>> i am at harrington, general manager of d puc. i'm so happy to be here today where we will be building a new building for the puc and contributing to the green movement in our state. it is a wonderful place to be. i will be introducing a number of folks, but i want to start with introducing my commissioners. as i mentioned, this is one of those things where the puc has trained about a new headquarters building for i do not know how many years. buying one or building one, but it was always sitting out there because we have people in different parts of san

francisco renting space, and that is not a good thing for ratepayers ultimately. we are one of the leaders in green technology and water and energy conservation, and we should showcase that in our new building, and this building will give us a chance to do that. one of the proponents of this building since day one who was very excited to be here was a major gap in -- mayor gavin newsom, and i will turn it over to the mayor. [applause] >> the spirit of this announcement is the creation of literally hundreds of jobs over the next several years because of this kickoff of sorts on this project. this is a project, that is well over a decade in the making. you could say quite formally about nine years in the making since we acquired the site from the state, took an old

dilapidated building that was identified as such after the 1989 earthquake when candidly this process and formally began, and we decided to mark a process to consider design and orienting this building, but we never have the money, and we never had a framework to actually get the financing until about two years ago when we were at a point of absolute frustration. a lot of money have been spent on the design. i was looking back and choking off about some of my old files and various incarnations of ugly, ugly year, less ugly, dealers, an unbelievably expensive, never going to happen designs. nonetheless, we found some middle ground in one of the areas that i think was most important not to argue away or rather, i guess, value engineering away in the language of our time, some of the green

components that had just spoken. it is appropriate when you have a public utilities commission that really is a leader in terms of water conservation, and is a leader in terms of environmental stewardship that is in the process of becoming a steward and -- in a broader sense of the entire system, a $4.4 billion regional of great, that we would have a headquarters that represented those values not just figuratively but literally and substantively. two components that are probably most exciting -- i think that is why you see this modest wind component that will be hardly modest when it is incorporated in a larger scale into this building, is some of these innovative building construction strategies around incorporating not just traditional affordable pecs and not traditional strategy for waste water and rain water retention and recycling and the like, but also taking advantage of new technology are around wind and wind turbines. this may not generate as much energy as i think it generates

interest, and let's be candid about that. it is as much a demonstration of the future as it is the actualization of the same, but it is important, and there will be two big wind components on this project site that i think will truly get a lot of people excited and motivated and interested in doing similar things, even at their own residential homes or in any new construction, commercial and industrial projects in the city's future, so that is a component i am enthusiastic about. $170 million project. it is going to be financed with one of the lowest 4.17%. look at how proud they are. only bond people can even appreciate that. but 30-year fixed -- 4.17%, which is saving us a ton of money, money that we did not actually budgets as savings, so that we are now absolutely

confident that we can meet our commitment in terms of the overall project. that being said, it gives webcor no -- [laughter] -- you get my point. does not mean they can go over budget. i am confident with the outstanding leadership. 2012, they cannot get it done any sooner, but 2012, this project will be done. 1000 employees will come here on site, and finally, this is part of, for me, and anchor project to this larger civic center effort where we are working with the clinton foundation to incorporate some of the latest technologies in terms of environmental sustainability and creating a system. i guess that is the point. not just projects in isolation, but a system that connects our city projects with state and federal buildings, so this is a

really big part of that promise that we made a year or so ago. 600 permanent jobs. 1300 advertised. mike from building construction trades -- i think he can appreciate as much or more than anyone else the importance of this project. mike was in with my friend in the construction trade, say in what is the latest on this for about three years. here we are, finally, and real folks being put to work, and that is a wonderful thing. that is again i think the real excitement and enthusiasm that brings us here today. thank you all for coming out. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. thank you for your support. sometimes, you hear things about the best, the most efficient, all that stuff. to give you a few examples, example number one, energy use in this building compared to a building of this size in san francisco, we will be saving 2.1

million kilowatt hours a year. that is the equivalent of all the power used in half the fire stations in san francisco pier will be saved in this one building. one reason we are able to do that is because of one of our partners doing this. also, the project director. [applause] >> thank you. we are so excited to be here today at this point in time in this whole -- because i love holes. particularly when we are going to pour some concrete, but in some foundations, and go up. i want to recognize jeff and had to put in some time working as number down. i think we have already saved about $40 million since we got involved in this project. mr. mayor was already working to save the city money. as far as the completion date, go back to with this arts and golden gate park where the mayor that me $1 -- one whole dollar

-- and i am going to plant that dollar on a wall in a picture frame, and he lost that one, and i intend for him to lose another because we are going to be the schedule we have out here. it is exciting to work with the puc on this wonderful building. not just the micro windmill that you see here, which a lot of people thought was a model of a building. it is a micro wind turbine. one of many features. photovoltaic panels. we have a concrete frame. there is a waste water treatment -- rainwater capture, utilizing a great water for flushing the toilet, so there is a lot of great features in this building. i am wearing my pink and tied today commemorating the california academy of sciences, -- i am wearing my penguin tie

today. we just love working with the department of public works. edgar is in the audience. wonderful partners. we are very excited to repeat the success we had two years ago. this is going to be in the platinum. it is going to be even better. there is going to be a monument not only for a san francisco, but the entire united states as an example of what government buildings should be and how much energy can be saved. thank you for making as part of this. [applause] >> thank you. one of the partners that has been here long as on this project are the architects. they started working on this many years ago. we have the principal director of kmz architects, and with him are two project architects. [applause] >> after nine years, you would think i would not have to put up

with the abuse about what this building looks like. i have to pinch myself. this has been a good chunk of my life, and i would like to acknowledge a couple of people. edgar lopez has been with me. bruck has been working as a project manager. my grisette, the project architect, and we have tom checking to back their, and brian stevens, lead designer. our partner in the architecture firm is miles stevens back there. so thank you all for all the work you have done over these many years. this building did not start out exactly like this. we started out with what we felt was a beautiful building, but it was not a building that was really trying to change the world. with the puc the building has been read up to a goal of being

the greatest urban building in the united states, and i would like to remind everyone that that is the goal of this project, to create a platform for new sustainable designs and a demonstration to the country that san francisco is at the cutting edge of sustainability. i think we will achieve that. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. one of the ways we will be doing that again, is at an average building, the use in that building is about 12 gallons per water per day per resident. this building will be using 5 gallons a day per person in the building, and that is because we will be taking tap water, recycling of on site, using it for toilets. we will have low flow toilets, waterless urinals, all the things you should be doing in buildings today. one of our partners in doing all of this -- and without this group, we would not be here at all -- the labor people in san

francisco, and with us today, the secretary-treasurer of the labor council. causin>> tim paulson, who is the secretary-treasurer of the labor council would not appreciate that. the longer the gestation of this one, you would think it would not be timely are arriving at a moment like this, but no project could be timely. right now, the kids are facing their highest unemployment that i know of since the 1970's and perhaps since the great depression. a project like this -- the big infrastructure project will put some of the trades back to work, but there are no carpets that will be laid on doral drive. there are no waterless urinal that will be installed. no high-volume air-conditioning systems. nothing of the sort. a project like this will put trades back to work that otherwise would be close to starting.

this project really could not be more timely in that regard. and followed by some of general hospital. it would be absolutely critical. but it is time it in another way as well. local government here, city government, and the federal government have talked about the future of work in this country being closely tied to green jobs. the building trades are among those occupations that are most heavily involved in grain jobs, and the public utilities commission should be the organization central to the great majority of green jobs in the city, and it is absolutely appropriate that that organization, the public utilities commission, should meet not just -- lead not just by mandate, but by example. which we will do with this building.

we want to thank the board, the commission, and webcor for its assistance in getting this project off the ground. thank you. >> speaking of banking folks, there are a number of people here from the public utilities commission. i would like to recognize them. and shelby campbell, who just joined us, but shelby is our new key person who is our project director. we keep talking about this thing over here, and i should mention that this is from blue-green

pacific wind turbine manufacturers, and they are in the bayview district of san francisco, and we hope to be using their wind turbines on this project, so we wanted them to be here today and there went turbines, so you could look and talk to them if you want to during the last speaker today as our other partners in this city from the department of public works, and he is also joined by edgar lopez. [applause] >> thanks. we are really excited and honored to be working with our partner on this project. the department of public works has been delivering capital projects to the people of san francisco for over 100 years from small 10 and improvements to large projects such as the academy of sciences, the renovation of city hall. we are particularly excited about this one because, first of all, we have been involved with this project since for a much today 19 years ago in getting

the design moving, getting the environmental clearance through, but we are also excited because the building sits so well with the mission of the puc, and it really will be an exemplary building, so we have got a great design team, great construction team, a great clients, great labor support, and we are certainly putting our a team on this project. though they have already been reference a few times. it is their job, along with mine, to make sure that this project is delivered to meet the operational and environmental very high standards that the puc has said and to make sure it comes in on time and on budget -- or i guess we are now hearing

at a time and under budget -- so that is our commitment to you. we want to thank the commission and the mayor for their leadership to get us to this point. we are excited to hit the ground. thank you. [applause] >> before we have the official ceremonial backhoe, are there any questions on this topic that you would like to ask? we will be are around and available for any types of comments or questions anybody has. >> in a traditional building, you are paying a lot more towards the operations. in a building of this magnitude, we will be spending -- and this is verifiable -- over the course of its life, 75 years, $118 million last in terms of the operation of this building. that is why green buildings make economic sense. this is not just making an % aesthetic point for a point about the environment, it is

also making a strong dollar arguments, and that is exactly the direction we need to continue to go in. we have a certified requirement in san francisco, not for public but also private buildings, but we have never done platinum for an urban commercial project of this type, so that is exciting and complement's the project. this will be an extraordinary model building but just for the state but for the country, so it is a very exciting project in that respect. >> the mayor will be joining tim from local 3.

>> thank you all for coming. i'm dr. mitch caps -- katz, director of the san francisco health department. we are very proud of san francisco general hospital. [applause] thank you. for 125 years on this side, this hospital has taken care of people, regardless of their ability to pay, no matter what their ethnicity was, whether they were a man or woman or transgendered -- would never came fourth, we took care of,

and we are so proud to be here -- what ever came force -- whatever came forth, we took care of. we are so appreciative to all of you who helped us on this campaign. san francisco general hospital, when it went before the voters, received 84.3% of the vote. [applause] now, what i want you to think about is when did 84.3% of san franciscos agree about anything, that we got that high level of votes? we did not get that because of the campaign we ran, although we ran a very good campaign, and i'm very appreciative to all of the people here, from the labor unions -- especially 1021 -- who helped us -- [applause] thank you. through the business community, we were supported by democrats,

republicans, and greens. we got great support from the other hospital. many people from ucsf are here today, our sister institution, all of home relief help us, but that was not why we got 84.3% of the vote. we got it because the people who work here, the care that is provided, and what people know about san francisco general for over 100 years. [applause] that is something that we can be very proud of, just walking around today. and i'm sure that many of you have noticed that, that it is, for us, like a homecoming of all sorts. my first day in san francisco general hospital was as a medical intern. i still remember the exact date -- june 21, 1986. right here in the mission emergency room.

and at the same time with pat carr, who is here, who was starting as a nurse in the emergency room at about the same time that i was. we are all family. jane o'connell is here on the end, our long-term ceo. [applause] . we talked about family relations and my first encounter in san francisco general hospital was as an medical intern with a bomb bringing her children here for care. i want to know where else but in the public sector would somebody go from being a mother bringing her two children, work her way through nursing school and ultimately become ceo of the finest public hospital in the united states. no place else but san francisco general. [applause] she deserves so much credit, folks, for the rebuild and for the reason why people want the rebuild. now, it is my great pleasure to introduce the mayor.

i would only say as a way of introduction that during that election year, what made me most proud was that at every event that he went to, what he said was there are many things on this election ballot, and you may have your different opinions about the different things. some of them may pass, some of b'nai sale, but the one thing that i'd ask you all to support is the rebuild of san francisco general hospital -- some of them make a pass, some of them may fail, but the one thing i ask you all to support is the rebuild of sentences could general hospital. thank you, mr. mayor. feels like we were literally year just during the kickoff of the campaign. -- mayor newsom: seals like we were literally here just during the kickoff of the campaign, but now, we are finally here during the groundbreaking. now, in 2015, with this

extraordinary new hospital will be built, 380 new beds, 32 more new beds than the existing facility, we will take this remarkable building behind us and keep it in operation throughout the entire process of rebuilding a new hospital, and we will basically convert the operation behind us into a new operation and maintain a lot of these facilities so we are not necessarily tearing everything down and just painting something over. this has been an exercise that has been advanced over the course of the commitment to this rebuild at least two decades. it was fast track by a senate bill in 1953 that required all public hospitals to meet seismic safety retrofit standards. there was a lot of consternation when that bill passed because people said -- how do we pay for it? we have these remarkable hospitals, but we cannot meet that mandate without the

support. nonetheless, we fashioned a bond with a lot of trepidation because we were asking for more money than we have ever ask the taxpayers in our history for a general obligation bonds. i remember when i first became mayor, we were kind of fast tracking. everyone was excited. it was a presidential election the year after i was elected, and said we had to go forward with this bond. dr. katz and jean o'connell and others worked very hard on this. i ask how much it would cost, and they said that it was about -- and i asked what it was about. the estimates? we realized we needed to slow down because you only have one chance to make this task of the people in san francisco, and we made a tough decision, and people were none too pleased

when i said i cannot support going forward in november 2004 with a bond until we do our due diligence, until we know how much this thinks cost and we can make a compelling case to the people of san francisco, one that would not meet with the critique and opposition of so many of our bonds are afforded in this city. we spent the last number of years, and we put up general fund money -- we have never done this in san francisco. we said we were going to do a lot of the pre development work. we would do our general funds to make sure we get this right, to figure out the medications, the traffic issues, to figure out exactly the design needs and actually make sure that we are providing the kind of institutions that could be cared not five years from now, 10 years from now, but 5100 years from now, and i'm glad we did that. -- 50 or 100 years from now.

the big idea was this -- we actually came up with a real number. have you ever seen a bond on the ballot with a decimal point? $887.4 million. we did not rounded up -- we did not round up. we did not around it down because it pulls better. we said to the taxpayers, support us, but we will also support you. we are going to do the right thing. we are going to make sure we spend your money wisely, and this is what it will cost. all the experts agree this is what it will cost. not anymore. we do not necessarily know how to make it any less, but here is an actual number, and the results speak for themselves. 84% of the people supported the biggest general obligation bond in our city's history because they thought, i think, respected. they felt like city government

was telling them the truth. there was no opposition to this bond because you could not oppose it unless you did not want to spend any more money. but you could not argue against the analysis. you could not argue against the due diligence, and i think that is an important lesson. i think this day represents an important statement of fact and commitment to the people of san francisco, that they will support things we could never have imagined supporting as long as we tell them the truth, as long as we are honest with people, as long as we are transparent, as long as we owned up, so i am extraordinarily proud to be year because i think we have formed a new partnership with the people of san francisco. we are not just building a new hospital, but i think we have built a new relationship with the taxpayers, and i think that will bode extraordinarily well the next time we go back and say, "here is what we need because we think it is in the best interest of all san