The Alice Griffith Community Redevelopment Project includes 337 affordable housing units, multiple indoor and outdoor community spaces, a fitness centre, and children’s play structures. The initial phase includes the construction of four new multi-unit residential structures on the vacant land next to existing public housing. The new structures consist of three 5-story podium structures and a 3-story townhome structure.
ENGEO is the geotechnical consultant for the design and construction of the three 5-story podium structures and a 3-story townhome structure for the Alice Griffith Redevelopment. Geotechnical challenges at the project site include long-term consolidation settlement of the Bay Mud and debris laden fill. The redevelopment of the general project area included mitigation of long-term settlement using surcharge and lightweight fill program; however, construction timing and geotechnical constraints required the building to be supported on deep foundations. ENGEO collaborated with the City and County of San Francisco and the project design team to establish monitoring requirements for the mitigation program. The project was one of the first to implement such geotechnical mitigation measures in San Francisco and has continued to benefit from this effective settlement reduction technique since its completion in 2016.
The construction site was in highly variable subsurface conditions. The soil underneath the site was debris laden and the depth to bedrock changed drastically across the site. Our engineering team was actively involved during construction to solve construction issues on a real-time basis which avoided delays that might have resulted from re-engineering.
Due to the challenging construction conditions on historic reclaimed land laden with debris, a unique foundation system was required to keep up with the project schedule. ENGEO’s team of engineers collaborated with the design-build foundation contractor to come up with adjustments to the foundation for efficient construction.
