Remember that planned 61-story tower at First and Mission streets that a Chinese developer broke ground on in 2016, only to run into pre-pandemic financial trouble and then fully halt construction in mid-2020? Well it may not be a semi-filled hole in the ground much longer.

Oceanwide Center, with a shiny glass tower designed by London-based Foster + Partners — the firm of Sir Norman Foster who also designed Union Square's Apple Store, and Apple's spaceship campus in Cupertino — was set to become one of the first major projects in SF by a Chinese developer and one of the city's tallest towers when it first took shape a decade ago.

As things in the Chinese real estate market started entering shaky territory in 2019, the developer, Oceanwide Holdings, sought to exit the US market in a hurry, and almost sold the already under-construction tower in January 2020 to another Beijing-based investor, SPF Capital International, for a reported $1 billion.

That sale fell through — a pandemic might have had something to do with it — and it would be just a matter of months before construction halted on the project, and it lay dormant for five years. Oceanwide Holdings was reportedly on the hook for unpaid moneys to contractors, and after missing some loan payments, the property was surrendered to creditors and entered foreclosure last year.

Now, as the Chronicle reports, retired developer Dan Kingsley, a co-founder of Bay Area development firm SKS Partners, is in contract to take on the property alongside private equity investor Jay Yang. Negotiations are reportedly ongoing with the lender that controls the property now, Haitong International.

The developers haven't revealed any of their plans for the property, such as whether they would go ahead with the last approved plans and the design by Foster + Partners — a 600-foot tower with 156 residential units and a 169-room Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The property was originally entitled for a 910-foot tower with a mix of office and residential.

Starting construction again, as the Chronicle notes, would require a fresh inspection by city inspectors — who would be looking to see whether the 300-foot underground foundation structure that's already there is still in good shape, after seeing five winters worth of rain.

And a local development expert noted to the paper that the rents the developer would need to charge for the space — presumably for office space — would need to be high given the exorbitant cost of construction right now. But, given the excellent location and signs of rebounding interest in high-end office properties in SF, the project could be a decent bet. And the already extant foundation work means this project could start way out ahead of the game, as competitive projects like this 76-story tower at Mission and Beale streets still have demolition, design, and ground-breaking work to contend with.

Previously: Foreclosure and Potential Sale of Oceanwide Center Project In Downtown SF Headed to Court (Again)

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