Located in San Francisco’s historic Chinatown, there’s never a dull moment on this complex replacement hospital project

On a small site in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling Chinatown district, the Chinese Hospital Replacement project team must juggle everything from accommodating neighborhood vendors’ daily food deliveries to leaving room for emergency vehicle access to maneuvering large machinery through narrow, crowded alleys—all while working to deliver a 100,000-sq.-ft., 54-bed, ground-up replacement hospital.

Chinatown is a vibrant and bustling urban backdrop for this technically complex and logistically challenging project. According to San Francisco’s planning department, Chinatown is the most densely populated area west of Manhattan with 15,000 residents living within a 20-square-block area.

The original Chinese Hospital building opened its doors in 1925 and was the birthplace of martial artist and film star Bruce Lee. The original building was demolished to make way for the new, seismically sound acute-care facility, which is being constructed adjacent to a 1979 hospital addition that has remained fully operational throughout construction. The project is scheduled for a 2016 completion.

On Twitter, DPR Superintendent Jerry McKinley shares his project view where no two days are the same.

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