Posted Feb 1, 2006, 1:50 AM
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 8
|
|
301 Mission & 300 Spear Update
Thanks for the kind words. Here is an article from the Chron...
SAN FRANCISCO
High-rises pass city's seismic muster
Few hurdles remain for permit to build Rincon Hill condos
Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, January 9, 2006
San Francisco is on the verge of giving final permission for two high-rise apartment towers on Rincon Hill after construction permits had been held up as building inspectors sought assurances about how well the development would ride out a major earthquake, The Chronicle has learned.
In an e-mail last month, chief building engineer Hanson Tom said that once the developer of One Rincon Hill satisfies nonseismic issues raised by the fire and planning departments -- such as building access for firefighters -- "the Site Permit will be issued" by the city Department of Building Inspection.
And on Friday, Tom and building inspection department chief Amy Lee said in a brief telephone interview that city building inspectors are satisfied that the unique design of the towers is structurally sound.
The One Rincon Hill towers at First and Harrison streets -- one rising 55 stories and the other 45 stories -- would be the first in the city to use a construction technique that provides most of the buildings' strength from a central concrete core.
Although a panel of engineering experts convened to advise the city had signed off on the engineering, city building inspectors sought additional assurances that the buildings wouldn't only weather a large temblor without collapsing but also could remain habitable after the shaking stops.
The city Planning Commission approved the project Aug. 8, three days after the Board of Supervisors passed an overall development plan for Rincon Hill that embraces such towers. The board vote followed an agreement brokered by Supervisor Chris Daly that boosted the fees Rincon Hill developers would pay the city from $14 to $25 per square foot.
One Rincon Hill developer Michael Kriozere agreed to pay $20 million into a city affordable-housing fund and $18 million toward community improvements and other programs that are supposed to address negative economic impacts that the project could have on low- and moderate-income South of Market residents.
One Rincon Hill's taller tower would contain 376 condominiums, and the other tower would contain 319 luxury condos. Both would be built on a platform containing a parking garage and ringed by townhouses. Units in the complex could sell for $1 million.
In November, Mayor Gavin Newsom and Daly, whose district includes the project, joined the developer for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site -- heralding One Rincon Hill as an example of forward-thinking architecture expected to revitalize a downtown neighborhood while providing more housing.
But a week later, on Nov. 17, Tom, the chief engineer at the building inspection department, ordered that no construction permit be issued without his authorization, after he raised questions about whether the city was requiring sufficient seismic safety standards to guard against both injury and property damage.
"We are establishing precedent in the way high-rise condominiums are being built in California and need to adhere to a standard of care that considers public safety first," Tom said of the One Rincon Hill project in an e-mail before issuing the do-not-issue order.
After The Chronicle reported building inspectors' concerns early last month, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors committee with jurisdiction over land use and development, said she wanted to hold a public hearing on the issues being raised by building inspectors.
But on Dec. 19, after seeking additional assurances from the engineering firm Kriozere hired for the One Rincon Hill project, Tom advised a representative for the developer by e-mail that the final construction site permit would be issued once some final nonseismic related questions raised by the fire and planning departments were resolved.
Maxwell was scheduled to receive a briefing from building inspectors today and it was unclear whether she would go forward with a public hearing on the matter.
Julie Chase, a spokeswoman for the developer, said news stories about building inspector inquiries were unfairly creating an incorrect impression that the engineering behind One Rincon Hill -- which has been used elsewhere in the country and will be used by other developers in the city -- might not be suited to earthquake-prone San Francisco.
"Pioneers get the arrows," Chase said.
Late last month, the city also received from the developer the first installment of the affordable housing fees for One Rincon Hill -- a payment of $11,260,146.
Steven Vettel, a lawyer for the developer, and Matt Franklin, director of the Mayor's Office of Housing, said the timing of the payment -- before issuing a final construction permit -- was not meant to influence and would have no bearing on the decision-making at the Department of Building Inspection.
Vettel said the timing of the payment saved the developer money on interest costs under its agreement with San Francisco.
"We're certainly not creating any expectations," Franklin said. "We have confidence that (the Department of Building Inspections) is doing a very thorough job of reviewing the project and that the most important thing in their mind and our mind is that it be done right. We're not at all concerned about the timeline."
|