Tishman/Speyer and Union Property Capital
San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood didn’t have high-rise buildings when Tishman Speyer and Union Property Capital proposed their Infinity Towers project. And the two buildings that were being proposed exceeded the city’s height limit. This, at a time when public concern was already surfacing about the city’s expanding downtown skyline and the visual impact on the city and nearby neighborhoods.
BMWL worked with Tishman Speyer and Union Property Capital to design a strategic communications program that garnered community support, avoided legal challenges and won city approval. The two-tower Infinity project is now nearly fully occupied.
Verizon Wireless
Much negative publicity has been focused on cellular technology, particularly on the antennas that deliver wireless communications to consumers.
Verizon Wireless had already attempted – and failed -- to win approval from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to install 20 cellphone antennas in neighborhoods throughout the city. Then they came to BMWL.
We developed an effective communications strategy that relied on extensive community outreach and education, listening to residents’ concerns and responding to them.
Because of the communications strategy that BMWL developed, Verizon Wireless got approval from the Planning Commission for all 20 cellular antennas, without an appeal to the Board of Supervisors.
Westfield Shopping Centers
The historic Emporium building on San Francisco’s Market Street had been empty for years and was a serious drag on the neighborhood’s plans to revive the area’s shopping and commercial activities.
Westfield Shopping Centers was in the process of restoring the old Emporium building and transforming it into one of the city’s premier shopping destinations. But concerns about the building’s historic resources threatened to halt the project.
BMWL developed a communications strategy for Westfield that included negotiations with City Hall, which allowed the project to continue. Not only was the building restored, it was expanded by 1 million square feet and is considered one of the most successful shopping centers west of the Mississippi.
Clear Channel Airports
San Francisco International Airport was one of the last remaining major airports in the country that didn’t provide for advertising in its terminals. Not only was the airport behind the times, it was losing out on millions in revenue.
Clear Channel approached BMWL to give it an advantage as it prepared to respond to the airport’s public request for proposals. We developed a communications strategy that discouraged competitors and convinced the Airport Commission to choose Clear Channel.
