Hospital Plans Released, Neighbors Want Mitigation Measures

By Carol Dimmick

After months of suspense, two developers competing for the right to turn the historic Public Health Service Hospital (PHSH) in the Presidio into residential housing unveiled proposals that had many features in common.

Forest City Development and The John Stewart Company, the two remaining candidates selected by the Presidio Trust from a group of nine applicants, designed projects that kept the non-historic wings of the hospital intact and declined to develop the Battery Caulfield site that currently serves as a sanctuary for quail and native plants.

Instead, both plans concentrated on maximizing development of the main hospital building, with Forest proposing to convert the hospital into 321 units and Stewart proposing 288 units of affordable and market rate housing. Stewart's units would be a combination of rental and condominium units.

During their presentations, both developers emphasized their sensitivity to the Presidio's goal of preserving natural park land by returning the paved parking lots at the main site to open space and building underground parking facilities.

The competing plans also included some on-site commercial services to make the project more traffic-sensitive.

While Stewart proposed only one plan, Forest City Development presented an alternative plan for a senior community that included 129 units of low-scale development at the Caulfield site. This plan featured removing the non-historic wings.

However, Greg Vilkin, president of Forest City Development, said his company preferred their other plan, which he said was more environmentally sustainable.

The Public Health Service Hospital is the largest historic building in the Presidio and sits in the northern part of the Richmond District at Lake Street and 15th Avenue. The hospital was rebuilt in a Georgian Revival style in the '30s with two large, non-historic wings added in 1952 to the main building. Unoccupied since 1981, except when the SF Jewish Community Center recently rented it as a temporary location, the hospital has been the target of vandalism in recent years.

The project is viewed by the Presidio Trust, the governing body responsible for maintaining park land, as a way to rehabilitate the historic building and generate revenue to meet its goal of becoming financially self-sufficient by 2013.

"This is an historic preservation project with the potential to generate revenue," Hillary Gittelman, director of planning for the Presidio Trust, told more than 100 people who crowded into the Officers Club on Oct. 29 to learn about the proposals.

In order to qualify for consideration, the developers had to agree to preserve the main building and pay a minimum of $1 million a year in fees for a ground lease. The Trust offered to allow the destruction of the two non-historic wings and replacement construction at an old missile site on the property known as the Battery Caulfield district.

Public reaction to the projects was mixed, with most people withholding judgment until after they had a chance to study the proposals.

Ron Miguel, president of the Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR), said the group would study the proposals and take a position soon.

Some neighbors spoke in favor of a smaller project that included the removal of the wings and no construction on the Battery Caulfield site, while others said the project seemed to be a better fit for the neighborhood than the high school and the drug treatment center proposed for the site in the past.

Neighbors from the Richmond District were concerned about the impact the project would have on traffic in the immediate area.

"There is no specific traffic mitigation plan. There needs to be consideration of an access road that doesn't come through the existing neighborhood," said Andrea Lujan, a 15th Avenue resident.

Presidio Considers Dedicated Road to Site

Concerns by neighbors that the large housing development will bring more traffic congestion to the Richmond District are spurring discussions about the possibility of providing a direct route to the site from Park Presidio Boulevard.

At the request of PAR, the transportation-consulting firm Wilbur Smith Associates is evaluating an alternative that provides a direct connection from the PHSH site to Park Presidio Boulevard via a new intersection that would allow right turns into the site from southbound Park Presidio Boulevard. The route would also allow traffic leaving the site to turn left or right onto Park Presidio Boulevard. Traffic entering the site from Lake Street could enter through both the 14th and 15th avenue gates, both of which would be open to one-way traffic only.

According to Ron Sonenshine, director of public relations for the Presidio Trust, Wilbur Smith Associates is currently determining if it is feasible to construct this connection and intersection without intruding into SF Recreation and Park Department land associated with Mountain Lake Park.

If the project is determined to be feasible, the next step will be to discuss the project with the SF Department of Parking and Traffic and Caltrans.

Report on Site Reveals Soil Contamination

The Presidio Trust is preparing to release a report sometime in November on two landfills in the immediate area of the development that found contaminants, which pose a threat to humans and wildlife.

"The Army missed a few things. We found that the soil was contaminated with metals. It's not all that surprising, but it is above our clean-up levels," said Craig Cooper, environmental program manager for the Presidio Trust.

Cooper said the Presidio Trust will remove the waste rather than try to contain it. Although this process is initially more costly, it is cost-effective because there is no long-term monitoring costs involved and allows for unrestricted use of the land.

According to Cooper, work to correct the situation will take place in late 2005, the same time development is expected to begin at the site. During 2004, the Presidio Trust will complete its assessment and develop a set of remedies.

The Trust will hold a series of public meetings on environmental issues and the development project beginning with a second public meeting Dec. 10.