San Francisco's Urban Art

In 1985 the San Francisco "Downtown Plan” was adopted including Code Section 429, better known as the "1% for Art" program.

In a nutshell, the code requires that the developer of a new building or of the addition of 25,000-plus square feet to an existing building within the downtown commercial district devote at least 1% of the construction budget to public art installations.

The two inspiring pieces you see here are located in the public plaza at Tishman Speyer's 555 Mission Street the back of which fronts the Transbay Transit Center development site.

Since program inception there have been 39 installations and you can visit all of them by clicking here. The Transbay Transit Center development, scheduled for completion in 2017 has a current budget of $1.2 billion - a quick calculation means that after those noisy jackhammers stop we should be looking forward to some $12 million worth of public art installations South of Market in the next few years.

I'm all for that - and speaking of "art" and "noise", why not some Art of Noise?

I'm not whining but....

it’s going to take time to become accustomed to drinking wine from a carton.

I know it’s in our heads (well, at least mine) that good wine only comes bottled - but it’s really not the case as proven by this refreshing Pinot Grigio I had last night while attending an Urban Fabric Project presentation.

Briefly, this project is a national undertaking that develops case studies proposing successful revitalization strategies for textile manufacturing cities and other cities that need to fill the void left by failing or failed industries. (As this subject matter related to the manufacturing industry SFMade, a local organization I put in a good word for whenever possible, presented as well.)

Getting back to the vague subject at hand, it was hard to ignore the facts printed on the wine bottle…er, I mean carton. A fact such as recycling 1 truckload of crushed cartons is the equivalent of 26 truckloads of bottles!

Environmental consciousness is rapidly spreading, extending not only to what we as individuals can do but to what “big industry” can do as well – like in beverage packaging; or in the real estate industry where the US Green Building Council’s LEED program provides building owners, operators and tenants with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable eco-friendly practices in design, construction, operations and maintenance; and hopefully in the gardening industry to get rid of those deafening gas powered leaf blowers that woke me up from a rare afternoon nap today!.

All this causes me to think about behavioral patterns and how we change them. Shocking as it may seem to younger readers, a few decades ago it was not uncommon to see empty Coca Cola cans tossed out the car window (figuring that’s why we had garbage collectors I suppose).

In the late 1990’s I was on a business trip to Beijing and hired a car to take me for a one-hour drive to the Great Wall. On the return trip, winding down tree-lined mountain road and admiring the countryside all of a sudden a blizzard of soft-drink cans and food wrappers came spewing out of the local tourist bus passenger windows just ahead of us. I've always wondered if the bus driver instructed the passengers to clean up the bus before they got back to town.

Clearly it takes a long time raise social awareness and change human behavior. Let’s hope that change continues to accelerate here, on mountain roads in China and everywhere else.

Speaking of wine, let’s hear it from Jerry Lee Lewis aka “The Killer”!

p.s. and remember – if you drink, don’t drive!

Expressin' in the Central Market District

Today wrapped up the Central Market Arts collaborative "24 Days of Central Markets Arts" program which featured works of many local artists in this ever developing artist community.

On Friday I had a chance to make it down there to attend non-profit Urban Solutions second annual "2 Blocks of Art" walk which showcased works of artists and performers on 6th Street between Market & Howard.

Lots to see and things to do. Like at Launderland where the two talented chaps in this photo were playing; or the chance to artistically express yourself hosted by Club Six; and the very San Francisco art of Richard L. Perri who I had the pleasure to reminisce with about some of San Francisco’s old java-huts and watering-holes while enjoying his exhibit inside the soon-to-be open Pearl's Deluxe Burgers where owners Sylvia and Young provided a taste of what's to come to 6th Street with their most excellent selection of milkshakes!

So if you didn’t make it down there this year keep your eyes open for next year’s calendar of events. It’s only getting better in the Central Market district. If you want to see more photos of my trip down 6th Street click here – and speaking “expressin'” listen here!

Mid-Market Thoughts

"The street of broken dreams, of frozen screams, of strangers rubbing elbows...." - Herb Caen (1964)

It wasn't always so. Mid-Market, which runs between 5th and 10th streets, was at one time San Francisco's equivalent of New York's "Great White Way" where you'd go to see first run movies in architecturally grand theaters.

I have a vague memory of going to the Fox Theater with my mom to see the classic "South Pacific". No doubt I was smartly attired (begrudgingly) with hair Brylcreemed in place - and experienced elation as opposed to the apprehension one often feels today being there - but things are changing.

This blog is simply a "tip of the hat" to a few of the many who are have worked hard to change it.

1. Urban Realty for their bold move to develop City Place, a 250,000 square foot retail center which we all hope will come to fruition soon.

2. David Addington, who acquired The Warfield several years ago with the belief that Mid-Market had the potential to be so much more than it has been and worked with great dedication to make it so.

3. My friends Sylvia and Young Yi, owners of Pearl's Deluxe Burgers who have confidence in Mid-Market and will be opening up a new place in the next few days on the corner of 6th & Market.

4. The board and staff of the Central Market Community Benefits District who must be doing what they do for love because it's certainly not for money.

5. The Mayor's Office of Economic & Workforce Development who are lending their muscle to turn Mid-Market into a vibrant "arts district"


San Francisco is one of the world's greatest cities and Market Street should be its Champs-Élysées. Enough said - and now for some Rogers & Hammerstein!

Let's get REAL, shall we?

Let's get "real time analytics" that is! And what are those? Well,in this case it's real-time pedestrian and vehicle traffic counts.

Through yet another serendipitous instance I have come to know the fellows who recently started a tech-company named Motionloft (and on whose Board of Advisors I am now pleased to serve).


The applications for Motionloft's technology in retail real estate for one (and urban planning for another - but for now I'll just stick to the former as that is the supposed topic of this blog) are significant. Motionloft provides real-time data the likes of which does not currently exist - and you don't just have to take my word for it as I've introduced it to numerous shopping center owners, retailers and developers all of whom understand its significance. It is what you call a disruptive technology.

You see, in selecting real estate sites (which implies placing a value on it) one of the criteria used is the number of vehicles that pass a location. Currently the vehicle traffic data that people rely upon is less than desirable. As an example: you want to know what the vehicle traffic is at Powell St & Post St. You log into your subscription demographic data service, go to the "traffic count" tab, in the "intersection field" you enter "Powell St & Post St", you press "enter", and voila you get the following information:

- Powell St & Ellis St (.2 miles south)
- 12,000 ADT (Average Daily Traffic)
- Year: 1996
- Source: vendor estimate

Another criteria is the "pedestrian-traffic count". Currently, if you want foot traffic counts you take the following steps:

- stand (or hire someone to stand) on the street you are interested in
- note the day, time of day (and if you are really on it, the weather conditions)
- have a clicker-counter in hand (or simply rely on your memory though I'd suggest at least bringing a pen and pad)
- look at your watch to note the time
- start counting the number of people that walk by you
- check your watch occasionally. When 15 minutes have passed stop counting
- check your memory, pad or clicker counter and write down the number of people that were counted.
- multiply that number by 4 and voila again you have foot traffic data!
- repeat the above steps on different days and different times of day and you have the data that you can turn into an acceptable report!

Pretty archaic on both counts, wouldn't you say? But now there is Motionloft. Let me give you some brief highlights:

- the Motionloft "sensor" is something like 4" x 4" x 1"
- with the "object identification" technology it distinguishes people and vehicles from other objects
- you mount it with adhesive on a window looking to the street. It starts "counting" and transmits the data via the "cloud" to the user who looks at the information on their computer
- what you get are real-time counts where you want them and in the NOW (and after a period of time you will be able to compare the NOW to the THEN - and beyond that you can even make predictions about the FUTURE!).
- and you don't get just numbers on a page. You get a brilliant interface that gives you data - think of it like "Google Analytics for traffic counts.

It's really so much more than this but mindful of the traditional blog format (as I understand it) I'll stop for now but feel free to contact me if you want to know more.

p.s. All this talkin 'bout feet got me thinking about this Robert Parker classic!

Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart!

Retail Real Estate!?

So, what does this title have to do with "retail real estate" which is the supposed topic of my blog? Read on!

"Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart!" refers to the powers bestowed by Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, on five young people, which when combined summon the world's greatest champion, Captain Planet, of the ground breaking '90's animated TV series (which I played a role in promoting around the world during my Turner Broadcasting career).

The other day via Facebook I read a post by my former Turner colleague and still current friend, Barbara Pyle, who produced the series. Barbara was promoting a "San Francisco Green Drinks" event at the popular 111 Minna Gallery so I decided to pop by hoping to find her there. She wasn't. But there were well over 100 people attending this first Tuesday of every month "green networking" get together. I was impressed by just how many of those with whom I chatted had been influenced by the Captain Planet series.

Now to the connection between all of the above and retail real estate. In the commercial real estate industry there is an increasing trend for building owners to retrofit buildings to make them more energy efficient (Urban Solutions, a local non-profit, I have been involved with for several years has a program to help small business owners "green" their premises which you can find more about by clicking here ; developers are developing new projects with in mind implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions; and tenants, when making decisions as to where they want to locate, more an more pay attention to environmental impact and efficiency issues.

The US Green Building Council, which developed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system has even created a LEED standard for retail . So congratulations Captain Planet and Barbara for your contributions in making the world a healthier place to live. And for all you Planeteers - take note that a Captain Planet feature film is in the works. Show your support! Drop a line to Turner Broadcasting System - and remember "the power is YOURS!"

In closing, let me leave you with this!

Is Elvis in your building yet?

Using Elvis's whereabouts as a metaphor for good and bad times I think it's fair to say that insofar as San Francisco commercial real estate is concerned Elvis is back in the building.

And the following empirical data sourced from industry researchers and journalists backs it up.

• San Francisco is on track to see upwards of $4 billion in downtown office building sales this year eclipsing the $3.6 billion posted in 2006 (which was followed by a “bubble-icious” $8+ billion in 2007 and a “drop off the cliff” $340 million in 2009)

• Q1 2011 marked the third consecutive quarter of positive net absorption of downtown office space with leases for more than 1.63 million square feet signed. Overall vacancies are down to 14.2% from over 17% a year ago. Rental rates for downtown Class A office space are up 12% and for Class B space up 17% (Q1 2011 v. Q1 2011).

• Public real estate investment trusts (REITs) most notably Hudson Pacific Properties and Kilroy Realty Corp. have been leading the new crop of investments with acquisitions of 100 First St., 250 Brannan St. 303 Second St., 1455 Market St and 101 Spear St.

• and during the next 12 months we could be seeing new downtown office tower rising as the market has shored up to the point where major developers, the likes of Tishman Speyer, are reported to be out there locking down sites and prospecting for major tenants.

And though I specialize in retail real estate (where empirical data is lacking but anecdotal data abounds) I put forth that the growth in office investment, leasing and development activity relates to growth in retail.

I wanted to cite the "String Theory" to back me up but after reading up on that for the last half hour and still not getting it I think I'll simply rely on the less controversial and more time proven "Dry Bones Theory" which puts forth that ".. the hip bone connected to the back bone, and the back bone connected to the neck bone, and the neck bone connected to the head bone."

p.s. and if Elvis has not come back to your "building" yet keep the faith and enjoy this great song from a great movie - and remember "Elvis is everywhere!"