SF Chronicle: High-rises pass city’s seismic muster

from the SF Chronicle: Monday January 9th

San Francisco is on the verge of giving final permission for two high-rise apartment towers on Rincon Hill after construction permits had been held up as building inspectors sought assurances about how well the development would ride out a major earthquake, The Chronicle has learned.

In an e-mail last month, chief building engineer Hanson Tom said that once the developer of One Rincon Hill satisfies nonseismic issues raised by the fire and planning departments — such as building access for firefighters — “the Site Permit will be issued” by the city Department of Building Inspection.

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1 Rincon Hill Put on Hold – SF Chronicle

San Francisco building inspectors are withholding permission for construction of a towering residential complex on Rincon Hill over concerns about whether it would withstand a major earthquake and remain habitable, The Chronicle has learned.

Despite approval of the project’s design and engineering by other city bodies earlier this year, staff members of the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection want further assurances about the seismic resilience of One Rincon Hill — which would consist of two residential towers, one 55 stories high and the other 45 stories — at First and Harrison streets.

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Rincon Hill on the Rise – SF Chronicle

The Rincon Hill plan that San Francisco’s City Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on this Thursday can be viewed as a visionary blueprint for a new type of neighborhood, or a barn door installed after too many horses have trotted away.

In truth, it’s a little bit of both. But the proposed transformation of this former industrial district tucked against the Bay Bridge offers what San Francisco hasn’t seen in more than a decade: farsighted planning that allows for the sort of growth that can enrich the city as a whole. [more]