About This Monthly Construction Updates
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 September 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 the new hospital expected to open in 2030.
Learn More About the HDH Project
Concrete and Steel Advance Helen Diller Hospital Project
Construction on the Helen Diller Hospital (HDH) project is moving into an exciting phase in September 2025, with major concrete pours and structural steel deliveries scheduled.
Concrete placements will continue overnight in September. 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. The next pours are scheduled for September 9 and 11.
On Tuesday, September 9, crews are scheduled to begin staging concrete trucks between 1 – 4:50 a.m. in the eastbound Parnassus Avenue shuttle curb space near the Clinical Sciences building, 521 Parnassus Ave. This early morning staging will allow crews to prepare for a full day of concrete placement, which is expected to continue through noon. A flagger will be on-site to direct trucks and traffic.
On September 15 – 18, crews will begin delivering and erecting steel columns and beams for the hospital structure. This work will require a single-lane closure on Parnassus Avenue to allow for safe staging. Trucks will enter the HDH project site to unload, and flaggers will be present to manage deliveries and keep traffic moving.
Looking ahead, the main steel erection is slated to begin in February 2026, signaling a major construction phase as the new hospital building project begins to rise above ground. The HDH crew also continues to lay and install 3.6 million pounds of rebar and construct critical underground electrical infrastructure.
Impacts and Mitigations | Map of Parnassus Avenue Impacts September 15-18, 2025
- On September 9 and 11: Expect activities for overnight concrete placements between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. at the HDH site. Flaggers will be directing traffic.
- On September 9: Crews are scheduled to begin staging concrete trucks between 1 – 4:50 a.m. in the eastbound Parnassus Avenue shuttle curb space near the Clinical Sciences building, 521 Parnassus Ave.
- On September 15 – 18: HDH crews will begin delivering and erecting steel columns and beams for the hospital structure. This work will require a single-lane closure on Parnassus Avenue to allow for safe staging. Traffic flaggers will be assisting.
- Medical Center Way remains closed on weekends to support construction, and the PCUP (Parnassus Central Utilities Plant) loading dock will be blocked.
- Steel deliveries and other construction activities for the HDH project are expected to impact Medical Center Way into 2026.
- Dates and details are subject to change.
September 15-18, 2025: Map of Impacts on Parnassus Avenue for Helen Diller Hospital construction
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.
Learn More About the BRAB Project
New Floors Taking Shape at Bakar Research and Academic Building
Construction of the Bakar Research and Academic Building (BRAB) continues to advance on the west side of Parnassus Heights with steady progress across multiple areas of the site.
Concrete work is moving forward with slab placements on levels 4 and 5 scheduled for September 2025, and level 6 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. Work will shift to Koret Way for these concrete pour operations.
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 placement is anticipated for October 2025. This work includes bringing in drain rock and resolving underground utilities. Only a moderate increase in truck traffic is expected at the site for this work.
Structural steel welding is complete, and crews are finalizing decking on the upper levels. On the interior, trade partners continue utility and plumbing work. Koret Way is currently being used for deliveries to the BRAB project site.
The Performance Mock-up for the building’s exterior curtainwall successfully passed waterproofing tests in August, confirming that the system will stand up well against the elements. Curtainwall fabrication is now underway at AGA’s manufacturing facility in Livermore, California. By fabricating off-site, the project team reduces construction labor needs on campus, enhances safety, limits noise and disruption, and minimizes the number of truck deliveries required at the job site.
With steel in place and concrete operations accelerating, the BRAB project remains on track as it rises floor by floor on the Parnassus Heights campus.
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.
Learn More About the PCCSI Project
Expect Noise Near the School of Nursing Building for Demolition
Construction is ongoing for the Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements (PCCSI) project at Parnassus Heights to prepare the School of Nursing (SON) building and the surrounding site for the building’s demolition.
The most impactful part of the PCCSI project construction for nearby UCSF building occupants is expected to be now through January 2026.
Noise and vibration are expected to impact the following buildings:
- Health Sciences East and West (HSE and HSW)
- Clinical Sciences Building (CSB)
- 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. You can also contact [email protected] for the project team.
- 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).
Currently, interior demolition and abatement in the SON building are underway. Through fall 2025, the team will continue removing select exterior caulking materials and concrete around the building’s windows and doors, which is generating noise. Next, exterior demolition of the SON building is scheduled to begin in October 2025.
Construction is also underway outside the SON building in multiple locations to reroute utilities in preparation for the building demolition (south of CSB and south of the SON building) and to remove abandoned utility infrastructure in a mechanical yard (the Hooper Pad) south of the HSW tower. This work supports completing the utility infrastructure needed to support the Bakar Research and Academic Building (BRAB) opening. These updates will provide resiliency for critical utility infrastructure to meet current and future demand. Upgrading the infrastructure also creates opportunities to improve energy efficiency and support UCSF’s fossil-fuel-free initiatives.
Impacts and Mitigations | Map of PCCSI Site | Construction Timeline
- Now through January 2026, increased construction noise and vibration are expected near Saunders Court and the SON demolition site. These activities are expected to impact nearby UCSF buildings; see full list above of impacted buildings.
- 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.
- 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 are expected on Koret Way for the project.
- UCSF Facilities Services will communicate about utility shutdowns to impacted building occupants as needed.
- Watch a recording of the project’s first virtual town hall in July 2025. Moving forward, the project team will host quarterly town halls to keep campus stakeholders informed. | MyAccess is required
- Access to the SON building is closed completely.
- 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 (EIR).
- Dates and details are subject to change.
Construction Site Map for the Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements project and Pedestrian Access as of September 2025
Timeline of PCCSI Construction Schedule and Impacts | September 2025
Other Recent Updates
- A new egress route (for emergency use only) has been established for Clinical Sciences Building (CSB) occupants, which leads outside south of the building to Koret Way. | MyAccess is required
- 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. | MyAccess is required
HSIR Improvements Program Reaches Completion for Health Sciences West and East at Parnassus Heights
The Health Sciences Instruction and Research (HSIR) Improvements Program, a series of projects to upgrade the Health Sciences East (HSE) and Health Sciences West (HSW) towers at Parnassus Heights, has reached substantial completion, marking a major milestone for the Campus Design & Construction team at UCSF Real Estate, its partners, and the research community.
While final inspections and paperwork remain underway, the project has delivered seismic, exterior, and life safety upgrades. By strengthening UCSF’s largest research facility — the largest of its kind in the University of California system — these improvements will safeguard critical discoveries for decades to come.
Why This Matters to UCSF
The HSIR Towers are UCSF’s most research-intensive facilities across the UC system. The improvements completed include:
- HSIR Exterior Ledge Repairs - Full repair and recoating of the exterior concrete ledges.
- HSIR Life Safety Improvements – Installation of fire sprinklers in previously non-sprinklered areas, correcting fire sprinkler pipe pressure deficiencies, adding sprinkler heads to chemical fume hoods, and extending the existing standpipes on the rooftops for fire department access.
- HSIR Seismic Improvements – Improving the seismic performance rating of HSW and HSE by making whole-building structure improvements, including installing seismic dampers, column splicing at level 5 of both towers, and upgrading the seismic joints and utility restraints.
Read THE HSIR Improvements Program STORY
Other Construction Updates
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