Organized Labor

Renovation of the historic landmark tower at 450 Sutter Street is proceeding on schedule and is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

Good planning and getting the work done on time is a necessity on the project as the medical office building is home to about 200 tenants—mostly dentists and doctors with full schedules of patient visits.

Along with the challenge of keeping tenants happy while they are temporarily relocated during renovations, is the need to preserve the unique elements of the city landmark building.

The 26-story building was completed in 1929 in an art deco style and designed by architect Timothy Pfleuger, best known for his design of the Pacific Stock Exchange. The building features a decorative terra cotta tile skin with Mayan themed carvings and some unique window bays. It was designated a City of San Francisco historic landmark in 1985.

Marchetti Construction's president, Joe Marchetti, said that new replacement tiles must match the original ones that may have been damaged over the years because the building is a registered as historical city landmark. The building's owner, Harsch Investment Properties of Portland, Oregon, worked with architects from Architectural Resources Group, as well as Marchetti, to make sure the renovation was approved by the City's Landmark Board. Marchetti said the planning process took about five years. Replacement tiles are brought in from Boston, and windows are manufactured in Wisconsin, then assembled on site.

Organized Labor was recently given a tour of the building by Project Manager Matt Morrone and Superintendent Dewey Melton, Senior Vice President of Construction for Marchetti Construction of South San Francisco. They explained some of the challenges their company has successfully overcome to improve the building. Renovation began in late spring 2006.

Melton and Marrone showed Organized Labor a number of offices and suites that were in various stages of completion. The building has 268,587 square feet of rentable space. Since the building is fully occupied, equipment like dentist chairs must be moved and counters, walls and sinks covered to keep them dust-free during removal of windows and replastering walls. They explained that each floor was unique and many of the offices had their own customized features.

Those with marble windowsills were given new marble sills; another featured special blue-green plastic counters that would be matched by new glass windowsills. All of the building's 2,800 windowsills are being replaced.

The window bays feature two glass panes that project slightly outward, with a rounded metal mullion in between. As architectural writer John King wrote in a San Francisco Chronicle feature last September, this was a flaw in the design that led to problems over time.

"Everything was fine for a decade or two. But as the mortar between the tiles cracked or decayed, water got inside the skin and ran down into the window systems," King wrote. "The mullions are hollow pipes of steel, and the frame wasn't designed to eject the water that got in. As a result, the mullions play a destructive role. They're tubes circulating water back into the skin until it leaks out, cracking tiles and eroding the mortar even more…. The steel isn't galvanized or stainless. It rusts. Over time, this corrosion has made it difficult to open and close many office windows." Those windows are being replaced with new ones with aluminum frames.

Marrone said that during the winter season, the construction crew consists of about 25 workers, increasing to about 30 in the spring. Crews of laborers and carpenters employed by Marchetti, as well as glaziers, stonemasons, plasterers and painters from various subcontractors, are currently on the job. Marrone said that a unique feature of Marchetti's work was use of swing stage scaffolds anchored on the building's rooftop. The platforms are used by workers who must clean or replace the exterior tiles. Many of the tiles need to be replaced and all need to be re-mortared and waterproofed, Marrone said.

Melton explained that the swing stage platforms have their own power supply that is locked and the two cable system for each platform allows workers to control the scaffold without using ropes. He said it was the best system with no opportunity for human error. The system was installed and is maintained by Elevator LLC. Operators of the scaffolding are certified and receive specialized training.

Melton said that renovation of the offices was scheduled six months in advance and each took about 11 working days, with a day before and after for moving equipment and furniture. He said the tenants and property managers were initially apprehensive about being temporarily displaced during renovations (some to other offices in the building) but in the end there were no complaints.

"We have met every schedule and have not been late," Melton said. "In most cases we left the offices cleaner than we found them." Indeed, the new windows that have been installed look markedly better than the old ones, many of which are painted shut or slightly rusted.

Architectural Resources Group has also done restorations of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park and the Mark Hopkins on Nob Hill. Marchetti Construction specializes in tenant improvements and has been involved with hundreds of thousands of square feet of renovations, including work on the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square.

"We always recommend the team approach, whereby the architect, owner and ourselves work as one, each contributing his individual talent for this specific job," said Joe Marchetti. "We are particularly proud of our ability to handle extensive tenant improvement projects with a minimum of disruption to the building's day-by-day business."