“Many qualified and experience developers took a pass on [Seawall Lot 337] because of the perception that the Giants have it tied up — And the Giants are encouraging this perception in order to keep down the competition. For a project of this size the experience and talent brought to the table so far is very modest – both on the lead-developer side and on the architect side.
Having a small cast of bidders with some weak members will also greater depress the potential land value offered. The Giants may be hoping for this; others have to hope the Port understands this dynamic, and can get the value the city deserves.”
∙ The SocketSite Scoop: The Build Inc. Proposal For Seawall Lot 337 [SocketSite]
∙ The Rendering And Additional Details For The Giants SWL 337 Proposal [SocketSite]
While the politics of the matter could be a significant factor for this property, I think that a couple of more factors are in play here…like the complete seizure in the construction lending environment coupled with the slowing residential market coupled with the fact that this project is surrounded by a lot of competing new residential and commercial developments. This is not the central office location that the Transbay Terminal is and there is a sea of new condos waiting to be built within a stones throw of this property. Just sayin.
All true, of course, but the Giants may well feel the inevitable multi-year time course of this kind of thing will enable them to ride out the current cycle and ultimately make the project a success.
Of greater concern is the fact that some developers may have had bad experiences dealing with the city and not want to get involved, diminishing the range of potential choices. I’ve been told (on what I consider good authority) that Webcor, for example, refused to bid on the Palace of Fine Arts restoration because of unpleasant experiences dealing with city bureaucracies on other projects. All this stuff comes back to bite…
I have to say that the Giants organization has been fantastic in acting as a good neighbor in South Beach and seems to mean well. At the end of the day, it is a business and needs to make a buck.