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By Paul Burton, Contributing Writer
A new $62 million senior center and housing complex being developed by the non-profit Bridge Housing and the Institute on Aging (IOA) is underway. Construction began in September 2008 on the project and is scheduled to be completed by November 2010.
The “Senior Campus,” located 3575 Geary Boulevard, will serve as the main location for IOA’s comprehensive health and social support programs, and include affordable senior housing rental units located on the 2nd to 6th floors — serving as independent living spaces for seniors of modest income and those with special needs.
The project, designed by TWM Architects & Planners and Tsang Architecture, is also aiming for the Build It Green Certification. The general contractor, Cahill Contractors, is a union contractor with substantial experience in sustainable design and construction and is a member of the US Green Building Council. Subcontractors include O’Brien Mechanical for plumbing, E & S Masonry, Peck and Heller Structural Concrete, and Treadwell and Rollo environmental consultants.
The new building is designed to house many of IOA’s programs under one roof. The 227,000 total square foot project will house Institute on Aging care management and administrative offices, primary care clinic space, physical and occupational therapy spaces, nursing and physician exam rooms and an auditorium, located on the basement, 1st and 2nd floors. Basement level parking and 17,000 square feet of terraced open space are also part of the 1.05 acre site. Bridge Housing will own and manage the residential living, and 53 of the units will be reserved for PACE eligible seniors (Program for All-Inclusive Care).
O’Brien Mechanical Vice President Armond Ailijian said that there were between 10 and 12 union plumbers from Local 38 on the job in mid-September. He said the project’s design included systems for saving water, including low-flow faucets. Gary Kreider of E & S Masonry, a signatory to master agreements with Bricklayers Local 3, said he had five cement masons on the job along with a few laborers and brick tenders. They poured the decks and have worked on and off for several months, he said. The company will do more block work and capping of concrete sections over the next few months. Kreider said work in construction was still slow but E&S had bids out on other projects and he hoped to have more work coming in.
Some of the sustainable buildings elements for Build It Green Certification include energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems, use of recycled materials, recycling construction debris, and designing for healthy indoor air quality. Cahill has specialized in sustainable Design and Construction and is a member of the US Green Building Council. Among its LEED projects are photovoltaic installation at the Folsom/Dore Apartments and at Mission Creek Senior Housing in San Francisco. Cahill also worked with Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects on the Bay Area Discovery Museum, using sustainable building materials, including certified lumber, salvaged wood products, lumasite panels and recycled glazing. The contractor also set up a recycling program for construction waste, separating materials for maximum recycling. The company received an Award of Excellence in 2005 from the Environmental Building News for its North Beach Housing project.
Cahill is also building the Bishop Swing Community House at 275 10th Street, a Single Room Occupancy project for Episcopal Community Services (ECS) of San Francisco and the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center that is seeking LEED certification. Cahill is a signatory to master agreements with the Carpenters, Laborers and Operating Engineers unions.
Some of the key features of the Senior Campus for the IOA are a state-of-the-art On Lok Lifeways facility providing all-inclusive medical care; an education center featuring an auditorium, library and meeting rooms for conferences, performances and gatherings of community organizations serving older adults; and a senior fitness and rehabilitation center combining conventional restorative therapies with alternative approaches to enhance physical and mental functioning.
The facility will include a “healing garden” and courtyard that provides residents and visitors a peaceful site for rest, healing, contemplation and inspiration; a spiritual healing program providing spiritual support to seniors living with illness, their caregivers and the bereaved; and an art studios and galleries for the IOA’s intergenerational arts programs.
The project is funded by a fundraising effort initiated by the IOA’s Board of Directors. The Institute on Aging (IOA) is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that touches the lives of thousands of seniors in San Francisco, Marin, and the Peninsula each year. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life for adults as they age by enabling them to maintain their health, well-being, independence, and participation in the community.
The project is located at the site of the old Coronet Theatre, which closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2007. The Coronet Theatre and the adjacent parking lot were sold to the Goldman Institute on Aging for $8.5 million in 2000. While some preservationists and film aficionado’s lamented the demise of one of the last remaining single-screen theaters in the city, then Supervisor Gavin Newsom said at the time that, “What happens traditionally is these single screens are converted to chain stores. That’s the only type of group that can afford the square footage. This is the rare instance where at least there’s a noble use of the space.”
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