West Coast's Tallest Building Gets Approved

Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli for the developer Hines, what will become the West Coast's tallest building will sit adjacent to San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center in the city's South of Market district. The five-story transit center, which is being built at First and Mission streets, will serve 11 transit systems, including BART, Greyhound, Caltrain and, eventually, the state's high-speed rail trains.

In a meeting before the Planning Commission last Thursday, architect Fred Clarke presented minor tweaks to the 61-story building's design, including "a new elevator that will tie the tower together with City Park, a quarter-mile stretch of open space atop the transit center."

According to Billings, "[s]ome people speaking about the project decried the tower as being too large and criticized its design. Commissioner Gwyneth Borden noted that the plans and design for the Transamerica Pyramid were widely panned at the time, but that the building has become an icon. Others lauded the design, which has the tower gently tapering in as it rises."

"I think this is going to be San Francisco's greatest tower," Planning Commission President Rodney Fong said.