SF New Developments

Aegon taps Lowe for 38-story tower

by J.K. Dineen

Transamerica Pyramid owner Aegon Group has tapped Lowe Enterprises to develop a 38-story condo tower on a vacant lot adjacent to the financial district landmark.

Lowe is proposing a 248-unit building that would trigger a redesign of the Pyramid Center, a complex that includes the Transamerica Pyramid, 505 Sansome St. and Redwood Park, the half-acre cluster of soaring redwoods at the northern edge of the financial district. Under the proposed project, the gated redwood grove would be expanded and opened up to the public, while ownership of the park would be transferred to the city. In addition, Mark Twain Alley, a dead-end which cuts from Sansome Street into the park, would be converted into a pedestrian piazza, with ground-floor restaurants spilling out from the new condo tower and other buildings along the alley.

Andy Segal, senior vice president for Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group, said the project “will offer desirable residences and commercial space while also contributing to the city’s long-term housing, transportation and urban park goals.

“We’re trying to create a real neat urban experience on the ground, to maximize the value of the redwoods and bring Mark Twain (Alley) to life,” said Segal.

The proposed 38-story height is nearly twice as tall as Aegon originally contemplated when looking at the site in 2005, and a variance would be needed to build beyond the site’s 200-foot height limit. Project architect Jeffrey Heller of HellerManus Architects said the Planning Department has pushed for a taller, more slender design, which would free up space on the ground for the expansion of Redwood Park.