Luxury living is about to hit new heights in San Francisco — in dollars, if not in actual feet.
A “topping off” celebration took place this week for the Four Seasons Private Residences at 706 Mission St. (at Third Street), right across the street from Yerba Buena Gardens.
The ceremonial event, which hoists the project’s final beam, signaled a new stage in the 45-story development, which will house what is expected to be the most expensive condominium listing ever to be constructed in the city.
The four lower floors will become a new home for the Mexican Museum, which has been in transit since closing at Fort Mason last year. The development will also spread into the historic neighboring Aronson Building, constructed in 1903.
Slated for completion next year, the project is being developed by 706 Mission Street Co. LLC, in conjunction with Webcor. Between the tower and the Aronson Building, it will house 146 condos, which are expected to hit the market sometime next spring.
The most attention-getting of the units is a 10,000-square-foot, two-level "grand penthouse" on the top floor, which will be listed at $49 million — making it the most expensive condo listing ever in San Francisco.
Though it's not attached to a Four Seasons hotel, the building will feature hotel-like amenities, such as a spa, room service, concierge services, housekeeping and a specially curated wine program just for residents.
"This is something that’s unique," said Richard Baumert, principal with developer 706 Mission Street Co LLC. "You don’t find this in your traditional condominium buildings, here in San Francisco or anywhere else on the West Coast.”
Baumert says the project will fill the last remaining “buildable space" in the Yerba Buena neighborhood, which extends from Market to Harrison streets and 2nd to 4th streets under the Yerba Buena Center Redevelopment Plan initiated in 1966.
Last amended in 2009, the redevelopment plan is now listed as complete by the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure. Lead architect Glenn Rescalvo, of Handel Architects, said this project is being developed on “the last remaining parcel” in the area.
It's unlikely that the Mexican Museum will open alongside the new building. While current construction will create the shell of the space, the museum is being designed separately, by TEN Arquitectos.
A representative for the Mexican Museum could not be reached for comment, but its website says it's currently set to open by the end of 2020. The museum has faced turmoil in the past year, with fundraising struggles and a lack of clarity around hiring a permanent director.
According to the Chronicle, the city has granted the Mexican Museum a 99-year lease, but in order to claim occupancy, it must show the city that it has access to $30 million. It also needs another $30 million as an endowment to cover its operating costs.
In the meantime, work will continue on completing the tower for its spring debut.
“I’m a native San Franciscan,” said architect Rescalvo. "So being able to do something like this in the city is so important and so memorable ... It's going to be beautiful."
