A new 292-unit apartment building has been proposed in South San Francisco to replace an aging industrial facility near Highway 101.

The building would rise eight stories on a 1.6-acre lot at 40 Airport Blvd. and include 308 parking spots in a multi-level garage. The site is bordered by the highway and Caltrain tracks, and would sit adjacent to a La Quinta hotel and Denny’s restaurant. Across the street a 480-unit apartment building is planned, slated also to replace industrial buildings.

The city’s Housing Standing Committee, which includes members of the City Council and Planning Commission, gave the project a positive review last week, advancing it to a vote to grant entitlements at a later date.

“I think it’s a great addition, the existing building doesn’t do the area justice,” said Planning Commission Chair Sam Shihadeh.

The plans were originally submitted in late 2020, when the city’s zoning for the site was for an industrial use. With the city’s general plan update, the lot will allow for a residential building. The existing facility, occupied by a produce distribution company, is regularly accessed by large trucks.

“I would say it no longer really fits with the character of the neighborhood, particularly as this area’s programmed to move to more residential uses,” said Ryan McNamara, vice president of development for Blake Griggs, the Danville-based developer for the project.

The building would be 330,000 square feet, with the structure wrapping around a central courtyard and most units including balconies.

McNamara said the apartments would be smaller than average new units in the area, allowing for more affordable rents. On average, rents would be $200 to $300 less than nearby new construction, resulting in studios in the $2,400 range and one-bedrooms under $3,000, he said.

The smaller size will require a reduced subsidy from the developer to provide affordable units in line with the city’s inclusionary zoning requirements. The city’s rules require 10% of units be offered with rents affordable to those earning 80% or less of the county median income — which works out to studios offered at or below $2,558, one-bedrooms at $2,741 and two-bedrooms at $3,290. Another 5% of units would need to be more affordable, for those earning 50% or less of median income, with rents in those categories at $1,598, $1,713 and $2,056, respectively.

The building would include 57 studio units, 32 one-bedroom units, 122 two-bedroom units, 59 three-bedroom units and 22 four-bedroom units. Amenities would include a cafe and bar for residents only, a gym, a rooftop lounge, coworking space and a pet run and cleaning area. Parking space for 135 bicycles would also be available.

The developer proposed to cover the cost of various changes to Airport Boulevard, including adding bike lanes, removing a separated turning lane to improve pedestrian safety and making landscaping improvements. A payment to the city of $630,000 was also offered as part of the agreement, which would come on top of standard impact fees to be paid by the developer likely to cost several million.

Councilmember Mark Addiego suggested the developer could also make improvements to a nearby pedestrian tunnel under the train tracks that provides access to downtown and transit stops.

The developer of the 480-unit project, slated for 124 Airport Blvd., proposed lighting and paint upgrades to the tunnel, which some councilmembers had indicated could be insufficient. McNamara said because the tunnel is owned by Caltrain, more extensive upgrades to it would require its cooperation. He said further upgrades would be explored in conjunction with the developer of the other project.

The larger project was the subject of a lengthy and contentious approval process, and finally received the green light late last year amid concerns that the developer, Hanover Company, did not plan to employ union carpenters during construction. The property owner, PS Business Parks, opted to seek a new developer this year.

Addiego said Texas-based developer Trammell Crow had been chosen as a replacement.

“Sounds like we might have some high-level, major players out there creating a new neighborhood, so I’m pretty excited,” he said.

Mayor Mark Nagales emphasized the need for both developers to coordinate upgrades along Airport Boulevard. He also raised concerns regarding disruptions if both developments were to be constructed at the same time.

But, he said, “overall, I’m pretty excited about the project.”

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ZURICH & SAN FRANCISCO – (BUSINESS WIRE) – RISC-V International has announced the RISC-V Summit 2021, which will bring the open hardware community together for three days with in-depth technical talks, industry updates, networking and more. The RISC-V Summit will take place December 6-8, 2021 at Moscone West in San Francisco and will offer hybrid personal and virtual activities to connect with a global audience.

“Each year, the RISC-V Summit attracts greater crowds who meet with other RISC-V engineers and organizations from around the world to network, learn, and advance the next generation of design,” said Calista Redmond, CEO of RISC-V. “We expect to reach an even larger community with personal and virtual components for a truly global event.”

The RISC-V Summit will highlight RISC-V innovations that span industries, organizations, workloads, and regions. Attendees will get the latest updates on the advances in RISC-V technology and new implementations in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), security, cloud, high performance computing (HPC) and more. The conference features three days of exhibitions, keynote presentations, and lectures with industry pioneers.

This year, the RISC-V Summit takes place alongside the 58th Design Automation Conference (DAC), which brings together people from industry, science and research who show the future of innovation for the design and automation of electronic systems and circuits. RISC-V participants also get access to the DAC exhibition and the SEMICON West-Expo as well as to DAC keynotes, SKYtalks, TechTalks and networking opportunities.

“For more than half a century, DAC has been the industry’s premier hub for the technical information, intelligence, and networking that drives the future of electronics design,” said Harry Foster, general chair, 58th Design Automation Conference. “We are pleased to be able to offer attendees an even richer event experience with our partnership with the RISC-V Summit to inspire their future designs.”

The RISC-V Summit will take place Monday December 6th through Wednesday December 8th. DAC will take place from Sunday, December 5th to Thursday, December 9th, 2021. Both the RISC-V summit and the DAC will take place in Moscone West Halle. Both events will take place together with SEMICON West 2021, which will take place from Tuesday, December 7th to Thursday, December 9th in the Moscone South Hall.

The call for proposals for the RISC-V Summit is now open. The closing date for entries is Friday, September 10th at 11:59 p.m. PT. Learn more about how to submit a presentation, talk.

Registration for the RISC-V summit 2021 is now possible. For more information, see Registration.

Sponsoring opportunities for the RISC-V summit 2021 are offered at the levels Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze as well as Startup and University. All information about sponsoring.

More information on the RISC-V summit.

More information about DAC.

About RISC-V International:

RISC-V is a free and open ISA that is driving a new era of processor innovation through open collaboration. RISC-V International was founded in 2015 and consists of more than 2,100 members who form the first open, collaborative community of software and hardware innovators. The RISC-V ISA offers a new level of free, expandable software and hardware freedom on an open, modular architecture and paves the way for the next 50 years of computer design and innovation.

RISC-V International, a non-profit organization run by its members, is leading future development and driving the introduction of the RISC-V ISA. Members of RISC-V International have access to the RISC-V ISA specifications and the associated HW / SW ecosystem and take part in their development.

About the Design Automation Conference (DAC):

The Design Automation Conference (DAC) is the leading event for the design of electronic circuits and systems as well as for Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and silicon solutions. Every year a diverse global community takes part, from system designers and architects, logic and circuit designers, validation engineers, CAD managers, senior managers and executives to researchers and academics from leading universities. Nearly 60 technical sessions, selected by a committee of electronics design experts, provide information on current developments and trends, management practices and new products, methods and technologies. A highlight of DAC is the exhibition and suite area with around 150 of the leading and emerging providers of EDA, silicon, intellectual property (IP), embedded systems and design services. The conference is sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and supported by the ACM Special Interest Group on Design Automation (ACM SIGDA).

Design Automation Conference recognizes trademarks or registered trademarks of other organizations for their respective products and services.

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San Francisco is ready to push ahead with building electrification with a proposed regulation banning natural gas infrastructure in new buildings.

San Francisco board member Rafael Mandelman and the city’s Department of the Environment announced new laws on June 30 that would prohibit the city from granting building permits for new buildings that contain gas connections. After January 1, 2021, San Francisco would only issue permits for buildings with all-electric heating systems, stoves, and appliances. The law would cover residential and commercial buildings with narrow exceptions.

Legislation in California’s fourth largest city expanded the electrification movement for buildings in the Golden State, where 30 local governments have put gas restrictions in new buildings in place since 2019.

This isn’t San Francisco’s first building electrification move. In January the Board passed a measure requiring all-electrical systems for new buildings and major renovations to city buildings. Days later, the panel passed a regulation preventing developers from building structures with gas systems by requiring them to achieve higher energy standards than all-electric buildings.

“Today’s ordinance to eliminate natural gas from all new construction projects will mark the culmination of that effort and get our city firmly on the path to a safer, cleaner, zero-emissions future,” Mandelman said during a news conference on June 30th.

Mandelman’s office has been working on a broader code for several months and finally decides to follow an approach developed by Berkeley, California in July 2019. This approach relies on the city’s power to change building codes to protect public health and safety.

“We passed this ordinance because it was initially a health and safety bill for buildings. It is not an energy bill,” said Cyndy Comerford, climate program manager at the Department of Environment. “We’re really looking at the holistic effects of natural gas beyond climate change – health, safety, resilience and equity.”

The draft ordinance states that due to its geography, topography, and population density in San Francisco, the city is at increased risk of fires and gas infrastructure explosions from earthquakes and landslides. According to the ordinance, gas combustion in buildings also exacerbates the health effects of smog and ozone on residents and at the same time contributes to climate change. The construction operations accounted for 43.7% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2017, while 80% of these emissions came from gas consumption or the district steam generated by gas combustion, according to the regulation.

The ordinance would enable a construction officer to issue a permit for a building with a gas installation if the construction of an all-electric structure is “physically, technically or structurally not feasible”. The outsourcing would be subject to review and limited to that part of the building where electrical systems are not feasible. If possible, the client would also have to install connections for the future conversion to electricity.

A second exemption would allow permits for gas connections in areas of the building that are intended for commercial kitchens. However, this exemption would only last one year until January 1, 2022.

The feasibility study is pretty common in such laws, and cooking is growing in popularity to avoid battles with the restaurant industry. The California Restaurant Association sued Berkeley in November 2019 over its construction gas ban.

San Francisco is one of six California cities to follow the Berkeley model, although three of these communities have overlaid range codes in addition to gas bans. Range codes, a term used for local regulations that go beyond California’s minimum energy standards, can dictate all-electric designs, for example.

Cities don’t need to submit Berkeley-style gas bans for review by the California Energy Commission, although the agency has approved many of California’s 30 building electrification ordinances, including the San Francisco preferred range code.

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Mayor London Breed announced Tuesday that San Francisco is transitioning from the most restrictive purple to the milder red.

In the red row, California allows new business areas to be reopened and some indoor activities to expand such as restaurants, museums, cinemas, and fitness with restrictions.

With a few exceptions, the reopening of the city is what the state allows.

From Wednesday 8:00 a.m., the city will start operating:

– Eating al fresco with three households of up to six people
– Personal services that require the removal of masks both outdoors and indoors, with specific health and safety measures in place
– Indoor dining (including full catering bars, food courts, hotel restaurants) with a capacity of 25%, but limited to four people from a household, with indoor dinner ending until 10:00 p.m. and other safety requirements being met
– Indoor gyms and fitness centers with a capacity of 10%
– Indoor museums, zoos and aquariums with a capacity of 25%
– Indoor cinemas with a capacity of 25% without concessions
– Standalone outdoor amusement park rides such as ferris wheels, carousels, and train rides
– Restricted use of indoor pools

The city is also lifting nighttime restrictions on gatherings and non-essential business activities between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

In the red row, middle and high schools that have not yet opened can resume opening with a COVID-19 safety plan approved by the San Francisco Health Officer. According to the mayor’s office, all other schools may already be open with an approved security plan.

While the state allows indoor retailers to increase capacity in the red to 50%, SF will cap the cap at 25%. The state also allows indoor gatherings for up to three households with restrictions; The city will continue to restrict this, the statement said.

“Now I know it doesn’t sound like being in the red, but it’s great compared to where we are,” Breed said at a press conference streamed live by KPIX. “That means this is just the beginning.” This is the beginning of a new day for San Francisco. “

The mayor said at the press conference that the city could jump into the orange row within three weeks and allow for even more openings.

In the Bay Area, counties of Napa and Santa Clara also switched from the purple to the red layer, according to the state dashboard that is tracking the pandemic across all of California’s 58 counties. Marin and San Mateo were in the red last week.

The color-coded framework for reopening the state determines which businesses can be opened. The assignment of the levels of a county is mainly based on two metrics: the case rate (the number of new cases per 100,000 population adjusted based on the test volume) and the 7-day positivity rate (the percentage of people who test positive for the virus were) all persons who will be tested). In order for a district to switch to the red category, it has to report an average of four to seven cases per 100,000 inhabitants and a test positivity of 5% to 8% on 14 consecutive days.

There is also a third metric, the health equity metric, which the state considers for larger counties. Its purpose is to encourage counties to test for COVID-19 in deprived neighborhoods and to ensure that positivity rates in those neighborhoods do not lag far behind the districts overall quota.

It’s been more than a month since Governor Gavin Newsom canceled the regional home-stay order, allowing the Bay Area counties to reopen several areas of business, including outdoor dining and some indoor personal services like haircuts.

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