San Francisco neighborhood rehab will emphasize sustainability

A $1.2 billion plan to reconstruct a San Francisco residential neighborhood will replace 1,500 rent-controlled townhomes with 7,200 new energy-efficient units over the next 20 to 30 years. The project will transform the 152-acre Parkmerced neighborhood from car-centric to pedestrian-friendly. All existing garden apartments will be demolished, while 11 landmark towers will be rehabbed. When the new Parkmerced, which currently houses about 8,000 residents, is completed in 2040, an additional 14,000 people will be living in the neighborhood that was originally built in the 1940s. The new neighborhood will have a school, easy access to transit, and stores within walking distance of homes, a dramatic change from the expansive lawns and wide streets now found there. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/24/MN0E1JKF34.DTL)

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