Visa to build new global HQ in San Francisco’s Mission Rock neighborhood, while simultaneously undergoing major renovation of current Foster City location to support Bay Area work force
San Francisco, Nov 6, 2019 — Mission Rock Partners — the San Francisco Giants and Tishman Speyer — announced today that Visa has signed a lease agreement for all of Building G, a 300,000 square foot, 13-story office building designed by Henning Larsen and located along China Basin Park and Bridgeview Street. Once completed, Mission Rock will serve as Visa’s Global and North American Headquarters, solidifying the global payments technology company’s home in San Francisco for decades to come.
“I am excited Visa is coming to one of our City’s newest neighborhoods, staking their company’s future in San Francisco and bringing their headquarters to our amazing community in Mission Bay,” said the Honorable London Breed, Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco. “I look forward to supporting our City’s growing partnership with Visa, especially at this location that will bring much- needed new affordable housing and beautiful new parks to San Francisco.”
“For over 60 years, Visa’s roots have been in the Bay Area and we want to re-invest in San Francisco and Foster City to better support our talented team of employees and growing business needs,” said Al Kelly, Visa CEO and Chairman. “It’s important to have a dynamic office environment that encourages collaboration, inspires creativity and reflects our stature as a world-class brand. We’ve been very thoughtful about this decision and are excited to have two world-class locations for our Bay Areacommunity of employees and partners.”
Mission Rock represents 12 years of planning and community input to turn 28 acres and an asphalt parking lot into an exciting new neighborhood and community gathering point for San Francisco residents and visitors. Mission Rock — a public-private partnership with the San Francisco Giants,
Tishman Speyer and the Port of San Francisco — is designed as a waterfront mixed-use neighborhood, whose ensemble of mixed-use buildings will be tied together by the surrounding public spaces.
“This first lease agreement marks a critical milestone as we continue to make Mission Rock a reality,” said Giants President and CEO Larry Baer. “We are delighted to welcome our longtime partner Visa to the neighborhood. Visa’s deep commitment to corporate responsibility, inclusion, and improving lives makes them the perfect partner for Mission Rock, and we look forward to working with them over the coming months and years to create San Francisco’s newest neighborhood and destination.”
“Visa’s early decision to establish its headquarters at Mission Rock demonstrates the company’s strong ties to San Francisco. It also reinforces our expectation that this will be the nation’s next great community with international appeal as an unsurpassed place to live, work and visit,” said Tishman Speyer President and CEO Rob Speyer. “We are very pleased that this world-class company shares our team’s vision.”
Mission Rock will serve as a centerpiece for the emerging Central Southern Waterfront neighborhood. The project will be built out over three phases and full completion will include:
- Approximately 1,200 residential rental units, with 40 percent affordable to low and moderate income households.
- 8 acres of parks and open space, including a signature waterfront park.
- Up to 1.4 million square feet of new, high quality office space.
- Over 200,000 square feet of neighborhood serving retail and local manufacturing space.
- Parking structure to serve ballpark and neighborhood needs.
- Rehabilitation of historic Pier 48.
Phase one consists of four buildings — two residential (540 units), two commercial (550,000 square feet), a five-acre China Basin Park and 85,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Phase One will break ground in early 2020 and will open in 2023.
“I am so pleased to have Visa locate their global headquarters at Mission Rock, a new mixed income waterfront neighborhood,” said Elaine Forbes, Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco. “Visa moving into the neighborhood is a validation of the planning team’s efforts over the past decade to create a new vibrant community.”
The Mission Rock team has assembled a cohort of world-renowned architects and local Bay Area designers to collaboratively design the buildings for Phase One in a way that reflects the community’s vision and puts place-making and experience above all else. Each building has its own distinct look and feel, but complements each other and the surrounding environment – including China Basin Park.
Building G Design, Inspiration and Features
Lead Design Architect: Henning Larsen (henninglarsen.com)
– Associate Architect: Adamson Associates (https://www.adamson-associates.com)
– Associate Architect: Y.A. Studio (http://www.ya-studio.com/)
The Building G design takes its cue from the scale and particularities of beloved San Francisco neighborhoods — the city’s steep urban landscapes and the site’s legacy of industrial architecture. The 13-story building, with its 360-degree retail at ground floor, will be a coveted place to work and will possess a landmark identity within the new Mission Rock district.
Inspired by the geologic rock formations of California’s Devil’s Postpile in Yosemite National Park, the overall massing volume is carved into smaller bays, which creates a dynamic and varied appearance from street level reminiscent of traditional San Francisco neighborhoods. The design features lush green terraces that ascend the mesa (podium) and visually extend China Basin Park up along the building exterior, culminating in an expansive fifth floor terrace that wraps around the tower. These spacious terraces, carefully crafted into the design of the floorplates, will be recreational as well as active workspaces for future tenants.
The top of the building steps down at the southwest to allow for generous, wind-sheltered, sunlit terraces with views overlooking Mission Rock Square and the new Mission Rock neighborhood. The upper terraces ascend to a north-facing rooftop terrace lounge that features fantastic views of Oracle Park, the Bay, and the skyline of downtown San Francisco and is screened by a crown that reaches its pinnacle at the northwest corner of the tower.
The interior design creates a modern work environment characterized by flexible, column-free interior floorplates and the potential for interconnected collaboration zones, with direct access to outside workspaces and planted terraces on most floors.
At the small, intimate scale of street level, one can experience the textured materiality of the precast, varied storefront niches, and small micro-activations such as benches and flowering planters integrated into the façade. Each storefront is designed to be unique and provide abundant opportunities for indoor/outdoor experiences.
“Henning Larson and his outstanding design team have created what will be Mission Rock’s great first building,” said Tishman Speyer Senior Managing Director Carl Shannon. “Phase One is now off and running, and we look forward to working closely with the Giants to deliver a project that the people of San Francisco can be proud of.”
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.
About the San Francisco Giants (www.sfgiants.com)
One of the oldest teams in Major League Baseball, the 136-year old franchise moved to San Francisco from New York in 1958. After playing a total of 42 years in Seals Stadium and Candlestick Park, the team privately constructed Oracle Park in 2000. The organization is widely recognized for its innovative business practices and baseball excellence. In 2010, the franchise was named the Sports Organization of the Year by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal and in 2010 was named Organization of the Year by Baseball America. Since opening its gates, Oracle Park has become internationally-renowned as a premier venue in the world of both sports and entertainment. On the diamond, more than 63 million spectators have witnessed a number of magical moments, including three World Series Championships (2010, 2012 & 2014), four National League Pennants and seven playoff appearances.
About Tishman Speyer (tishmanspeyer.com)
Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and fund manager of first-class real estate around the world. Founded in 1978, Tishman Speyer is active across the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, building and managing premier office, residential and retail space in 29 key global markets for industry-leading tenants. The firm has acquired, developed and operated a portfolio of over 175 million square feet with a total value of approximately US $94 billion spread over 411 assets. Signature assets include New York City’s Rockefeller Center, São Paulo’s Torre Norte, The Springs in Shanghai, Lumière in Paris and OpernTurm in Frankfurt. Tishman Speyer currently has projects at different stages of development in Boston, Beijing, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Madrid, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Washington, DC. The firm also operates portfolios of prominent office properties in Berlin, Paris, Chicago and London. For more information, visit tishmanspeyer.com and find us on social @tishmanspeyer.
