San Francisco public-works officials told the Citizens General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee on Feb. 10 that most projects funded by the 2016 Public Health and Safety general obligation bond are complete or in closeout, while the largest remaining work is the multi‑project effort at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) Building 5.

Joe Chin, Public Works program manager for the 2016 Public Health and Safety (PHS) bond, said the program’s original authorization was $350,000,000 and the program shows $364,000,000 in available funding because about $14,000,000 in bond interest earnings have been appropriated for project use. Chin said $2,800,000 of that $14,000,000 has been placed on a controls reserve pending completion of an arbitrage review by the end of the current fiscal year.

The appropriated interest earnings have been divided among bond components. Chin said roughly $12.4 million went to the Department of Public Health components, about $1.26 million to San Francisco Fire Department components, and $375,000 to the homeless‑services component; $2.8 million remains on reserve pending the arbitrage reconciliation.

Why it matters: The PHS bond underwrites seismic upgrades, clinic renovations, emergency medical infrastructure and homeless‑service site improvements that city departments say are critical to health‑and‑safety service delivery. The committee’s oversight role includes tracking budgets, schedules and outstanding risks.

Most bond components either complete or near completion

Chin told the committee that three of six PHS components—the community health centers, the Southeast Health Center and the ambulance deployment facility—are completed and in closeout. Several ZSFG Building 5 projects are still active: seven projects are in active construction with target completion by early 2026, one project is in bidding, and one received notice to proceed earlier this year. Chin said the clinical laboratory project is targeting substantial completion in March 2025.

Chin provided component detail: the ZSFG Building 5 component budget is shown at about $216.3 million after the interest appropriation. Expenditures to date for that component are roughly $204.3 million, leaving about $10.2 million remaining. Chin described the clinical‑lab track replacement as about 97% complete; the rehabilitation department relocation phase 3 at about 83% complete; and other Building 5 subprojects at various stages.

Chin also reported seismic upgrade work at ZSFG is about 59% complete, with specialized scopes including cut‑and‑relief joints, column enlargement, fiber‑reinforced polymer (FRP) work and a new 24‑inch seismic joint. He said 124 of 211 seismic locations are finished and about 40 are in progress; the team expects to complete the seismic joint through the roof level by late summer 2025 and then work downward.

Other components and timelines

The Southeast Health Center has been open to patients since July 2022; the community health center projects (Maxine Hall and Castro Mission) have been open since 2021 and 2022, respectively, with only final warranty or punch‑list items remaining. The ambulance deployment facility has been in use since May 2021, with final completion issued in February 2023.

On the neighborhood fire station component, Chin said emergency generator projects are in construction and the last host‑tower removal project (Fire Station 15) is expected to be put out to bid in the first quarter of 2025. Homeless‑service site projects at 1001 Polk Street and 525 Fifth Street are in construction; 1001 Polk was described as 92% complete and 525 Fifth Street received a construction certificate in September 2024 and is moving through make‑ready work.

Budget, claims and project controls

Committee member Larkin asked for clarification about what is included in “project controls.” Chin defined project controls as the set of non‑construction costs that support delivery—design, planning, management, inspection and other soft costs—and said project controls can grow when schedules extend due to unforeseen conditions or design issues. He noted that some settlements with contractors—for example, on rehabilitation department phases—are tracked under construction cost when paid, while the city’s legal and soft‑cost support for dispute resolution is tracked under project controls.

Chin said some claims have been resolved by settlement (he described mediation rather than court litigation) and that longer project durations tended to increase project‑control expenditures because design and management teams had to provide extended support.

Warranty, substantial completion and closeout

Committee members asked about warranty and punch‑list items at Castro Mission Health Center and other clinics. Chin explained that punch‑list and owner‑requested change orders can be completed after substantial completion because the definition of substantial completion is that a facility can be used for its intended purpose. The clinic has been in use since 2022 and the remaining work—waterproofing and warranty punch items—are being finished to permit final closeout.

Outstanding risks and next steps

Chin said the program has tracked familiar risks but noted no new major changes since the last report. The committee was told that six of seven ZSFG projects are targeting completion by the end of 2025 or early 2026, while certain constraints (for example, coordinated work with the public health lab project that provides utility chase space) affect schedules for some Building 5 subsystems.

Chin concluded by saying his team is available to answer further questions and that the arbitrage review and reconciliation of the reserved $2.8 million will be complete by the end of the fiscal year.

Ending note

The committee did not vote on any PHS project actions at the Feb. 10 meeting; the presentation was an informational update and included a period of committee questions and public‑comment invitations (no in‑person public comments were offered).