Mayor Newsom Breaks Ground on First 100% Off-Grid Building in San Francisco

Mayor Gavin Newsom was joined today by city and state officials, community leaders, residents and youth to celebrate the groundbreaking for the EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park, a landmark youth education facility and environmental initiative in Bayview Hunters Point. The EcoCenter is the first building in San Francisco entirely "off the grid", boasting cutting-edge features that set a new standard for green building.

"The EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park places San Francisco on the cutting-edge of green building," said Mayor Newsom. "It embodies my vision for San Francisco-a global ‘eco-city' at the forefront of urban environmental commitment. By bringing off-grid designs to an urban environment like the Bayview, we are working to redefine what a 21st century city can be."

The first building in San Francisco's Southeast sector to be LEED certified by the US Green Building Council, the EcoCenter's innovative features include:

• • Solar panels and a wind tribune to meet all electricity demands of the building.
  • Wastewater treatment that utilizes a series of wetland cells and ultraviolet sterilization lamps to treat wastewater and recycle treated water for landscape irrigation.
  • Green "living roof" to reduce building needs for heating and cooling, provide retention of storm water on site for reuse, and encourage wildlife habitat.
  • Structurally Insulated Panels to provide high-energy efficiency and strength in the walls and roof as well as seismic support and fire resistance.
  • Native landscaping to promote water conservation, the elimination of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and encourage education around native plant propagation.
  • Fixtures constructed from reusable material, and non-toxic and sustainably produced paint and finishing.

"With this groundbreaking ceremony, we are taking a major step toward bringing a beacon of environmental justice and education to a community that sorely needs it," said Milton Reynolds, Board Chair of Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), the non-profit project leader. "Thanks to our partners and community supporters, this initiative will place San Francisco at the forefront of urban environmental commitment."