[BTinSF]

PUC site a 'poster child for stimulus package
John King
Monday, January 26, 2009

Here's a hoped-for local ripple from the economic package being shaped on Capitol Hill: San Francisco's super-green office building might finally break ground.



At the very least, demolition is set to begin next month at 525 Golden Gate Ave., where an earthquake-damaged state office building has sat empty since 1989. It's also the site where the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has permits in hand to erect a 12-story headquarters that emphasizes sustainable design and resource conservation.

The catch: PUC General Manager Ed Harrington put the project on hold last summer because of budget and image issues. But with President Obama and Congress looking for politically correct projects that can break ground quickly, 525 Golden Gate's virtues are being touted inside the Beltway.

"We are completely ready to go," Harrington says. "It seems like a poster child for the stimulus package - it's energy efficient, it will create jobs, and it can become a government showcase."

That's been the idea all along; under prior General Manager Susan Leal and her deputy, Anthony Irons, plans were completed for a tower incorporating wind turbines, aggressive water recycling, reused building materials and the like. But when Harrington assumed the post last year, he took a bottom-line look at the design by Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz Architects - and then set the project aside while the agency concentrated on a larger task, the final round of approvals for a $4.4 billion overhaul of the city's water supply system.

"I personally didn't feel good about saying I could build our offices but not a pipeline," Harrington explains.

Whatever the rationale, Harrington's goal now is to secure a federal commitment of up to $75 million for the $188 million project (a total "I'm hoping will come down a bit" given the drop in construction prices, Harrington says). Part of the strategy: spend $4 million right now to remove the homely hulk at the corner of Polk Street and Golden Gate Avenue, one-half block from City Hall.

Current plans aren't as revolutionary as what was unveiled in 2007. Solar panels are now proposed for the roof instead of wind turbines, for instance, though turbines are still likely to run up the front of the tower, a nice bit of environmental sculpture.

Even in modified form, 525 Golden Gate has the potential to be a role model. If it gives us an economic boost as well, all the better.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...type=printable