The bid to formally recognize the modernist building at the center of UCSF’s 10-acre Laurel Heights campus as historic, a move which was initiated by opponents of the proposed redevelopment of the campus, as we first reported earlier this year, has been successful.

Supported by both San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission and the State’s Historical Resources Commission, the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places has determined that the building at 3333 California Street is eligible to be added to the National Register. And while the property cannot be added to the National Register without the property owner’s consent, an addition which the new ownership team wholeheartedly opposes, the Keeper’s determination automatically lists the property in California’s Register of Historic Places.

While being listed in the Register doesn’t preclude the redevelopment of the campus, it does provide cover for a litany of legal challenges and potential delays. But the development team has a plan.

As successfully employed by the Golden State Warriors in their bid to secure approval for the development of their new arena rising in Mission Bay, SKS Partners and the Prado Group have now requested that the Governor of California deem the proposed redevelopment of the Laurel Heights campus as an Environmental Leadership Project. And while such a designation wouldn’t automatically lead to the project’s approval, it would require all legal challenges to be resolved within a year.

Once again, the project as proposed would yield 558 residential units; 49,999 square feet of office space; 54,000 square feet of retail space; a new 15,000 square foot child care center; parking for 896 cars (and 592 bikes); and 236,000 square feet of open space, as rendered below.

And as currently envisioned, the project would be constructed in four overlapping phases over the course of seven years, with the first phase breaking ground in 2020 if the entitlements to proceed are secured. We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.