North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) held its Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., from April 2 to April 5, where Building Trades union members got an opportunity to learn about important legislation and meet with members of Congress to build support for building trades issues.
General contractor Lendlease has begun preliminary site work at Tishman Speyer’s Folsom Bay Tower project at 160 Folsom in the Transbay Transit District. Work before the official groundbreaking includes pile cap removal, excavation and grading. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved unanimously a height increase for the residential tower from 300 feet to 400 feet last April, which will allow Tishman Speyer to build a 39-story tower with an additional 73 housing units.
The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the 36-story, mixed-use, 385-foot tall high-rise tower proposed for 555 Howard Street at its March 2 meeting. The project by developers SKS Investments and Pacific Eagle involves the removal of three buildings and the new construction of approximately 437,251 gross square feet in size.
Supervisor Mark Farrell introduced legislation in February to require a citywide Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for public work or improvement projects with projected costs over $1 million.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) notified Caltrain on Feb. 17 that a decision on a $647 million federal grant for the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project (PCEP) would be deferred until the Trump Administration develops its 2018 fiscal year budget.
Emerald Fund’s 13-story apartment building at 150 Van Ness Ave. is on schedule for completion by next February, with rebar columns now rising above street level. Clark Construction is the general contractor for the 419- unit complex being built with all union labor.
Work on the CPMC/Sutter Van Ness Medical Office Building (MOB) at Van Ness Ave. and Geary St. is progressing as crews of ironworkers are tying the rebar columns at street level and the project moves to the next phase when steel will be erected that connects to the concrete columns of the below grade garage. Small crews of carpenters, laborers, and operating engineers are on the job, continuing to pour decks and shotcrete, moving up through the lower garage level until March.
After battling (and winning) several legal challenges along the way, the Golden State Warriors are at long last ready to break ground on their new arena. The Warriors' environmental impact report held up in court at the end of November and has allowed them to move forward with construction. The groundbreaking is set for Jan. 17 in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco.
Union contractors Swinerton and Webcor officially broke ground on the Oceanwide Center project at First and Mission streets on December 8. Swinerton CEO Jeff Hoopes and Webcor CEO Jes Pederson attended the groundbreaking ceremony along with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Supervisor Jane Kim, and Oceanwide Holding Group Chairman Xiaosheng Han spoke.
