Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Multi-platform with Zeega
In our current disruptive environment, it's impossible to "just" make a film. Filmmaking is changing, delivery methods are changing, viewers habits are changing....and grant applications are requiring that we do more with less and add "transmedia" components (the ability to deliver content on multiple platforms). In that spirit, we continue to experiment with new platforms and "ways of seeing". Here's a Zeega. We're not sure that this is the right long-term platform for 5 Blocks but thankfully we love tech and we love folks who are helping us create.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Is the grand plan for revitalization of Mid-Market dead?
A couple of years ago there was a grand plan to lift the mid-market street neighborhood up. Right now, real estate seems to have tipped past the point of no-return but are the arts organizations and residents able to hold on? We know about the SRO residents being protected but what about the bodegas, restaurants and small grocery stores that the residents depend on to live? We see them closing daily. Are the residents "protected" or will they be "trapped" in an area no longer able to retain the small merchants that support them?.
Is the "Arts Revitalization" of Mid-Market dead? A number of news articles have been published in the past few days about buildings being sold and huge shopping malls taking over (see below). Will the small dance companies and theaters survive? Will the few remaining artists be able to renew there leases at quadruple the rent?
Can all the players come together and develop a consensus solution? Is San Francisco just ornery enough to pull off real revitalization or will this become just another failed gentrification project? Will we have an exciting and unique story to tell or just another "what could have been"?
Is the "Arts Revitalization" of Mid-Market dead? A number of news articles have been published in the past few days about buildings being sold and huge shopping malls taking over (see below). Will the small dance companies and theaters survive? Will the few remaining artists be able to renew there leases at quadruple the rent?
Can all the players come together and develop a consensus solution? Is San Francisco just ornery enough to pull off real revitalization or will this become just another failed gentrification project? Will we have an exciting and unique story to tell or just another "what could have been"?
Don't like Market Street? Wait a few minutes
Trinity Plaza is biting the dust.
Central Market Street is not changing by the day, it’s changing by the hour.
After a week out of town traveling with my family, I cycled down Market Street Monday morning. Of course I expected some of the progress I saw: AvalonBay had added a couple of floors at 55 Ninth St., Crescent Heights had snapped on more of the glass skin at 1401 Market and poured a few more floors on the tower as well. But other developments were more startling.
At Trinity Plaza, Angelo Sangiacomo is making good on his promise on his two-decade old promise to demolish the old vintage 1960 Del Webb’s Townehouse motel and replace it will housing. Swinerton Builders has started pulling down the western edge of the motel. It will be a trip to be able to stand at United Nations Plaza and see clear across a vast vacant parcel to Mission Street.
But Trinity Plaza is not home to the only wrecking crew in the neighborhood.
On the 900 block of Market Street, Cypress Equities has knocked down the old social security building — the first step in plans to build a 250,000 square foot retail complex. Two more buildings will be knocked down to make room for that development, which has not yet signed on a tenant. And at Market and Macallister streets the Kor Group has boarded up the old Renior Hotel in preparation of a massive renovation that will transform the budget hotel into a hip boutique destination with a rooftop bar and pool.
And at 100 Van Ness, Emerald Fund has reached a critical juncture in transforming the former California State Automobile Association building from offices to luxury apartments. The interior demo is largely done and the the next step will be the removal of thousands of concrete panels on the exterior of the building, which will be replaced with glass. The group, led by Oz Erickson, celebrated the milestone with a brunch on Monday.
At the event, Erickson, joined by District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim and Mayor Ed Lee, said the Civic Center and Mid-Market neighborhoods have the best transportation west of Chicago, but not enough people.
"You get run over at 5:30 by everybody leaving city hall," he said. "You have to have 4,000 bodies here to turn it into a 24/7 neighborhood. It is going to be the nicest residential place in San Francisco."
San Francisco Mid-Market retail center kicks off
Construction to start for 2015 opening
The wrecking crews are revving up on Market Street.
At Trinity Place the windows have been removed from the old Del Webb Townhouse motel and Swinerton Builders is getting ready to start knocking down walls. At Market Street Place, demolition crews are preparing for construction at the site of what will become a 250,000-square-foot retail center scheduled to open in 2015.
The buildings slated for demolition are mid-block on Market Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. Demolition will take approximately 12 weeks and will begin at the interior of the current structures in conjunction with preparing for exterior demolition.
Demolition work will include installation of a pedestrian canopy and playwood barricades. By the end of April, crews will start removing exterior walls from the existing buildings.
“We appreciate the public’s patience and cooperation while we begin this essential demolition work,” said Chris Maguire, CEO of Cypress Equities, which is co-developing the site with The Carlyle Group. “The end result will be a retail center that the entire City of San Francisco and the Bay Area will be proud of.”
Market Street Place, which has not yet landed a tenant, will be a six-level retail redevelopment project featuring an exterior façade of translucent glass. Designed by Gensler, the project will have an open floor plan with heights up to 17 feet on the ground floor. The planned interior finishes include natural stone, glass wall systems, stainless steel accent finishes, progressive lighting and creative art installations.
Burning Man headquarters sells in $17 million deal
The long-neglected office building at Sixth and Market that houses Burning Man has sold for nearly $17 million, another example of institutional capital pouring into the Mid-Market neighborhood.
SF Investment LLC, a joint venture between Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Advisors and San Francisco-based Long Market Property Partners, has closed on the acquisition of 995 Market St. The price was just under $200 a square foot.
“We are excited to be purchasing this asset, especially in the midst of all the positive developments taking place in Mid-Market,” said Justin Shapiro, a partner with Long Market Property Partners.
The brokers were Kyle Kovac, Daniel Cressman and Mike Taquino of Newmark Knight Frank Cornish & Carey Commercial.
The buyer plans to immediately start a capital improvement program that includes renovating the interiors to appeal to creative and high-tech tenants, according to Kovac, who said, “995 Market St. represents one of the few remaining truly value-added investment prospects left in downtown San Francisco. The buyer was able to acquire the asset at a very attractive basis,” said Kovac.
More than $1 billion in capital has poured into Mid-Market, a neighborhood that has struggled with crime and vacant storefronts for decades. There are currently about 2,000 new residential units under construction in the neighborhood as well as new corporate headquarters for Yammer, Dolby, Twitter and Square.
“We are seeing tangible evidence of the Mid-Market transformation almost weekly with high-profile tenants, landlords and developers all committing to the neighborhood,” said Kovac. The building at 995 Market is about half-vacant. The anchor tenant is Black Rock City, the corporation behind the Burning Man Festival, which has 20,000 square feet.
J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.
San Francisco Mid-Market retail center kicks off
Construction to start for 2015 opening
At Trinity Place the windows have been removed from the old Del Webb Townhouse motel and Swinerton Builders is getting ready to start knocking down walls. At Market Street Place, demolition crews are preparing for construction at the site of what will become a 250,000-square-foot retail center scheduled to open in 2015.
The buildings slated for demolition are mid-block on Market Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. Demolition will take approximately 12 weeks and will begin at the interior of the current structures in conjunction with preparing for exterior demolition.
Demolition work will include installation of a pedestrian canopy and playwood barricades. By the end of April, crews will start removing exterior walls from the existing buildings.
“We appreciate the public’s patience and cooperation while we begin this essential demolition work,” said Chris Maguire, CEO of Cypress Equities, which is co-developing the site with The Carlyle Group. “The end result will be a retail center that the entire City of San Francisco and the Bay Area will be proud of.”
Market Street Place, which has not yet landed a tenant, will be a six-level retail redevelopment project featuring an exterior façade of translucent glass. Designed by Gensler, the project will have an open floor plan with heights up to 17 feet on the ground floor. The planned interior finishes include natural stone, glass wall systems, stainless steel accent finishes, progressive lighting and creative art installations.
Burning Man headquarters sells in $17 million deal
SF Investment LLC, a joint venture between Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Advisors and San Francisco-based Long Market Property Partners, has closed on the acquisition of 995 Market St. The price was just under $200 a square foot.
“We are excited to be purchasing this asset, especially in the midst of all the positive developments taking place in Mid-Market,” said Justin Shapiro, a partner with Long Market Property Partners.
The brokers were Kyle Kovac, Daniel Cressman and Mike Taquino of Newmark Knight Frank Cornish & Carey Commercial.
The buyer plans to immediately start a capital improvement program that includes renovating the interiors to appeal to creative and high-tech tenants, according to Kovac, who said, “995 Market St. represents one of the few remaining truly value-added investment prospects left in downtown San Francisco. The buyer was able to acquire the asset at a very attractive basis,” said Kovac.
More than $1 billion in capital has poured into Mid-Market, a neighborhood that has struggled with crime and vacant storefronts for decades. There are currently about 2,000 new residential units under construction in the neighborhood as well as new corporate headquarters for Yammer, Dolby, Twitter and Square.
“We are seeing tangible evidence of the Mid-Market transformation almost weekly with high-profile tenants, landlords and developers all committing to the neighborhood,” said Kovac. The building at 995 Market is about half-vacant. The anchor tenant is Black Rock City, the corporation behind the Burning Man Festival, which has 20,000 square feet.
J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Stories From 5 Blocks - A.C.T Costume Shop
Into our continuing series, Stories From 5 Blocks, enters this beautiful piece from San Francisco Arts Commission about ACT's Costume Shop. Across from UN Plaza on Market Street, it's at the heart of 5 Blocks.
The American Conservatory Theater, or A.C.T., is an internationally recognized theatre and school that puts on magnificent shows every year. But most people don’t know about their offices on Market Street, where they manage their massive costume collection.
CREDITS
Audio produced by Stephanie Foo
Photos by R.J. Lozada
Video edited by Kirthi Nath
Do you have a photograph, drawing, story or video to share about San Francisco's central Market Street's history or character? Please contact us and we'll review it for publication!
The American Conservatory Theater, or A.C.T., is an internationally recognized theatre and school that puts on magnificent shows every year. But most people don’t know about their offices on Market Street, where they manage their massive costume collection.
CREDITS
Audio produced by Stephanie Foo
Photos by R.J. Lozada
Video edited by Kirthi Nath
Do you have a photograph, drawing, story or video to share about San Francisco's central Market Street's history or character? Please contact us and we'll review it for publication!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Artist Richard Perri Highlighted
Richard Perri has been in mid-Market for decades. With a studio in the Oddfellows building, he has seen the good times and the bad from directly in the heart of the area.
With "The City Exposed", the SF Chronicle produced a really wonderful piece about his work. Check it out!
The City Exposed: Art History from San Francisco Chronicle on Vimeo.
With "The City Exposed", the SF Chronicle produced a really wonderful piece about his work. Check it out!
The City Exposed: Art History from San Francisco Chronicle on Vimeo.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Troy Holden - A Long Walk Along Market Street
In response to our request for stories about central Market Street, Photographer Troy Holden responded with this "I saw your blog asking for Market Street moments. I shot this photostory last year. My idea was to photograph Market Street from the Ferry to Van Ness on my mobile phone. Many of the people I photograph I have known for years." We liked his work very much and are pleased to share it. So here, reprinted with permission, is "A Long Walk Along Market Street"
Do you have a photograph, drawing, story or video to share about San Francisco's central Market Street's history or character? Please contact us and we'll review it for publication.
In 1967, the late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote:
“Whenever I feel I’m getting out of touch with the City, I take a long walk along Market Street.
A few minutes on Market will convince anybody, even the oldest native, that he’ll never truly get to know San Francisco. It’s the street of broken dreams, of frozen screams, of strangers rubbing elbows.
In many ways Market is the most sophisticated street in town, if by sophistication you mean weary, worldly, and aloof. Its warmth is its coldness: you’re alone, but so is everybody else. In a city that in too many ways is like a small town, it is blessedly impersonal.
Market is teeming with San Franciscans you’ll never get to know. It is quite clear that they don’t want to know you, either. Nothing is given, nothing is expected— a truly civilized arrangement.
It is wide, long, stubborn, and unregenerate— a true brute of a street. A dead end with a life all its own.”
My first apartment in the City was a 150 square-foot studio located above a strip club on Mid-Market between Sixth & Seventh streets. I remember my first walk down Market Street as if it were yesterday and have walked the length of it several hundreds of times since. But never while focusing on anything in particular and never with a camera in hand.
Create. For this project, I decided to use an iPhone 4s along with a couple of camera apps to make the the photographs. I’ve been using this combination for a personal portrait project for 6+ months and have been quite happy with the image quality and the subtle nature of the camera itself.
I focused on the lower and central areas of Market Street in order to capture the energy of the people in the densest sections of the city’s main thoroughfare. The walk completed around 9 hours, starting at the Ferry Building and walking southwest towards Tenth Street.
The biggest overall challenge was the harsh midday sun and the way it casually bounced and reflected off taller buildings, spilling into the street. I solved this by constantly switching sides of the street and repositioning my subjects in better light.
The second challenge was keeping the iPhone battery powered during the eight hours I was out. (Camera apps drain the battery much faster than in normal use.) I solved this by recharging at Sutter Station (3 pints of beer) and Cafe Trieste (1 double latte) along the way. Both locations offered free WiFi in addition to power outlets.
While not a direct challenge, composing using a square format (rather than rectangle) does limit what you can include in the picture.
Grow. What I learned most from this shoot was in directing my subjects and keeping their attention while composing. It taught me to focus on what was directly in front of me and to move quickly. Many of these folks were working (or hustling) while I made their portrait, preoccupied with what they were doing before I approached them.
(Info on each photo below images)
Photo Captions:
1. Rabbi Saint Laurence beating his drum in Harry Bridges Plaza
2. Famous Wayne, the shoeshine king of the world
3. A dog named Tramp
4. Patrick, newspaper & magazine salesman (reading about the iPad3)
5. Tim, UPS deliveryman to the 500 block of Market Street for 20+ years
6. Vietnam Tom aka Epic Beard Man
7. Tony, homeless
8. SPPD traffic stop
9. A dog named Cujo
10. Market Street hustler & designer watch salesman, International Red
11. Spaceman and his magic broom
12. Casey, homeless
13. Man reading newspaper
14. Judy, homeless
15. Little Mike
16. Unnamed dog at United Nations Plaza
17. Accordion player named Roger & his dog Ginger
18. SFPD ticketing man for drinking in public
19. Issach covers his face
20. Boston George gives a two finger salute
About the Author: Troy Holden walks the streets of San Francisco with a camera. His snapshots focus on a dream metropolis - in all of it's splendor, filth, and variety. His personal blog can be found at troyholden.com and can be contacted at @troyholden.
This story was first published on April 23, 2012 in the blog "Brotogs"
This story was first published on April 23, 2012 in the blog "Brotogs"
Do you have a photograph, drawing, story or video to share about San Francisco's central Market Street's history or character? Please contact us and we'll review it for publication.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Stories From 5 Blocks "Classic"- Market Street Muse
A classic story from the great San Francisco icon Herb Caen
The Caen Files: Market Street Muse from San Francisco Chronicle on Vimeo.
Do you have a photograph, drawing, story or video to share about San Francisco's central Market Street's history or character? Please contact us and we'll review it for publication!
The Caen Files: Market Street Muse from San Francisco Chronicle on Vimeo.
Do you have a photograph, drawing, story or video to share about San Francisco's central Market Street's history or character? Please contact us and we'll review it for publication!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Stories From 5 Blocks - Julie
I first met Julie on February 28, 1993. Julie, 18, stood
in the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel, barefoot, pants
unzipped, and an 8 day-old infant in her arms. She lived
in San Francisco’s SRO district, a neighborhood of soup
kitchens and cheap rooms. Her room was piled with clothes,
overfull ashtrays and trash. She lived with Jack, father
of her first baby Rachael, and who had given her AIDS.
She left him months later to stop using drugs.
Her first memory of her mother is getting drunk with her
at 6 and then being sexually abused by her stepfather.
She ran away at 14 and became drug addict at 15. Living in
alleys, crack dens, and bunked with more dirty old men
than she cared to count.
For the last 18 years I have photographed Julie Baird’s
complex story of multiple homes, AIDS, drug abuse,
abusive relationships, poverty, births, deaths, loss
and reunion. Following Julie from the backstreets of
San Francisco to the backwoods of Alaska.
- Darcy Padilla
Do you have a photograph, drawing, story or video to share about San Francisco's central Market Street's history or character? Please contact us and we'll review it for publication!
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