From Interest Rates to Infrastructure, Impact on the Building Trades Remains to be Seen
By Paul Burton, Contributing Writer
With Republicans gaining eight seats in the United States Senate and now holding majorities in both houses of Congress, there is speculation about how the party’s economic policies will impact development, construction and housing. The Republican Congress’s economic agenda focuses on reducing corporate tax rates, passing a balanced budget amendment to rein in deficit spending, curbing regulations and raising interest rates through the Federal Reserve.
In passing, you’d think DPR Construction’s new office might be a new, trendy coffee shop. High ceilings, lime-green accents and revarnished tables made from old bowling alley lanes fill up the front room, visible from the street.
The City of San Francisco has changed quite a bit with all of the new construction taking place now that the economy is once again chugging along. But it feels as if some of the best is on the horizon. We’ve put together a list of 10 projects that we will be following closely in 2015, and for years to come.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu won election to the State Assembly in the 17th District in a close race against Supervisor David Campos. While results were not officially certified as Organized Labor went to press, Campos conceded defeat the evening of Nov. 6, two days after polls closed.
The boom of the construction industry in the City of San Francisco continued straight on through 2014, as we expected it would. Seeing cranes towering above is now an expectation rather than an exception as one winds his or her way through our buzzing streets. Exciting projects have taken shape throughout the year and the expert panel at Organized Labor has picked the standouts. Here are the Top Projects from 2014.
Construction crews recently celebrated the topping off of a new 11-story apartment building rising at 1321 Mission.
When completed, the 108,000 square foot apartment complex, “The Panoramic,” will feature 160 very small apartments: 120 “micro-studios” with between 274 and 295 square feet of living space, and another 40 “micro-suites” on the corners of each floor with two bedrooms and between 605 and 630 square feet.
Two new towers with distinctive curved glass and metal exteriors are rising in the San Francisco skyline at 201 Folsom St. The 656-unit condominium development known as Lumina is being built all-union by general contractor Lend Lease for developer Tishman Speyer. Lumina is near the Infinity towers at Folsom and Spear streets, which were built by general contractor Webcor for Tishman Speyer between 2005 and 2009.
San Francisco-based developer Maximus Real Estate Partners is moving forward with plans for a housing complex at 1979 Mission Street. Slated for the corner of Mission and 16th streets, the 1979 Mission Street project proposes 303 apartments and 42 affordable units for sale, ranging from studios to four bedrooms. The project will be adjacent to Marshall Elementary School.
