About This Monthly Construction Update

UCSF Real Estate shares Parnassus Heights construction updates monthly. Updates will be sent to the UCSF Parnassus Heights community on the Monday following the first of each month and will be posted online. This special summer issue combines July and August 2025 updates. Dates and details are subject to change.

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UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital

To serve the city with world-class care for the next century, UCSF is constructing the UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital (HDH). The 15-story hospital at the Parnassus Heights campus is being constructed on the former Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital site through 2029, with the new hospital expected to open in 2030.

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Progress Taking Shape with Foundation Milestones for HDH

Significant progress continues on the HDH project site, with major foundation milestones recently completed. Several concrete placements have been successfully completed overnight. Through 2025, these concrete pours will occur from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. during weekdays. Due to the heat generated during concrete curing, these pours must take place overnight during cooler weather conditions to ensure structural integrity.  

To prepare for the hospital’s massive structural demands, steel box column mock-ups —designed to help the building support heavy vertical loads — were successfully completed in Mexico. These early prototypes play a key role in ensuring quality and precision as the project moves into its next major construction phase. 

Crews are also focused on seismic damper testing, the layout and installation of 3.6 million pounds of rebar, and construction for future connections between the new and existing hospitals. Progress continues with critical underground electrical infrastructure. 

The HDH project recently completed the first placement of steel in the building’s elevator area, marking a key moment in vertical construction. Looking ahead, the main steel erection is slated to begin in late 2025, signaling a major construction phase as the new hospital building project begins to rise above ground. 

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UCSF Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building

Construction is underway at Parnassus Heights for the UCSF Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building (BRAB), a state-of-the-art building that will create a vital collaborative space that drives innovations in scientific research and education. BRAB will house the UCSF School of Nursing and research programs for cancer, microbiology, diabetes, immunology, and cell biology. BRAB is expected to be completed in 2027, with occupancy in 2028.

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BRAB Structural Steel Reaches Maximum Height 

The BRAB construction team celebrated a major milestone with the completion of metal deck installation through level 10, signifying that the structure has reached its maximum height. Hundreds of construction workers participated in a ceremony on July 16, 2025, to acknowledge their hard work and dedication in keeping the construction on schedule for the building's opening in early 2028. The event attendees signed a steel beam at the site that was lifted – with an American flag and an evergreen tree – and installed atop the building. The practice has roots in Scandinavian and Native American traditions, with the tree symbolizing growth, good luck, and respect for the land and workers. 

“This magnificent structure stands before us as a testament to the tremendous technical, physical, and logistical work of so many people,” said Ron Blaj, Director of Major Capital Projects for UCSF Real Estate Campus Design & Construction, at the event. 

Structural steel will continue to be built out through the end of the year. Additional phases of construction underway include finalizing the floor decking, followed by elevated deck concrete placements.

On the ground level, site activity continues to intensify, with ongoing utility excavation and electrical infrastructure work in the southern portion of the site. Material deliveries remain steady along Koret Way, in addition to Parnassus Avenue near Fourth Avenue. 

• Watch a time-lapse video of the BRAB construction from March 2023 through early July 2025.  

BRAB Construction Facts as of July 16, 2025: 

• 871 working days completed 
• 4,704 steel beams installed (~3,208 tons) 
• 83,363 linear feet of steel 
• 1,100 cubic yards of concrete poured 
• 164 shoring piles and 177 building piles with an average depth of 65 linear feet 

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Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements‌

UCSF is embarking on an important endeavor to create a welcoming space that will lead to the “heart of campus” at Parnassus Heights. The Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements (PCCSI) program will provide extensive site improvements in the central core of the Parnassus Heights campus, where the School of Nursing building currently exists. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.

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SON Building Closure Completed as PCCSI Construction Accelerates 

Last month, following relocation of Custodial Services to Millberry Union, the School of Nursing (SON) building officially closed to all occupants. After the closure, crews began utility disconnection work — including electricity, water, gas, and high-pressure steam — as part of the transition to full-scale construction for the building’s abatement and eventual demolition. 

Work is underway on the west side of the building to construct a new exterior emergency egress route for the Clinical Sciences Building (CSB), which will replace the interior exit path that currently runs through the SON building. The new egress route is for emergency use only and is expected to go live in the next two weeks. CSB building occupants will be notified once the date is confirmed. In addition, electrical trenching is nearing completion in front of Saunders Court on the building’s west side. Please observe revised fencing and wayfinding signage around the building as pedestrian access is being maintained on the east side of Saunders Court. 

Inside the SON building, floor-by-floor abatement is underway and is expected to be completed in fall 2025. In early August, the team is expected to start removing select exterior caulking materials around the building’s windows and doors, which will require concrete removal activities over several weeks. Exterior demolition of the building is expected to start in late 2025. 

• Watch the first PCCSI Virtual Town Hall from July 2, 2025. The project team will host quarterly town halls for the UCSF community.| UCSF MyAccess required

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Other Construction Updates

• HSIR Improvements Program: Latest Monthly Update | UCSF MyAccess Required
• Parnassus Avenue Construction Underway for SFPUC Project Through October 2025 | UCSF MyAccess Required
• ‌2025 UCSF Real Estate Construction Impact Messages | UCSF MyAccess Required

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Questions

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