Following weeks of a partial construction shutdown, on April 29 seven Bay Area counties issued a new joint order to open both commercial construction and work on market-rate residential projects effective May 4. The order replaced two prior edicts in March that had placed temporary bans on all construction work for commercial and residential projects with less than 10 percent affordable housing.
After over a year of negotiations between the Building Trades and City of San Francisco, a citywide PLA has been finalized. The legislation was approved by the Board of Supervisors (BOS) 11-0 in December 2018 and was subsequently signed by Mayor London Breed.
With more than 240,000 vehicles traveling through the U.S. 101 bridge deck at Alemany Boulevard, updates to the corridor that connects the region have long been a top priority. Caltrans had originally planned the work to be done in July and had been busy preparing traffic detours and doing public outreach.
Results from the March 3 election helped secure crucial work for Building Trades members. Nearly 56 percent of registered San Francisco voters made it to the polls or submitted ballots via mail to throw their support behind a number of propositions and local races, in addition to the Presidential primary and statewide races. While the ballot proposition outcomes were mixed, SFBTC-endorsed candidates won their respective races. Overall, the election should give Building Trades members a firm hold on steady work for several years to come.
Although initial reports indicate that the Bay Area’s early action may be working to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the measures have taken their toll on the economy, with many in the Building Trades hit especially hard.
A huge India Basin mixed-use project that was approved in 2018 is moving closer to becoming reality for a 29.26-acre parcel in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. In addition to the 1,575 residential units and 200,000 square feet of commercial space to be developed by BUILD Inc. on private land, there’s a second component led by the Recreation and Parks Department on land owned by the City. The India Basin Waterfront Parks and Trails Project would create a new 1.8-acre public park at 900 Innes Avenue as well as rehabilitate an existing 5.6-acre India Basin Shoreline Park and the India Basin Open Space area, for a total of 10 acres.
Many industries and trades have faced economic and professional hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Local 510 Sign & Display Union first experienced the impact of the health crisis in late February.
Mega-development Parkmerced is gearing up for construction on a 152-acre site in the city’s southwestern end. The project was approved in 2011 but years of delays have set back work on building the proposed 5,600 residential units, adding to the neighborhood’s existing 3,221-unit supply and tripling the housing density. Plans also indicate there will be 230,000 square feet of retail, 80,000 square feet of office, a grocery store, elementary school and 64,000 square feet of amenity spaces.
