Transmittal Letter. Via Hand Delivery. January 10, 2011

Transcription

1 Transmittal Letter Via Hand Delivery January 10, 2011 Kathleen Diohep Project Manager Port of San Francisco Pier 1, The Embarcadero San Francisco, CA Re: Request for Developer Qualifications Pier 70 Waterfront Site Development Opportunity TMG Partners, in partnership with The Sobrato Organization, is pleased to present to the Port of San Francisco this response to the Request for Qualifications for the Pier 70 Waterfront Site. This joint venture, hereinafter referred to as TMG, TMG/Sobrato, Proposer and/or Master Developer, is more fully explained in the attached pages. In the spirit of a Request for Qualifications, the following materials demonstrate that TMG/Sobrato has the track record of creating successful landmark communities on sites that had been neglected for decades. Our track record makes us qualified to succeed at Pier 70 as a true partner to the Port of San Francisco where together we determine the most economically viable path, assemble the best design and engineering team for individual tasks, and work over many years to create a world-class place at the one-of-a-kind location that is Pier 70. Based on the Bay Area development experience of both organizations, we applaud the Port s utilization of the RFQ approach versus an RFP. We believe that the Port s most critical decision will be to select a development team that has done this type of development successfully and is therefore most likely to do it again at Pier 70. We do not believe at this early stage that any specific development or architectural firm will have sufficient knowldege, data or tenant requirements to design the project. It is too early to focus on those points, and therefore we believe that the Port should participate in the selection process for the various designers, architects, brokers and consultants only AFTER chosing a developer based solely on QUALIFICATIONS. Therefore, our response does not include conceptual renderings and does not provide the most detailed answer to each RFQ question. More impotantly for an RFQ, the attached materials demonstrate that TMG/Sobrato is the best partner for the Port based on:

2 2 1. Our decades of Bay Area development experience. 2. Our local community relationships and market knowledge. 3. Our strong tenant contacts in both the San Francisco and Silicon Valley markets. 4. Our resume that shows the Port will have a succcessful long term relationship with TMG/Sobrato based on partnership. 5. Our experience, access to capital, local staying power and our ability to assemble the right design team and development approach for each project phase over a multi-phased project. 6. Our multi-billion dollar portfolios of mixed use developments in the San Francisco Bay Area and specifically Silicon Valley. The Sobrato Organization Since 1953, the Sobrato Family has played a pivotal role in shaping Silicon Valley with unique facilities that provide compelling benefits for forward-thinking companies. Led by chairman and founder John A. Sobrato and his son, John M. Sobrato, who serves as our chief executive officer, the firm is known for integrity and dedication. Consistent with a belief in giving back, the firm has engaged in charitable giving since 1996, donating more than $300 million in real estate to communities through the Sobrato Family Foundation. Over nearly three decades, The Sobrato Organization has cultivated enduring relationships with leading technology companies, real estate brokers, architects, subcontractors and other vendors. Today, thanks to wise investments and solid partnerships, the firm s financial strength rivals that of many larger real estate investment trusts. Unlike institutional developers that rely on layers of management for decision-making, Sobrato is structured to keep up with fast-paced schedules. They operate their own construction company and conduct all lease negotiations in-house to streamline the development process. The firm s principals take a hands-on role in every major transaction we undertake. Today, Sobrato owns more than 86 commercial properties in Silicon Valley and over 400 acres of land throughout Santa Clara and Alameda counties. Its office and R&D projects comprise 7.96 million square feet, most of which are Class A, mid-rise office buildings. The firm also owns 30 apartment communities totaling 7,300 units along the West Coast. TMG Partners TMG has a reputation for delivering on our promises, identifying and solving problems, and building lasting communities that attract and satisfy tenants and residents. We have developed on ground leases, brownfields, infill sites, raw land, military bases, and historic sites. We have successfully bought, entitled, financed, and built every product type including mixed use, housing, office, lab and industrial including technology and biotechnology campuses home to some of the largest companies in the Bay Area. We are perenially ranked as the top Bay Area development company. We entitled the first LEED Platinum Neighborhood plan in the nation. We offer to the Port our lifetime of success as a company and group of creative and driven Bay Area residents. Together, we propose to work with the Port to select the best design team, finance methods, strategic approach, schedule, and execution plan to redevelop Pier 70. If we do not garner the most points for detailed RFQ responses, we will deliver a successful San Francisco landmark development. In this document, our qualifications and our track record demonstrate our capabilities. Most importantly, TMG Partners develops ONLY in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have no where to go if we ever fail. Thus we do not fail. While we appreciate the opportunity to respond to this request, we also believe that the subject of this document and the remaining historic properties at Pier 70 should be integrated under the control of one development team with the experience do both the historic rehabilitation and new ground-up development The two sites should not have

3 3 competiting developers which might result in conflicts and a subsequent reduction of returns to the project developers and to the Port. We are happy to work with the Port in any way to accomplish this goal. Attached herewith is a deposit in the amount of $10,000. Upon selection as exclusive negotiating partner of an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement ( ENA ), Proposer is prepared to provide the required additional deposit of $90,000. The undersigned Proposer represents and warrants that: It has read the RFQ and agrees to abide by the content and terms of the RFQ; All costs and expenses incurred in preparing this Submittal and participating in the Project procurement process will be borne solely by the Proposer; All factual statements contained in this Submittal are true and correct to our knowledge, and; Developer Team may not add, remove or substitute any Equity Member, Key Member or Key Individual without the written consent of the Port of San Francisco Respectfully submitted, Michael A. Covarrubias Chairman and CEO TMG Partners John A. Sobrato Chairman The Sobrato Organization

4 3 1. Executive Summary Introduction This proposal will facilitate on the Waterfront Site at Pier 70 a place that inspires innovation, fuels the imagination, and models best practices in urban infill communities by building a model sustainable neighborhood in the context of an important historic setting. Development Entity The Master Developer will be a joint venture of TMG Partners and The Sobrato Organization. TMG/Sobrato s depth of local area expertise and experience in large scale redevelopment makes our team uniquely qualified for the successful master planning and development of Pier 70. TMG/Sobrato brings substantial capacity and experience in financing the various product types contemplated for Pier 70 with a track record of developing billions of dollars in real estate assets across virtually every product and building type. TMG/Sobrato anticipates that various phases of the project will be financed separately by public and private institutions. TMG Partners-Developer Qualifications Over the last 27 years, TMG Partners has brought together visionary designers to create innovative and economically-successful projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. These have included approximately 20 million square feet of office, research and development, laboratory, for-sale and multi-family residential, public facilities, and retail projects, in addition to more than 400 acres of land, with a portfolio valuation in excess of $3 billion. TMG has overcome the many challenges of complex Bay Area projects including: multi-jurisdictional entitlements, brownfield clean-up and redevelopment, ground leases, and development of major infrastructure and public facilities. TMG has won awards and community accolades along the way. We take that lifetime of experiences as a company and a group of creative and driven individuals to Pier 70 with a firm belief, rooted in past successes, that we are the best team to create a model community for the twenty-first century. TMG has been a Bay Area leader in creating successful projects relevant to Pier 70 including large site and brownfield redevelopment, sustainable infill and transit oriented developments, ground lease development, local business enterprise hiring, office and technology tenant leasing and tenant improvements and high technology campus development. TMG has created built-to-suit space for some of the Bay Area s leading companies including Zenga, Salesforce, Jamba Juice, Novartis, Microsoft and Del Monte Foods. Our team members have deep roots in the Bay Area. Many of our principals are San Francisco residents and all live in the Bay Area. We have converted contaminated historic sites, including Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, into thriving mixed use communities that bring modern land uses into important historic places blending the old and new to create authentic and unique places. TMG preserved historic San Francisco buildings while creating 21 st century housing, retail, and office spaces for modern tenants at One Market and One Thousand Van Ness in San Francisco. TMG has been a Bay Area pioneer in green planning and design and created first Platinum certification under the LEED -ND rating for the Emeryville Marketplace which was just made a Gold level California Catalyst Project and awarded 1.3 Million Dollars of Prop 1-C funds to create model sustainable programs that can be emulated State-wide. Pier 70- Request for Qualifications Executive Summary 3

5 4 Concept for the Waterfront Site Project and Approach to Meeting Port Objectives As is more fully explained in the Development Entity section, TMG/Sobrato has not selected a principal land planning, architecture or general contracting team. Our approach is different. We do not believe that picking one lead architect or designer at this time will necessarily benefit the community and Pier 70. Rather, we propose that the initial phases after developer selection should be devoted to a) assessing the site conditions, b) pursuing value engineering and phasing options, and c) considering alternative capital structures and financing opportunities which will make the Waterfront site at Pier 70 more viable. Also, given the scope and opportunity of Pier 70, we believe that a number of qualified team members will come forward after a master developer is selected and may be willing to join the successful development team. For Pier 70 we are proposing that upon selection TMG/Sobrato will partner with the Port of San Francisco to identify, interview and then select a slate of architects, designers and consultants. We will jointly formulate a list of qualified candidates and select the best and brightest ideas and participants for specific design tasks. Later in this document we have recommended the consultants immediately required to complete an initial study of infrastructure costs and feasibility and to complete entitlements and ground lease negotiations. A preliminary list of consultants to interview for additional design and engineering is listed below. Entitlements, infrastructure designs and pricing, financial realities, and changing market demands will necessitate careful and flexible planning for strategic phasing and investment. TMG/Sobrato has the talent, access to capital, and local staying power to assemble the right design team and development approach for each project phase over a multiphased project. TMG/Sobrato has developed billion of dollars of mixed use development in the San Francisco Bay Area over our respective histories. Both Sobrato and TMG have a reputation for delivering on our promises, identifying and solving problems and building lasting communities that attract and satisfy tenants and residents. Our qualifications make us the best partners for the Port of San Francisco at Pier 70 to meet the objectives as stated in the Pier 70 Master Plan. We view our role as implementing the vision of the Pier 70 Master Plan, attracting additional capital, refining building and infrastructure design to create efficient marketable development phases, completing environmental review, planning and detailed design documents, and constructing a project consistent with the Pier 70 Master Plan. The redevelopment of Pier 70 has enormous potential to showcase best practices in sustainable community redevelopment and create an international model redevelopment of an historic Brownfield site. TMG/Sobrato s lead team would join with the Port of San Francisco to create the vision set forth in the Pier 70 Master Plan. TMG/Sobrato s San Francisco and Silicon Valley award-winning projects demonstrate our ability to bring this collective vision to fruition, creating a community that will set a new bar for industry standards, and that will be noted as a hallmark of our time. Pier 70- Request for Qualifications Executive Summary