The Infinity
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Some or all of this information may be speculative, and the content may change as building construction begins.
The Infinity I in July 2008.
San Francisco
The Infinity II
San Francisco
The Infinity or 300 Spear Street is a mixed-use residential complex that is under construction in San Francisco, California. The complex is the first phase of a massive residential development encompassing two city blocks.[5] 300 Spear Street will contain four buildings enclosing 640 residential units.[2]
Contents
[edit] History
The two residential projects, 300 Spear and 201 Folsom, were proposed by Tishman Speyer Properties and initially designed by Heller Manus Architects.[5] The San Francisco Planning Commission was scheduled to give its vote on the two projects on June 26, 2003, but this was delayed until September.[5][8] Eventually, the two projects were given approval by the Planning Commission in spite of heavy opposition.[9] However, 300 Spear and 201 Folsom still needed approval from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in order for the project to progress. A few months later, the Board of Supervisors gave initial approval to the projects.[10] The project was given final approval by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors on February 4, 2004.[11]
[edit] Description
[edit] Overview
The residential complex consists of four buildings with one eight and one nine story midrises and one 37 and 41 story highrise towers.[4] The highrise towers are named The Infinity I and The Infinity II. One of the towers, the Infinity II, is set to rise 350 feet (107 m) and contain 37 floors.[7] The taller highrise, the Infinity I, is set to rise 450 feet (137 m)[A] and contain 41 floors.[3] The 640-unit complex containing these the four buildings is bounded by Main Street to the southwest, Folsom Street to the northwest and Spear Street to the northeast.[3][7] The complex is located one block inland from the Embarcadero and the San Francisco Bay.[12] Pricing for the units range from $700k-$5 million.
[edit] Design
300 Spear was originally designed by San Francisco's Heller Manus Architects.[13] The 820-unit complex featured a garden on top of the midrise towers and all four buildings were connected together.[13][14] Later, the developer decided to hire Arquitectonica to revamp the design of 300 Spear along with Heller Manus Architects. The four buildings of the complex were split apart and the sky gardens were gone. In addition, the complex had its color changed to a blue-green color which adapted a simplified concrete structure with curving walls of glass curtainwall and metal. The number of units was also reduced from 820 to 640 before construction of 300 Spear began.[2]
[edit] Impact
The highrise towers are planned to rise above the current buildings in between the Embarcadero waterfront and Spear Street, making the complex prominent from places like the San Francisco Bay.[5] Along with the Millennium Tower and One Rincon Hill to the west and south, respectively, they will create a new highrise neighborhood in the South of Market district.
[edit] Construction history
[edit] Buried ship discovery
Construction started sometime in April, 2005 when a surface parking lot was demolished to make way for the complex.[2] Midway through the excavation process, a buried 125 foot (38 m) ship was found just to the south of Spear Street.[15] The ship was found 20 feet (6 m) below street level on fill that was once a harbor.[15] The buried ship was later identified to be the 1818 whaling ship The Candace.[16]
[edit] Current progress (2008)
Three of the buildings in Phase I, The Infinity II, the eight and nine story midrises, are complete. Residents have moved into all three Phase I buildings.[4] Construction is progressing along for the last tower, The Infinity I.[4] Currently, the 41-story building is topped-out. Glass has been installed on floors 2 to 37 of the structure.[17]
[edit] Gallery
For a detailed construction gallery, see SF Construction Photos
Site on June 5.
A week (July 23) after the first picture of the tower crane was taken (on July 16), the tower crane has been raised a few stories and towers over the construction site for now.
The Infinity II and cladding in January.
300 Spear complex as viewed from the Millennium Tower in March.
The Infinity II in mid-August, with exterior cladding complete.
The Infinity I in late-October.
The Infinity I in January.
The complex as viewed from the east.
[edit] Notes
- A. a b The SkyscraperPage.com 300 Spear and San Francisco Project Rundown threads state The Infinity I is 400 feet (122 m) tall, as opposed to 450 feet (137 m). Source. Source.
