350 Units of Housing Favored for Former Hospital
Neighbors say pleas ignored

By Carol Dimmick

Officials with the Presidio Trust signaled their preference for a plan that would give developers the green light to build up to 350 units of housing on the site of the former Public Health Service Hospital. The plan would preserve the environmentally-sensitive Battery Caulfield area.

The announcement followed the release of a 227-page Environmental Assessment that studied four alternatives for renovating the historic hospital building and comes at a time when the Trust was winding up negotiations with two developers for the right to build at the coveted site.

The plan the Trust favors, identified as Alternative Two in the assessment, allows developers to build 350 units of housing on the site, which is more than neighbors and environmentalists say is prudent. The plan would bring the Trust an amount in excess of the $1 million annual rent it set as a goal. The Trust's board of directors will make a final determination concerning the development.

According to Hillary Gittelman, director of planning for the Presidio Trust, Alternative Two was created to capture the proposals of the John Stewart Company and Forest City Development, the two competing developers. It rehabilitates the historic buildings at the site as well as the non-historic wings of the hospital.

Other alternatives would have allowed 210 residential units with an additional 190,000 square feet for education use; 230 units with the removal of the building's non-historic wings; and 269 residential units, about half of which would be located at Battery Caulfield.

All four of the alternatives would guarantee the Trust a minimum $1 million in lease fees annually. The Trust is trying to become self-supportive under a mandate from Congress.

Craig Middleton, the executive director of the Presidio Trust, called the Trust's selection a moderate approach to developing the site that is sensitive to the neighbors.

"We think we have been responsive to the public's concerns," Middleton said.

He also stressed that while the Trust prefers Alternative Two, the plan could change with public input and during lease negotiations.

Neighbors Say Their Concerns Ignored
The Trust's announcement drew sharp criticism from leaders of several powerful neighborhood organizations, who represent residents living in an affluent neighborhood in the Richmond District just south of the hospital site.

Ron Miguel, president of the 1,600-member Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR), which has lobbied for a smaller project, said he was disappointed, but not surprised, by the Trust's preference for a large project.

"We had presumed all along that finances were going to drive this project," he said.

For months, neighbors have urged the Trust to drop the $1 million requirement, which they claim ensures a large development being approved for the site.

Claudia Lewis, president of Richmond Presidio Neighbors (RPN), says Alternative Two is out of character with the neighborhood, will create additional pedestrian safety issues and bring traffic gridlock to the area.

The RPN worked with The John Stewart Company, which put a proposal to build 190 condominium units at the site. Lewis said the neighborhood would support that plan.

"An all-condo development would be better suited to the neighborhood, as opposed to rental units and a smaller development, and would have a lesser impact on plants and wildlife," she said.

According to Trust officials, the thrust of Stewart's proposal is contained in Alternative Three, but with an expanded housing-unit count. However, Miguel agrees that some of the elements contained in the proposal are there, but agrees the unit count is still too high.

"The unit count is drastically different. I am troubled by the disparity in the count," he said.

A public meeting will be held April 14 to discuss the project. Public comment closes April 30.