The San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center is eyeing an expansion into Mission Bay to increase the size of its research facilities. The veterans hospital, located in the Outer Richmond district, houses the top research program in the VA system and it’s currently gathering information to gauge the feasibility of expansion and whether it can be funded through a private-public partnership.
“We have a sufficient space gap,” VA Medical Center spokeswoman Judi Cheary said. “We are so cramped at the current location.”
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One of the largest proposed condominium tower projects in recent years — which includes the Mexican Museum’s long-awaited permanent home — received key approval Thursday, but by a slim margin.
The plan by Millennium Partners — which built the nearby Millennium Tower as well as the Residences at the Four Seasons — to construct a 510-foot building at 706 Mission St. was approved by the Planning Commission by a 4-3 margin Thursday despite concerns about parking limits and the “piecemeal” way The City enforces a limit on shadows cast by tall buildings.
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Formation of special districts where property owners pay a fee to fund services such as security and graffiti cleanup beyond what The City can provide is an increasing trend and one celebrated by Mayor Ed Lee.
On Thursday, the Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee approved moving forward with the renewal and expansion of the Central Market Community Benefit District and the formation of the Top of Broadway Benefit District.
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Backers of a November referendum of the contentious 8 Washington St. condominium development on the waterfront picked up a key endorsement Wednesday from the local Democratic County Central Committee.
An endorsement from the local Democratic Party is one of the most influential in San Francisco politics and is being celebrated by opponents of the 134-unit development.
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Operating under a tight schedule and even tighter budget, Muni is about to hand over its $1.6 billion Central Subway plan to a man who has a contentious history with The City and a reputation for exceeding project costs.
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The music venue Brick and Mortar Music Hall will operate under heavy restrictions as it works toward needed upgrades, the Entertainment Commission ruled this week.
The restrictions stem from nearly two years of complaints by neighbors of the venue on Mission Street near Duboce Avenue who say they have heard noise from the concert hall since it opened.
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A proposed 47-story condominium tower — which also would be the long-awaited permanent home of the Mexican Museum — faces the prospect of a lawsuit from residents of the Four Seasons on Market Street who want to stop it from casting a pall on sunny Union Square.
The 510-foot tower would be built at 706 Mission St. by developer Millennium Partners. At that height, it would drop shadows on the southeast corner of Union Square during part of the morning, according to a group calling itself Friends of Yerba Buena Gardens.
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Despite concerns about potential cost overruns and a lack of local firms hired to work on the Central Subway project, Muni officials Tuesday approved an $840 million contract for the $1.6 billion transit-extension plan.
The contract — awarded to Tutor Perini, a large contractor based in Southern California — covers the construction and installation of three stations, 1.5 miles of tracks and a new train-control system.
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One San Francisco official hopes to use the ballot box to tighten controls on how the fund that pays for retiree health care for city employees can be used.
Historically, The City has paid retiree health care costs on an annual basis, not setting aside dollars and not worrying about future costs. But as medical expenditures escalate, The City faces $4.4 billion in retiree health care costs during the next 30 years.
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Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday that he does not know if the Bay Bridge will open over Labor Day weekend because of safety concerns.
It was the first time the governor acknowledged serious worries about the structural integrity of the $6.4 billion infrastructure project to build a new eastern span of the bridge. Brown had dismissed concerns about broken bolts earlier this month.
Now the governor said the state is reviewing construction documents going back as far as the administration of former Gov. Gray Davis, who served from 1999 to 2003.
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