Soon, you will notice two large tower cranes on the HDH project site. These cranes will help safely lift and move heavy building elements, like steel and exterior facade panels, in addition to allowing workers to load interior construction materials, like metal framing wall studs and drywall, into the building at different levels during construction.

A 260-foot-tall tower crane is expected to be installed along Parnassus Avenue in early March 2025, and a 280-foot-tall tower crane is expected to be installed adjacent to the existing hospital later in the spring of 2025.

Also, several construction activities are underway at the project site, including the strengthening of the Long Hospital Shear Wall, the cutting of openings for future connections between new and existing hospitals, soil excavation, and construction of the building’s foundation.

Near the project site, construction continues to build new oxygen tanks, which are scheduled to be operational in the spring of 2025. In addition, work is ongoing to remove some vegetation for wildfire-defensible space and to build egress stairs. On Medical Center Way, construction has started to widen the road, connect steamlines, and install utilities.

Impacts and Mitigations

• In mid-2025, construction is being planned for the chipping of the Long Hospital shear wall, which is needed to strengthen the Long Hospital shear wall and create future connections to the new hospital. 
  • You can expect noise and extended construction hours for this work.
  • Project dates will be shared when they are confirmed. This work is being coordinated with clinical and hospital operation leadership. 
• Several UCSF departments and the services that operate near these areas will be impacted. If disruptions impact your ability to deliver care, please escalate any concerns to your unit or service leadership. 
• Expect early morning concrete truck deliveries on Parnassus Avenue. (UCSF Community Government Relations will communicate additional details to the community once dates are set.)
• You will see large construction vehicles and equipment on the site.
• Expect noise, such as horns and trucking operations.
• Adhere to flaggers when walking and driving near any construction site.

SFMTA is planning to install speed bumps on Parnassus Avenue near the Parnassus Heights campus. In addition, UCSF this month will be placing two speed radar signs on Medical Center Way   near the HDH site and other active construction along the road. 

To help drivers obey the 5-mph speed limit on Medical Center Way, the radars will light up when driving more than the speed limit. Pedestrians and bicyclists should use caution on the road and use the main path of egress.

Impacts and Mitigations

• On Parnassus Avenue, drivers should expect speed bumps east of the campus.
• On Medical Center Way, drivers should slow down and use speed radar signs to follow the 5-mph speed limit, especially near active construction sites.

The BRAB construction project will reach a significant milestone with the delivery and installation of a tower crane, which is scheduled for Friday through Monday, February 21-24, 2025.

Standing at 278 feet tall, with a jib (boom extension) reaching up to 229 feet, this tower crane will rotate 360 degrees, at times extending over the residential properties along Parnassus Avenue between 3rd and 4th streets. All loading activities will occur on the project side of Parnassus Avenue within the boundaries of the construction site. No material or equipment will extend over any residences.

The crane will play a key role in constructing the building, which will begin to take shape in mid-2025 as rebar and steel structures are erected at the site. To install the crane, two smaller, mobile cranes will be assembled onsite on the upper portion of Koret Way to assist in constructing the tower crane’s tall mass and horizontal components.

Impacts and Mitigations 

• Activities to install the tower crane are scheduled to start at 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  from February 21-24, 2025.  
• Vehicle and pedestrian access on Koret Way will be closed during the installation.  
• ADA parking on Koret will be temporarily unavailable. A traffic gate arm at Koret Way will be closed during this period. ADA parkers are encouraged to plan accordingly. Employees may park in the ACC Garage. View additional parking options at Parnassus Heights.  

• Nearby building occupants who use Koret Way for deliveries should make other accommodations during the Koret Way planned closure.  
• During the Koret Way closure, emergency access will remain open from the School of Nursing building to Koret Vision Center. 
• The crane’s jib (working arm) will extend at times over the residential properties along Parnassus Avenue between 3rd and 4th streets. All loading activities will occur on the project side of Parnassus Avenue within the boundaries of the construction site. 
• No material or equipment will extend over any residential units.
• During non-operating times, the crane’s jib (boom extension) will function as a “weathervane,” allowing it to rotate freely to minimize wind and weather-related impacts on the crane. 

In early 2025, the BRAB project is working on constructing the building’s foundation. Construction activities for this phase include excavation, dirt off-hauling, and installing pile caps, rebar, and concrete. In addition, the team is installing site utilities along the BRAB Promenade, which is expected to be completed in early 2025. Next, steel will be erected for the structure in spring 2025, which is when the building will start to take shape. 

Impacts and Mitigations 

• Expect noise and increased traffic on Parnassus Avenue.  
• Please be cautious while driving and walking on campus, watch for signage and traffic flaggers, and allow extra time when traveling to Parnassus. 

More than a dozen building occupants on levels 6 and 7 in the western part of the Clinical Sciences Building (CSB) will be relocating in March 2025 to prepare for upcoming construction for the BRAB bridge connection to CSB.  

The departments relocating include UCSF Hematology and Oncology, and UCSF Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine. Additional communications and relocation assistance are being provided for the occupants.  

The BRAB connection to CSB will serve as a Research Artery, providing additional collaboration space for the Research Program and creating an opportunity for wayfinding. Plans are underway for the future interior design of the Research Artery.  

The initial work will include installing a temporary wall, soft demolition, dismantling and removing existing furniture, removing drywall finishes, and concrete chipping. 

The CSB level 7 renovation project is expected to align with the construction of the BRAB, which is scheduled for completion in 2027 and occupancy in 2028. 

All dates and details are subject to change. 

Impacts and Mitigation  

• Expect noise on the western portion of the Clinical Sciences Building (CSB), specifically levels 6 and 7, for construction activities, which will be scheduled for later in 2025. Dates for this work have not been finalized. Construction hours will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for noisy work. 
• Some intermittent shutdowns are expected for one of the CSB elevators to deliver materials and remove demolition debris. Details are being finalized.   
• Construction areas will be enclosed with negative air to prevent dust migration and away from occupied workspaces. 

The Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements project, lovingly referred to as PCCSI, will transform the Parnassus Heights campus by significantly expanding the campus core open space.

The design prioritizes accessible circulation and creates welcoming and healing spaces.

This video, narrated by Joy Glasier, Senior Planner and Landscape Architect at UCSF Real Estate, gives you a virtual tour of what the revitalized Parnassus Heights campus core will look like. 

Watch the video

In spring 2025, the Ladle & Leaf restaurant will be relocating from the SON building to a renovated space on the first floor in Millberry Union on the Parnassus Heights campus. Design renderings for the new location show the space with various types of seating, natural elements and colors used throughout, and views and balconies overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the Parnassus Heights neighborhood. 

Impacts and Mitigations 

• Construction is ongoing with limited impacts expected to adjacent spaces. 
• In spring 2025, Ladle & Leaf will be relocating from the SON building to a renovated space on the first floor in Millberry Union at Parnassus Heights. 
• Restaurant operations will primarily remain unaffected during the relocation, though a limited transition period is anticipated.

The PCCSI project has started initial construction activities near the School of Nursing (SON) building and nearby. The activities are expected to continue through February 2025 with vegetation removal and utility potholing near the SON building, the Koret Way vehicle path, and the western side of Saunders Court. This work supports the SON building decant and demolition in 2025 for the PCCSI project. ‌ 

‌In spring 2025, additional utility work surrounding the SON building will begin and soft demolition and abatement will start in the SON building. Soft demolition will strip everything on the inside of the building, such as flooring, walls and ceilings, first to get down to the shell of the structure. Following soft demolition, hard demolition of the building will start, which is expected to begin in the fall of 2025. 

In spring 2025, construction fencing will be placed around the SON building and some walkways around the building. The project will take over the use of part of Saunder’s Court, which is currently being used by the HSIR Improvements Program construction. 

Impacts and Mitigations 

• Pedestrian access will be maintained with alternate routes around construction areas wherever necessary. See map for details. 
• Expect some intermittent noise during utility potholing and trenching (removal of small areas of asphalt for utility investigations and installations). 
• Dates and details are subject to change‌. 

In spring 2025, the final groups of occupants are expected to move out of the SON building for the decant and demolition. The remaining groups and corresponding floors that will be moving include and Ladle & Leaf and Facilities Services offices (level 2). 

Demolition of the building is expected to begin in fall 2025.  

Last year, the majority of the School of Nursing building occupants temporarily moved to the Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision at Mission Bay as part of three successful phases of moves. Learn more about the School of Nursing’s farewell to its longtime home in this UCSF news story. Eventually, the School of Nursing will relocate to the future BRAB once the building opens.  

Construction is continuing into spring 2025 to connect seismic dampers throughout the HSW and HSE towers to improve the seismic performance of the buildings.

The dampers connect the stair towers to the HSW and HSE towers at the roof level.‌ The dampers at the elevator tower connect to the HSW tower at levels 14 and 15. Seismic improvements are scheduled to be completed in spring 2025. 

Some noise is to be expected at these locations until construction is complete. 

As part of the seismic improvements project, the team in late 2024 successfully mobilized two large cranes to install dampers on the exterior of the HSE and HSW towers.

Learn more and watch a video of the work.

Construction is scheduled for February 12-25, 2025 to apply patching and coating in an existing interior corridor and exterior ledge containments on levels 13 and 14 in HSW. This work is expected to cause some odors in the hallways of the impacted areas. The work is part of seismic/exterior improvements needed. 

Impacts and Mitigations

• During the installation of patching and coating, you may smell odors in the hallways on levels 13 and 14 in the HSW tower. Coating will be vented through exterior containments and will be monitors by a contracting team and EH&S (Environment, Health & Safety).

Construction scaffolding along the exterior of the HSW and HSE towers will remain for the construction needed for the seismic dampers. The shrink wrap (removed earlier this fall) and scaffolding, which was needed to complete exterior repairs safely, are being removed in a phased manner as sections of the buildings are completed.  

Impacts and Mitigations 

• You can expect that the shrink wrap and scaffolding on the HSE and HSW towers will be removed in phases for the remainder of the HSIR Improvements Program construction, which is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025. 
• Windows on all levels will be washed prior to shrink-wrap removal. 

A project is underway to build a new emergency fuel tank facility to support the Central Utility Plant (PCUP) and the current and future hospitals on the Parnassus Heights campus. The construction site is along Medical Center Way, south of the Parnassus Services and Research Building (PSRB) and the PCUP, and east of the Institute for Regeneration Medicine (IRM) building.

The project will widen parts of Medical Center Way, relocate and update various utilities and fire hydrants, and reroute domestic water and fuel lines. 

Demolition of an existing retaining wall is currently in progress. As excavation continues, a new retaining wall will be built, with tiebacks to stabilize the soil. The concrete work is expected to begin in mid-April 2025.

Impacts and Mitigations 

• Expect noise and vibration near the construction site during demolition, tieback installation, and excavation of soil, which is expected through mid-April 2025 when the concrete phase is expected to start. 
• Single-lane closures are expected to continue weekdays on Medical Center Way near the PCUP loading dock. 
• Access to HSIR, and the PSRB and IRM loading docks, from the fire lane behind the PCUP may be temporarily impacted. However, emergency vehicle access will be maintained at all times.  

Construction Hours 

• 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday 
• 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (if weekend work is required) 
• Noisy work-hour restrictions will be followed. 

Expected Completion Date

October 2026 

Project Contact 

UCSF Real Estate Project Manager David Coyle | [email protected]