Significant construction progress has been shared for the future UCSF Life Sciences building in San Francisco’s waterfront Potrero Power Station redevelopment. Crews are currently working on the foundation for Block 2, a Herzog & de Meuron-designed seven-story complex that will become a cancer research center. Fifth Space, formerly known as Associate Capital, is the project developer.
Potrero Power Station Block 2 pocket park, rendering by Herzog & de Meuron
Potrero Power Station aerial view with Block 2 outlined in white, rendering by Herzog & de Meuron
Construction started on the research center last August. Since then, the developer saw the opening of the Sophie Maxwell affordable housing in October. The eight-story corten steel-clad apartment building delivered 105 units of permanently affordable housing, deed-restricted for households earning between 50-110% of the area’s median income.
Subterranean work is expected to continue through 2027 due to the complex infrastructure required for a life sciences building. Vertical work will follow, with overall completion expected by 2030, according to the project team.
Potrero Power Station Block 2 updated cross-section, illustration by Herzog & de Meuron
Potrero Power Station development master view from the Bay, rendering by Foster + Partners
Block 2 plans combine lab space, an outpatient treatment clinic, and research facilities above a ground-level retail and social space. The structure will be approximately 130 feet tall and yield 285,500 square feet of occupiable floor area, divided into 182,650 square feet for institutional healthcare across two basement floors and levels two through four, 102,200 square feet of lab space on floors five through seven, and roughly 700 square feet for retail. On-site parking will be included for 55 bicycles.
The project architect is Herzog & de Meuron, collaborating with executive architect Stantec. Illustrations show a bold steel grid wrapped around the curtain-wall skin. The structure’s base will be accented with a few bold exposed concrete walls as an homage to the power station’s industrial legacy, and improve the pedestrian experience.
Potrero Power Station Block 2 site map, illustration by Herzog & de Meuron
Potrero Power Station Block 2 excavation underway, image from Fifth Space
Fifth Place is currently overseeing the much larger redevelopment of the Power Station, which is now transforming the former energy plant into a dense mixed-use neighborhood with 2,600 units of housing, 1.6 million square feet of office and lab space, retail, central public open space, and a 250-key hotel in the Unit 3 Power Block, connected by the 300-foot brick smokestack.
The project is expected to complement Pier 70, a similar masterplan led by Brookfield Properties. Pier 70 has seen a few notable elements completed, most notably the adaptive reuse of Building 12. However, much of the 28-acre master plan, once expected to include one to two thousand apartments and possibly over a million square feet of commercial office space, is unbuilt.
Webcor Builders is the general contractor.
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420 23rd Street Feature Fifth Space Herzog & de Meuron Potrero Power Station Potrero Power Station Block 2 Stantec UCSF Webcor Builders