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 update covers news for October 2025. Dates and details are subject to change.
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 activation expected in 2030.
Learn More About the HDH Project
Concrete and Structural Work Progresses
Crews will continue major concrete placements through the end of the year, supporting the Helen Diller Hospital’s base and core structure. Several of these pours are scheduled in the early morning hours to ensure optimal curing conditions and minimize heat buildup in the concrete.
Concrete truck staging will continue along Parnassus Avenue along the project frontage, supported by flaggers to maintain safe vehicle and pedestrian traffic flow during early morning operations.
The HDH project remains on track for main structural steel erection to begin in early 2026, marking a key milestone as the building begins to rise above ground.
Construction for Future Connections to Existing Hospital Nearly Complete
Construction needed for future connections from the new hospital to the east side of the existing hospital at Parnassus Heights is expected to be completed in late October 2025. Construction, especially the activities directly impacting Long Hospital, is being planned in collaboration with the hospital and clinical operations management and teams. Construction to make the future connections between the buildings was needed before structural steel erection, which begins in early 2026.
Construction activities also continue near the existing hospital loading dock.
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 activation in 2028.
Learn More About the BRAB Project
BRAB Concrete Work Advancing
Concrete pours will continue through January 2026 on the Bakar Research and Academic Building (BRAB) site, with some of the pours scheduled in the early morning from Koret Way. The project team is coordinating closely with stakeholders to minimize early morning noise and traffic impacts.
The weather may also impact scheduled early morning concrete pours.
Concrete slab placements on levels 5 and 6 are scheduled for October 2025. These pours involve placing concrete floors on top of the building’s steel frame, creating the solid structure for each level. At ground level, crews are preparing for slab-on-grade work, which involves pouring the concrete floor directly on prepared soil and gravel.
The first slab-on-grade placement is anticipated for October 2025. This work will include using drain rock, which is being delivered to the site, and installing underground utilities. Only a moderate increase in truck traffic is expected for this work.
Inside the building, interior construction continues, including utility and plumbing. In addition, fireproofing activities are underway to protect the building’s structural steel.
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 is currently under demolition. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.
Learn More About the PCCSI Project
Reminder: Noise and Vibration Expected from SON Building Demolition
Exterior demolition of the School of Nursing building at Parnassus Heights is scheduled to start Monday, October 6, 2025, and will continue through January 2026. This construction is for the Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements (PCCSI) project, which will add a Parnassus Commons with pedestrian trails and seating to the site and surrounding area.
The most impactful part of the PCCSI project construction for nearby UCSF building occupants is now through January 2026.
Noise and vibration are expected to impact the following buildings:
- Clinical Sciences Building (CSB)
- Health Sciences East and West (HSE and HSW)
- Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building (IRM)
- Medical Sciences Building (MSB)
- Koret Hall (Koret Vision Center)
- And possibly other nearby buildings adjacent to Saunders Court.
- If construction is impacting your work, please contact [email protected] if you are a faculty member or researcher, or your supervisor/manager if you are staff.
- To reach the project team, contact Real Estate Senior Project Manager, Julie Gallivan, 415-509-5737, [email protected].
- PCCSI project construction hours are currently 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and most Saturdays, and adhere to the Comprehensive Parnassus Heights Plan (CPHP) Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
The Clinical Sciences Building (CSB) will be especially impacted during the demolition, as the building is separated from the SON building. The crew will be working from north to south in the SON building.
- This separation work is scheduled to start at the top of CSB on level 7 (the roof) on October 6, with level 1 scheduled for the work in early December 2025. It is estimated to take two weeks on each floor of CSB for the demolition work impacting CSB to be complete.
During demolition, trucks will haul debris from the site using Kirkham Street and Koret Way. The project team is coordinating with other UCSF projects and stakeholders to maintain safe traffic flow and minimize congestion around the campus.
Through November 2025, demolition is expected to continue south of the SON building and the Health Sciences West (HSW) tower to remove abandoned utility infrastructure in a mechanical yard, known as the Hooper Pad. This work supports completing the utility infrastructure needed for completion of the Bakar Research and Academic Building (BRAB). These updates will provide resiliency for critical utility infrastructure to meet current and future demand and will create opportunities to improve energy efficiency and support UCSF’s fossil-fuel-free initiatives.
Other Construction Reminders
From now through December 2025, Koret Way will be closed Monday through Friday, with intermittent access for pedestrians, as a safety precaution during the SON building demolition and other related construction activities for the PCCSI project. See the Koret Way pedestrian schedule below for details.
A new emergency egress route has been established for Clinical Sciences Building (CSB) occupants, which leads outside south of the building to Koret Way. See the map below for details.
Impacts and Mitigations | PCCSI Construction Site Map & More | Koret Way Schedule
- Now through January 2026, heightened construction noise and vibration are expected near the SON demolition site and Saunders Court at Parnassus Heights. These activities are expected to impact nearby UCSF buildings; see full list above of impacted buildings.
- If construction is impacting your UCSF research, please contact [email protected]. If you are a UCSF employee and PCCSI construction is impacting your work, please contact the project team, [email protected], or your supervisor/manager.
- New Earplug Stations: To help minimize the impact for those in nearby UCSF buildings, earplug stations are now operational in the Clinical Sciences Building (CSB), the Medical Sciences Building (MSB), and the Health Sciences West and East towers. The stations dispense one pair of earplugs at a time to ensure accessibility for all. See map below for ear plug station locations.
- Pedestrian access remains open on the east side of Saunders Court. Please follow fencing and wayfinding signage to safely navigate around the SON building.
- Truck deliveries will be on Koret Way for the project.
- UCSF Facilities Services will communicate about utility shutdowns to impacted building occupants as needed.
- The next PCCSI town hall will be 12:05 - 1 p.m. October 29. An invite will be shared with nearby UCSF building occupants. View materials (UCSF MyAccess required) from the project’s first virtual town hall on July 2, 2025.
- Access to the SON building is closed.
- PCCSI project construction hours are currently 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and most Saturdays. Construction for the project adheres to the Comprehensive Parnassus Heights Plan (CPHP) Environmental Impact Report.
- Dates and details are subject to change.
PCCSI Construction Site Map as of October 2025
PCCSI Construction Schedule
Koret Way Pedestrian Schedule for PCCSI Construction
Ladle & Leaf Construction Completion Expected in October 2025
Construction for the new Ladle & Leaf cafe is currently scheduled for completion in mid-October 2025. Following construction, the space will be ready for inspections, permitting and setup. An official opening date has not yet been determined.
The restaurant’s move from the School of Nursing (SON) building to Millberry Union, room 135, supports the PCCSI project and the broader campus revitalization effort. Ladle & Leaf and Facilities Services were the last remaining tenants on level 2 of the SON building. Other occupants in the building, including the School of Nursing, previously relocated.
The new café will offer a modern, welcoming space designed for comfort and connection. Patrons will find built-in wood banquette seating, natural finishes, and new artwork and LED signage from the Ladle & Leaf team. The terrace, offering views of Golden Gate Park and the de Young Museum, will feature outdoor seating, with plans underway to add bar seating and a canopy for all-weather use.
Beyond its role as a café, the seating area will also serve as the UCSF community as a lounge, accessible with a UCSF badge outside of café hours. This will offer flexibility for the campus community to enjoy a shared space for relaxation anytime.
About the Ladle & Leaf Relocation
New Location: Millberry Union, first floor, room 135
Anticipated Project Completion: Mid-October 2025
Other Construction Updates
Questions