Sam Spade's San Francisco

On Thursday, Dec 2nd, Mayor Gavin Newsom and officials from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) celebrated a major milestone in the seismic upgrade and renovation of the historic 50 United Nations Plaza Federal Building (50UNP). The 80-year old building was selected by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act due the leadership of President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for $122 million in federal stimulus funding to bring the historic building to 21 st century standards.

“The seismic renovation and transformation of this historic federal building into a sustainable, energy efficient new landmark is another major step towards the revitalization of and the Central Market neighborhood,” said Mayor Newsom. “San Francisco is the birthplace of the United Nations, and this important federal stimulus project will create 1,300 new jobs and catalyze new economic and cultural activity in historic UN Plaza.”

50 UNP is on the National Register of Historic Buildings and was designed by architect Arthur Brown, Jr., same architect as City Hall and other Civic Center monumental buildings. Significant upgrades will address seismic, security, life safety and accessibility concerns. Renovations also include new mechanical, electrical, lighting, and plumbing systems; environmental remediation; roof replacement and refurbishment of existing historic wood windows; restoration of the historically significant interiors; central courtyard as well as redesign of office interiors to create a modern office environment. The 50 UNP project is expected to generate approximately 1,300 jobs over its lifetime with over 24 various companies and firms working on this project.
This Recovery Act project will not only provide much needed repairs and upgrades but will also bring this historic building up to 21 st century office space standards. Incorporation of the high performance green building features are expected to result in a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. Construction on the 50 UNP project will take three years, with GSA moving in early in 2014.

“I think it is important to point out that 50 UNP is already an excellent performer in terms of energy and resource use,” said Acting GSA Regional Administrator Jeff Neely. “With this project we are enhancing what is already a very green building. It has lasted for almost 80 years without a major renovation and is still in good shape.”

With the groundbreaking of the historic 50 UNP, the Central Market corridor will continue to be a vibrant part of the City and of the government sector. The revitalization of the Central Market neighborhood with recently announced Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers, Blick Art Supply and a handful of other high-quality, small businesses such as Show Dogs, Archetype Boutique on Market Street highlight the growing cluster of what is becoming the Sixth Street neighborhood shopping district and the Central Market arts and cultural district.

Through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Mayor’s Central Market Partnership, a comprehensive, public-private effort to revitalize Central Market through the arts, is continuing its efforts to create the Central Market arts and cultural district. One of these programs is the San Francisco Arts Market in UN Plaza, which runs weekly on Thursday afternoons and evenings through the end of the year. The Mayor recently announced an $11.5 million loan fund for arts-oriented commercial projects in Central Market. The City is prepared to capitalize on this interest by providing assistance with identifying space, feasibility studies, and financing for capital projects that focus on the arts district.

On December 9 at 5:00 p.m., the San Francisco Arts Commission will turn on three site-specific art installations in the Central Market corridor in front of the A.C.T building located at 1119 Market Street, across the street from United Nations Plaza. Created by three internationally-recognized light artists, the Lights on Market Street installations are part of The ARTery Project, an initiative funded by the NEA aimed at revitalizing the Central Market commercial corridor into a nationally-celebrated cultural destination.