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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
San Francisco Development News



Knapsack Hike 04 by Tom Hilton, on Flickr


===================================================================================================

I decided to carry this thread over from SkyscraperPage.com to give everyone a rundown of San Francisco's projects. Enjoy! :)

San Francisco Now:



Recently Completed

JP Morgan Chase Building

function: office
height: 433'
floors: 31
architect: Cesar Pelli Architects
completion: 2002

Rendering:




The Paramount

function: residential
height: 420'
floors: 43
architect: Elkus/ Manfredi Architects
completion: 2002

Rendering:





Four Seasons Hotel and Residences

function: residential, hotel
height: 398'
floors: 40
architect: Gary Edward Handel & Associates
completion: 2001

Rendering:




199 Fremont

function: office
height: 364'
floors: 27
architect: Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz
completion: 2000

Rendering:





101 Second

function: office
height: 354'
floors: 26
architect: Craig Hartman of SOM
completion: 2000

Renderings:





55 Second

function: office
height: 330'
floors: 25
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: 2002

Renderings:




150 California

function: office
height: 330'
floors: 23
architect: HOK
completion: 2000

Rendering:




W Hotel

function: hotel
height: 315'
floors: 31
architect: Hornsberger & Worstell
completion: 1999

Rendering:




Two Folsom (Gap Inc. Headquarters)

function: office
height: 275'
floors: 15
architect: Robert A.M. Stern
completion: 2000

Rendering:




Bridgeview Towers

function: residential
height: 250'
floors: 26
architect: HKS Inc.
completion: 2002

Rendering:




The Metropolitan I and The Metropolitan II

function: residential
height: 250' and 200'
floors: 27 and 22
architect: Heller-Manus Architects
completion: 2004

Renderings:



Avalon at Mission Bay I

function: residential
height: 160'
floors: 16
architect: Fisher Friedman Architects
completed: 2003

Images:




250 King Street also known as The Beacon

function: residential
height: ~160'
floors: 16
architect: SOM
completion: 2003

Rendering:


************************************************
Under Construction

St. Regis Museum Tower

function: residential, hotel, museum/ cultural institution
height: 484'
floors: 42
architect: SOM
completion: 2005

Renderings:




New Federal Building

function: office
height: 234'
floors: 18
architect: Thom Mayne and Morphosis
completion: 2005

Rendering:



Bryant Street Seawall I and II aka The Watermark

function: residential
height: 220'/ 135'
floors: 22/ 13
architect: Moore Ruble Yudell
completion: 2005

Rendering:



Avalon at Mission Bay II

function: residential
height: 160'
floors: 16
architect: GGLO architects
completion: 2007


UCSF Mission Bay Student Housing

function: residential
height: 155'
floors: 15
architect: SOM (?)
completion: 2005

Rendering:



199 New Montgomery

function: residential
height: 150'
floors: 16
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: 2005

Renderings:


*********************************************************************
Approved

These are the projects that are mostly likely to be constructed in the next few years.

301 Mission Street

function: residential, hotel
height: 625'
floors: 58
architect: Gary Handel + Associates
completion: 2007

Renderings:





555 Mission Street

function: office
height: 482'
floors: 34
architect: Heller-Manus Architects
completion: 2007/2008

Rendering:


*On hold due to high vacancy in Downtown San Francisco. Currently seeking anchor tenant. Barclays Global Investors has recently been listed as a possible tenant.


201 Folsom and 300 Spear Streets

function: residential
height: podium- 80'; 2 400' towers and 2 350' towers
floors: 40, 40, 35, 35
architect: Heller Manus Architects and Arquitectonica
completion: 2007-2009

Renderings:



* 300 Spear, which has been redesigned by the architecture firm, Arquitectonica, will be the first of the two projects to be built. As of April 2005, work has begun on the site.


InterContinental Hotel

function: hotel
height: 320'
floors: 31
architect: Patri Merker Architects
completion: 2007

Rendering:


(The rendering does not do the project justice!)

* The developer has lined up the financing for the project, and it should begin construction soon.


10th and Market

function: office, residential
height: the 14 story tower will rise to 150'; the 21 story tower will rise to 200'; and the 24 story tower will rise to 345'
floors: 3 separate towers rising to 24, 21, and 14 stories
architect: SOM
completion: 2006/2007

Rendering:
Poor rendering of the base of the 320' tower:



14 story tower:



* Office portion may be dropped, if city decides to purchase an existing building.


524 Howard Street

function: office
height: 310'
floors: 23
architect: Heller Manus and Robert Frank Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:


* 524 Howard is on hold as a result of the high office vacancy rate in downtown San Francisco. If entitlements are pulled, another project could move foward. Site is zoned for 450'- 400' (which means >500' with a crown and setbacks).


Exchange Place (350 Bush Street)

function: office
height: 250'
floors: 19
architect: Heller Manus
completion: 2007(?)

Rendering:



* Project is on hold. Project sponsor is currently looking for an anchor tenant. The current structures have been demolished on the site.


1146-1160 Mission Street

function: residential
height: 235'
floors: 24
architect: AGI Capital
completion: ?

Renderings:


* Project was approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 10, 2004.


48 Tahama Street

function: office/ residential
height: 216'
floors: 20
architect: Komorous-Towey Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:


* Approved September 2001.


325 Fremont Street

function: residential
height: 200'
floors: 20
architect: Baum Thornley Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:

available at http://www.btarchitects.com/indexf.html


Bovet Place

function: residential, retail
height: 200'
floors: 17
architect: Donald Macdonald Architects
completion: ?



*Project was approved in 2001, but no work has been done. In all likelyhood, entitlements have been (or will be) pulled and another project can move into site.

**************************************************************

Proposed

Harbor Village Resort

function: residential, commercial, open space
height: 3 towers: 650'
floors: 61 each
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings:

none

One Rincon Hill:

function: residential
height: 550' and 465'
floors: ?
architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates
completion: 2007 (?)

Renderings:





45 Lansing Street

function: residential
height: 400'
floors: ?
architect: ?
completion: ?


340-350 Fremont Street

function: residential
height: 400'
floors: ?
architect: ?
completion: ?


399 Fremont

function: residential
height: 350'
floors: 37 (5 below grade parking levels)
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings: none


375 Fremont

function: residential
height: 350'
floors: 33
architect: Beverly Prior Architects
completion: ?

Renderings: none

* This tower may be eliminated under the plan being proposed by the Planning Department (see bottom of post). Unfortunately, this tower would sit too close to other towers on Rincon Hill.


535 Mission Street

function: residential
height: ?
floors: 30
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings: none

* This tower is a replacement for an office proposal made in the 1990s.


690 Market Street
renovation

function: residential, hotel
height: 312'
floors: 24
architect: ?
completion: 2006

Renderings:




1177 Market I, II, III, IV, and V

function: residential, retail
height: 240' - 120'
floors: 24 - 12
architect: Arquitectonica
completion: ?

Renderings:




*Project is being redesigned by Arquitectonica.


631 Folsom Street

function: residential
height: ~200'
floors: 21
architect: ?
completion: 2007 (?)

Renderings:





Pavilion Mixed Use Project

function: hotel (conference), residential, retail
height: residential portion ~200'
floors: ?
architect: Michael Willis Architects
completion: 2007-2008

Rendering:




********************************************************

Never Built

The Hemisphere

function: residential
height: 475'
floors: 51
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: n/a

Rendering:



* Project was cancelled. The Board of Supervisors voted on September 28, 2004 to use their powers of eminent domain to take the parcel that the Hemisphere would have occupied. The parcel is apart of the ROW for the new Transbay Terminal.


Bloomingdale's Hotel

function: hotel
height: 400'
floors: 31
architect: Hornberger + Worstell
completion: n/a

Renderings:




535 Mission Street

function: office
height: ?
floors: 24
architect: HOK
completion: n/a

Renderings:


* Project was dropped after office market was flooded with excess space. Developer is now seeking to build a 30 story, 251 unit residential tower on the site.


Sofitel Hotel

function: hotel
height: 320' (?)
floors: ~30
architect: SOM
completion: n/a

Rendering:



* Project was dropped after the economy soured. Another 500 room hotel project is being proposed for the same site, but the design will be different.

Sofitel Hotel- Other Proposal in Design Competition

function: hotel
height: ?
floors: 33
completion: n/a
architect: Hornberger + Worstell

Renderings:




* Proposal lost to SOM's Sofitel Hotel proposal.


************************************************************************
In addition to all these proposed projects, San Francisco is also developing plans for its first two high-rise residential neighborhoods, the Transbay Terminal and Rincon Hill. One tower in the Transbay Plan may include a new tallest for San Francisco!

Where the two project sites are located:



Rincon Hill:



Transbay Terminal:





If built as planned:




Other Notable Projects

Westfield San Francisco Center

status: under construction
function: retail, office
height: ?
floors: 8 (above ground); 1 (underground)
architect: (?) developer: Forest City/ Westfield
completion: 2006

Renderings:





James R. Herman International Cruise Terminal and Bryant Street Park

status: under construction
function: residential, retail, open space, office, maritime (cruise terminal)
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: SOM
completion: Bryant Street Seawall Condo Tower: 2005; Bryant Street Pier: 2006; Cruise Terminal: 2008

Renderings:





* Facts on the new terminal:
-Terminal: 100,000 square feet
-Public Open Space: 215,000 square feet (more than 35 percent of the total site area), includes public plazas, waterfront walkways and terraces
-Retail: 180,000 square feet, including a grocery store, restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and other neighborhood-serving retail
-Office: 360,000 square feet
-Parking: 425 spaces
-Two berths: a 1,000 foot berth and an approximately 825 foot berth

de Young Museum

status: under construction
function: museum, cultural
height: tower portion: 144'
floors: n/a
architect: Herzog & de Meuron
completion: 2005

Renderings:




* As a result of its copper skin, the museum's exterior will eventually turn from its brownish reflective hue to a green to match the surrounding park.


The California Academy of Science

status: under construction
function: museum, cultural, educational
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: Renzo Piano
completion: 2008
cost: $370 million

Renderings:





* The Academy of Sciences is located across the concourse from the de Young museum (above).


Jewish Museum San Francisco

status: under construction (foundation is currently being laid)
function: cultural, museum
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: Daniel Libeskind
completion: Fall 2007

Old Renderings:





New Rendering:




Transbay Terminal

status: approved
function: retail, transportation
height: ~80'
floors: 4 (above ground) and 1 (below ground)
architect: n/a
completion: 2011
cost: $2 billion+

Conceptual Renderings:




* Project will link all of the major Bay Area transit providers in one location in downtown San Francisco. In addition, project will also feature an underground extension of the Caltrain commuter rail line as well as future high speed rail service to Los Angeles.

If you want to add more, please do!
 
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77
#52 ·
From: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...hive/2006/04/09/BUGROI5R9V1.DTL&type=business
__________
Downtown renovation nears completion
Old Emporium building gets a new coat of paint, and its historic dome readied for new retailing era
Pia Sarkar, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, April 9, 2006

With only six months left until the Westfield San Francisco Centre unveils its renovations, construction crews have completed work on 95 percent of the core and shell of the building and are now adding final touches.

Construction on the Mission Street facade -- where Bloomingdale's will open a new 357,740-square-foot department store -- has been finished, although work such as light installation by the front doors, exterior signage and pouring concrete for the Mission Street sidewalks must still be done.

The Market Street facade, no longer hidden behind scaffolding, is close to completion. Workers removed the old paint and have also cleaned the Colusa sandstone. They have completed repairs to the facade and are now repainting it in white, beige, brown and deep brick red.

The 19th century dome of the old Emporium store, which represents the centerpiece of the $440 million project and had been a source of controversy among historic preservationists, is now in the final stage of restoration. More than 900 lights encased in the ribs of the dome are being restored.

Developers Forest City Enterprises and the Westfield Group were required by the city to save the dome in order to proceed with the rest of the project.

The retail concourses of the shopping center are now complete and the shells of tenant spaces are being built. Tenants are expected to move in by the summer to start setting up shelves.

Almost 95 percent of the center has been leased to tenants, including 30,000 square feet to Bristol Farms, a Southern California upscale grocery chain, and 20,000 square feet to Borders Books Music & Cafe.

The five levels of connections between the new and existing Westfield San Francisco Centre are also being constructed while new escalators leading up to the dome are being installed.

Base building construction for 245,000 square feet of office space has been completed, 107,000 square feet of which will be leased to San Francisco State University for a larger downtown campus.

The shells of the new nine-screen, 53,000-square-foot theater, which will serve as the flagship to Century Theatres and CinéArts, have also been finished. Crews have begun erecting the steel and are pouring concrete for the stadium seating.
 
#53 ·
SF Japantown's Demise?

Fears of Japantown's demise as neighborhood celebrates centennial
By LOUISE CHU
9 April 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - As organizers prepared for the centennial of the nation's oldest Japanese-American community, some worried that Japantown's birthday bash could become its memorial service.

The excitement surrounding the festivities was quickly overshadowed by news that three-quarters of the real estate in the historic San Francisco neighborhood, which grew from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake, had been sold amid weak revenue and lagging tourism.

Beverly Hills-based 3D Investments, which agreed earlier this year to buy two hotels and two malls from Osaka, Japan-based Kintetsu Enterprises of America, has not publicly disclosed its plans. A representative did not return calls for comment.

The fear in the Japanese-American community is that 3D could push out family-run businesses in favor of big-box retailers and write the final chapter in the neighborhood's slow decline.

"Absolutely it could have a devastating effect on the community," said Paul Osaki, executive director of Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California.

Others say 3D's ownership presents an opportunity to revitalize the area's dated architecture.

"It needs a lot of work," said Richard Hashimoto, president of the Japantown Merchants Association. "And that's one of the things 3D is willing to do -- buy the property and invest $10 million, $20 million renovating it."

With its modernist pagoda and pedestrian thoroughfare lined with noodle and sushi restaurants, Japantown was once a big tourist destination. But it has nearly fallen off the map since major traffic routes into the area were closed and aging buildings made it less appealing in a city brimming with must-see attractions.

"They don't come by the busloads anymore," said Rosalyn Tonai, executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society. "They're individual tourists, and even then, they'd rather go to other attractions, like Alcatraz."

Hashimoto notes a 60 percent decline in business over the past three years alone.

"We're at that point where they're hanging on by a thread," he said.

So it came as no real surprise that when Kintetsu announced in December it would sell off the hotels and malls that anchor the neighborhood.

"What makes this really emotional for the community is, it's not the first time large parcels of land were taken out of our control," Osaki said.

Longtime residents recall the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and the city's 1960s urban renewal sweep, which led to the eviction of hundreds from their Japantown homes and businesses through eminent domain.

The enclave managed to survive both those events, although its ethnic Japanese population has fallen from a prewar high of more than 5,000 to 1,063 in the 2000 census. They now account for just 9 percent of neighborhood's residents.

"People are in this time warp, and they're getting flashbacks to World War II and redevelopment," Tonai said. "It hits deep, and those emotions have really emerged."

Japantowns, or Nihonmachis, once flourished in West Coast cities prior to World War II. Today, only three remain -- in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles.

Japanese-Americans themselves are also dwindling, as immigration from Japan declines and existing residents have low birth rates. Among those who remain, younger generations are choosing professional careers over family businesses, community leaders and historians say.

Robert Sakai, owner of Uoki Sakai market -- one of Japantown's oldest businesses -- says his three children probably won't take over the store his grandfather founded shortly after the 1906 earthquake.

"I think they would find it difficult to sacrifice so much of their lives for this business," Sakai said. "This is my life. It's six days a week. ... "I think I'm going to be turning out the lights, frankly."

As America's oldest Japantown, the San Francisco community actually predates the Great Quake. After that catastrophe, smaller pockets of Japanese-Americans sprinkled around the city consolidated in the city's Western Addition, which was largely untouched by the earthquake and the fires that followed.

In its heyday during the 1920s and '30s, the neighborhood spanned nearly 30 square blocks. Today, a central commercial district of four or five square blocks is about all that remains of the once sprawling community.

Bobby Okamura, 52, owner of the Benkyo-do confectionary shop -- another century-old Japantown business -- remembers growing up when "it was still a community, very vibrant, a lot of Japanese families living in the area."

Some say the sale, coinciding with the centennial, gives the community a unique chance to recapture its former vibrance.

"This could have not been a more magnified wake-up call and opportunity for Japantown to help chart its future," said Ross Mirkarimi, a city supervisor whose district includes Japantown. He's drafting special-use designation to protect the neighborhood's ethnic character.

But the sale has also highlighted rifts among the community's leaders, who long have been unable to agree on the direction of Japantown. Some are skeptical about the new landlord's commitment to their cultural heritage, while others believe the sale will bring much-needed money into the community.

"This is a small community. We all should work together, regardless of what our personal agendas are, and unfortunately that's not been the case," Hashimoto said. "We're fighting against ourselves."

Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose office has been negotiating with 3D Investments over covenants to preserve Japantown's character, said saving the historic neighborhood "sends a message around the world that this city recognizes its role internationally."

"This is about celebrating the incredible contribution of Japanese to San Francisco's identity and, for that matter, the state and nation," Newsom said.

3D has reportedly indicated a willingness to sign a commitment to retain ownership of the two malls for at least 15 years. But it has balked at signing such a deal for the hotels because of volatility in that industry.

Even a 15-year commitment is not enough for Allen Okamoto, a local businessman who led an unsuccessful community-based bid to buy the Kintetsu properties.

He says selling the properties to any outside company with no Japanese ties is like "signing a 15-year death warrant" for Japantown, Okamoto said.

Either way, passions stirred by the sale have ironically managed to drum up interest -- as well as business -- in the community.

"It's been packed, so this negative attention has got people concerned that there may not be a Japantown, so let's get a taste of it now," Tonai said.

As for the centennial celebration -- culminating with the annual Cherry Blossom Festival this month -- it's still on. Organizers say it'll be bigger than any the community has seen.

The sale "put a damper on a wonderful celebration, but we will celebrate anyway," Osaki said. "This is where all our hopes and dreams were born from, and they can never take that from us."

On the Net:
http://www.sfjapantown100.org
 
#58 ·
Japantowns were products of the Japanese immigration that peaked at the beginning of the 20th century. They were disrupted by restrictions on Japanese immigration & the WW II interment of Japanese Americans. Also Japanese Canadians.

In SF, J-Town was redeveloped as part of the big Western Addition urban renewal. But its mostly a tourist attraction, with a small & dwindling numbers of residents. Many of the businesses have been purchased by Korean immigrants.

Many Japanese come to US as tourists, as students & on business. But hardly any come as immigrants. Very different from Chinatowns which are replenished by large-scale immigration. So without the immigrant flow, J-Towns face the fate of Little Italies & other fading ethnic enclaves.

SF's J-Town is one of the largest in North America along with LA's Little Tokyo. So it surely has a future, albeit more as a cultural & tourist destination rather than a major residential neighborhood. The Bay Area has a large Japanese American population, but it has been relatively stable in numbers & highly dispersed residentially.
 
#65 ·
urban_phx said:
That seems like a cool idea too me I think that they should build an artificial island off the coast of San Francisco and build on it like in Dubai :)
Looks like you bumped this thread up.

Anyway, I would too love it if a huge island was built of the coast of SF, but there are too many regulations and costs to do that.
 
#66 ·
Universal health care plan approved in San Francisco

Universal health care plan approved in San Francisco (AP)
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to make the city the nation's first to provide all residents with health care, approving a plan that would give adults access to medical services regardless of their immigration or employment status.

Financed by local government, mandatory contributions from employers and income-adjusted premiums, the universal care plan would cover the cost of everything from checkups, prescription drugs and X-rays to ambulance rides, blood tests and operations.

The plan, approved Tuesday, would not pay for any services participants seek outside San Francisco. Instead, residents would receive care at existing clinics and public hospitals and from doctors who already participate in an HMO for low- and middle-income clients.

To offset the estimated annual price tag of $200 million (euro159.6 million), firms with 20 or more workers would be required to spend $1.06 (euro.85) for each hour worked by an employee, and those with more than 100 workers would have to pay $1.60 (euro1.28) per hour up to a monthly maximum of $180 (euro143.64) per worker. Companies that already offer health coverage would still have to pay if their insurance contributions did not meet the city's funding levels.

The Board of Supervisors still needs to vote on the plan once more for it to become final.
 
#69 ·
Scientists map miles of underwater dunes

Quicktime video

Thursday, July 20, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than 2 square miles of some of the world's largest underwater sand dunes were mapped in the Pacific Ocean off the San Francisco coast as part of a study to help researchers better understand beach erosion.

The submerged dunes, called sand waves, are located just west of the Golden Gate Bridge, measuring more than 30 feet high and 700 feet long, according to researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The sand waves were created by the displacement of sediment by powerful currents rushing through the mile-wide opening between the ocean and San Francisco Bay.

About 500 billion gallons of water move through the opening every six hours, said Patrick Barnard, a coastal geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, who authored the study released this week with oceanographer Dan Hanes.

"Part of the purpose of our (sand wave) survey was to assess changes in San Francisco Bay in the last 50 years," Barnard said. "We've found the bay has lost a huge amount of sediment since 1956 — approximately 137 million cubic yards."

Researchers first mapped the sand waves with sonar devices two years ago, but new three-dimensional technology has helped them measure their size.


 
#73 ·
San Francisco's clean energy revolution is here


Susan Leal

Monday, August 14, 2006


San Francisco took a historic step last week toward creating the city's first Green Power Community on the site of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, where developer Lennar BVHP is about to begin construction of more than 1,600 new residential units and retail space. Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission announced an effort to provide reliable, renewable energy directly to the new residents and businesses there.

Certainly, the effort to bring green power to Hunters Point will be a great benefit to a neighborhood blighted by polluting power plants and toxic industries. But just as important, it is a watershed moment for the city's energy leadership. San Francisco is not just "talking the talk," but taking real action to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and power our city through clean, renewable energies.

These include:

Hydropower -- Most people don't realize that the pristine water delivered through the Hetch Hetchy water system also generates 20 percent of San Francisco's energy. The SFPUC provides electricity to the city's most vital public services, including S.F. General Hospital, Muni Railway, our schools, fire stations, the airport and streetlights. Decades before global warming focused our attention on reducing emissions, San Francisco developed a renewable source of emissions-free energy.

Solar power -- We are already a national leader in solar energy, with the nation's largest municipal solar facility atop the Moscone Convention Center, as well as major new facilities at the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Norcal Recycling Plant at Pier 96, the airport and other locations. A new bill (AB2573) sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, will open the door to the development of up to 30 megawatts of new solar projects atop our large reservoirs by 2010. The SFPUC is also moving to adopt the latest solar innovations, such as "thin film solar" technology, which will allow for cheaper, more rapid expansion of our ability to capture the power of the sun.

Biofuels -- Every year, thousands of gallons of oil and grease are dumped by residents and businesses down the drain, blocking sewer lines and creating backups during major rainstorms. Instead, we can collect that grease directly from restaurants and process it to prevent sewer blockages and produce a major source of renewable "biodiesel" for city vehicles. The new SFPUC biofuel program will help the city meet the mayor's challenge to fuel the city's fleet vehicles with biodiesel by late 2007.

Fuel-cell technology -- We are also moving now to convert digester gases at our wastewater-treatment plants into electricity and heat for use onsite. This fuel-cell technology will turn noxious gases that would otherwise be burned and dispersed into the neighborhood into a source of renewable power instead.

Tidal and wave power -- Working with the mayor, the San Francisco Department of the Environment and private organizations such as the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), San Francisco is exploring the potential of waves and the tides to generate clean power. SFPUC-funded studies show that, with our powerful tides under the Golden Gate and with the mighty waves of the Pacific, San Francisco is in an ideal location to harness a new hydropower -- that of the seas.

Community-choice aggregation -- In the coming months, with the full cooperation of the SFPUC and many clean-energy advocates, the S.F. Board of Supervisors will consider a plan called Community Choice Aggregation that will give city residents and businesses the chance to choose reliable, cleaner, affordable power procured by the city over traditional fossil fuel and nuclear-powered energy delivered by traditional investor-owned utilities. The private sector, too, is getting on board, with the announcement last week that PG&E would dramatically increase development and deployment of renewable energies in California.

A city-powered entirely by clean energy from the sun, wind, water and waste -- what may once have seemed an excerpt from science fiction could well become reality in San Francisco. Certainly, there will be unexpected costs, setbacks and bumps along the road. But the path towards a brighter future of renewable energy is clear. The clean energy revolution is here, and for San Francisco, there's no turning back.

Susan Leal is the general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.


Damn hippies.
 
#74 ·
San Francisco needs a cost of living revolution and get costs in line with salary, a dump in Oakland will cost you over half a million, it has the highest homeless rate in the country and has the fewest families with children of any major city in the U.S. I just came back from SF, my fiance is from there and I was interviewing, was thinking of relocating there for awhile and when I saw how much the pay VS cost of living was there. For those costs I'd go to Manhattan and live on the east side. Don't get me wrong SF is a beautiful city with wonderful weather, and I expected it to be expensive and actually wouldn't mind it being that expensive if salaries kept up. I told my fiancee there is no way we are starting a family in SF, very nice city though. One must be a millionare to live decent there.
 
#76 ·
Thats it, San Francisco is awesome my fiance lives in Castro Valley and I came back home to New Orleans for a few interviews this week, basically if I don't land something here at home in the next few weeks, then i'm coming there for a year or two and save our money, then when the economy bounces back, move back home to NO and buy a home. Since spending time in the bay area for the past few weeks, it has become my 3rd fav city, behind NO and NYC, but definately much better vibe than LA or San Diego, the home prices just need to come down.....and make BART cheaper!!!!!!!!!!! I can go anywhere in NYC 1 way for 2 dollars. Wonderful, unique city I'm from NO so I can appreciate unique. The cost of living either has to go down or salaries for the IT industry must go up.
 
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