ready for occupancy by October 2002. This year, Catellus received approval for an additional 206,000 sf of space, part of which will round out the allotment for the Gap building. Some industry sources claim the deal between the Gap and Catellus is for 15 years at about $59 to $65 sf, but there is no official confirmation of those figures.