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War Memorial readies Veterans Building reopening; budget restores staff and cites private grants
Summary
War Memorial officials told the committee the Veterans Building will reach phased completion this summer and fall with public events starting Oct. 1; the 2015–16 budget restores previously deleted positions and includes $2.54 million in private grants plus $450,000 for technology infrastructure.
Beth Murray, Managing Director of the War Memorial Department, updated the Budget and Finance Committee on the Veterans Building renovation and the department’s FY2015–16 budget on June 18.
Murray said the department is on a ‘‘countdown to completion,’’ with phased substantial completion targeted for July 31, 2015; move-in by War Memorial and Veterans organizations in August; basement-to-third-floor completion by Sept. 1; and performance and event activity in the Herbst Theatre and Green Room to begin Oct. 1. She added privately funded fourth-floor renovations by the San Francisco Opera will finish in mid-to-late November.
On funding, Murray said the department’s 2015–16 budget restores staff positions that had been deleted during the two-year construction period and includes a programmatic project line of about $3,000,000 that reflects the receipt and expenditure of private grants totaling $2,540,000 and a $450,000 project for phone and data installation through the Department of Technology supporting both the War Memorial and Arts Commission.
The committee accepted the budget-analyst reductions by motion and sent the item forward for Board consideration by unanimous consent.
Why it matters: The Veterans Building is a historic civic asset; reopening reinstates public performance spaces and returns veterans’ organizations to city‑owned space. The combination of public budget restoration and private grants affects ongoing operations and programming.
What’s next: The department will coordinate move‑ins and technical commissioning across summer and fall milestones; the Board will consider the budget and ordinance on the calendar noted by the committee.
