City Hall Fellows present passive-energy retrofit guide for adaptive reuse in Central SoMa

A City Hall Fellows small‑team project presented to the Historic Preservation Commission on April 2 laid out practical, preservation‑minded approaches to passive‑energy retrofits for historic light‑industrial buildings in Central South Of Market (Central SoMa).

David Pappas, one of the fellows placed at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said the 28‑page, image‑heavy guide is intended for architects, developers, tenants and building owners as a “starting off point” for adaptive reuse. "The greenest building is the already existing building," Pappas said, framing the guide’s emphasis on rehabilitating existing fabric rather than wholesale replacement.

Presenters described a five‑step priority list that starts with maximizing daylighting and window rehabilitation, then prioritizes roof and wall insulation, and concludes with supplemental mechanical tools such as photovoltaics, radiant flooring and LED lighting. The guide recommends tailoring passive systems to a building’s use — for example, separate mechanical systems where server rooms demand it — and includes case studies, notably the Bar Agricole project at 355 Eleventh Street, which preserved heavy timber framing and achieved LEED Gold.

Tim Frey and Kelly Wong of preservation planning worked with the fellows; Frey said the document is in peer review and that the commission’s comments will be incorporated prior to public release. Presenters said the final document will be posted on the Planning Department website and made available in print.

Commissioners praised the guide as a useful outreach tool for developers and asked whether the team studied net‑zero goals and other cities; presenters said they focused on locally replicable measures and looked at Portland and other climates. Commissioners also urged the department to make the document easily discoverable on the planning website as a first resource for practitioners.