This Project Profile is more specific to the 38 Dolores Greenwall; see the complete Profile for 38 Dolores and its two greenroofs.

38 Dolores is a socially vibrant, modern, urban habitat at the apex of San Francisco’s most diverse neighborhoods, the Castro/Mission district. Transformed from a previous vacant auto showroom, this mixed-use building has approximately 84 luxury residential rental condominiums on 8 floors, a large format retail tenant (30,000 square foot Whole Foods Market), parking levels for residential and retail, 3rd floor podium courtyards, a 4th level extensive green roof that incorporates native planting to serve as an endangered butterfly habitat, and a living wall on the 3rd floor podium courtyard.

The 3rd floor podium courtyards serve as outdoor living spaces for the residents to include an area to grill adjacent to the Community Room with a kitchen and an urban agriculture garden. The project is LEED Gold certified, received SITES Pilot 2 Star Certification, and incorporates many unique innovative sustainable features including an Urban Agriculture component.

According to the SITES Case Study Narrative, “The goal of the project is to bring people, housing, community-serving retail, and social vitality to the prominent corner site location. With sustainability as a core value, the Prado Group, BAR Architects, April Phillips Design Works, and William McDonough and Partners, envisioned the project as an opportunity to bring the benefits of green sustainable living to San Francisco’s Upper Market community. As a greyfield and urban infill development, the LEED Gold certified project improves utilization of city systems, reduces its carbon footprint, and supports urban vitality.

“Other sustainable strategies include daylighting, rainwater harvesting, alternative energy technologies, green roofs with habitat for the endangered Mission Blue butterfly, and for human well-being edible and stormwater gardens, transit accessibility, waste management technologies, livable streets, and environmental education.

“Two green roofs at different levels provide both habitat in the city and a connection to nature, and the green roof systems strategies tied into the overall systems thinking framework for achieving SITES credits. Optimization of the green roofs not only provided for predictable green roof benefits, such as reducing stormwater run-off, filtering pollutants, absorbing carbon, and insulating the roof, but was also designed for the additional benefits of creating endangered butterfly species habitat and an edible garden with orchard trees, maximizing connections to nature and human health benefits in an urban setting.

“The level four roof creates an extensive meadow habitat for two endangered butterfly species, while the intensive podium courtyard on the level three roof houses the edible garden which is available for all tenants to use; a living wall as an artistic focal point that also provides a windbreak and comfortable microclimate; a fireplace for warmth and as a social hub for outdoor living; a community table that seats 12; orchard trees that produce edible fruits; and vegetation that provides sensory stimulation year round. The space also connects to a community room that includes a chef’s kitchen.

April Philips, FASLA of April Phillips Design Works, Inc. was the Landscape Architect & SITES Lead. The 3rd level amenity spaces are comprised of courtyards paved in concrete pavers on structural slab with landscape in raised CIP concrete planters. The main podium level has intensive greenroof gardens with 2,900 sf intensive greenroof, 900 sf edible community gardens, and 6,900 sf paved amenity courtyards. They are planted with drought tolerant ornamental species that include intensive planters for the edible garden.

A 72 sf modular green wall utilizing Tournesol Siteworks VGM Greenwall modules provides a visual focal point at the main group seating area. To provide shade, trees were located in custom metal tree collars allowing extra depth for roots to establish and extend into the intensive planting areas.

Both green roofs also utilize a sophisticated fertigation system – a drip irrigation system that delivers both water for irrigation and organic fertilizers – and are served by a 16,000 gallon rain water harvesting cistern. The cistern not only allows for water conservation and water reuse, but it also factored highly in to the project’s stormwater management strategies. The greywater harvesting cistern recaptures both rain and irrigation water, minimizing the amount of City-supplied water needed, especially during the dryer summer months. It also helps minimize the impact on the City’s stormwater system and is being used as a stormwater case study by the City of San Francisco. Efficiency is further maximized by irrigation system weather sensors.

The landscape mitigates stormwater management both at the street level with rain gardens and at the roof levels with the green roofs. 38 Dolores incorporates the City Green Policy for Better Streets and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Stormwater Design Guidelines.

With three unique floor plans to support a highly diverse marketplace, optimize building efficiency, and respond to the site’s unique geometry, 38 Dolores is a thriving and sustainable example of embracing sophisticated design with dense and efficient housing for multicultural city living.

The multi-award winning 38 Dolores received the 2014 Excellence Award, Best New Development – Mid-Rise, Multi-Housing News; 2014 Award of Merit – Multifamily Builder Magazine; 2014 Pillar Awards – Best Mid-Rise Apartment, Finalist NAHB; 2014 Pillar Awards – Best Mixed-Use Community, Finalist NAHB; 2014 Best Projects, Award of Merit – Residential ENR California; 2014 Grand Award, Attached Residential Project of the Year PCBC; and 2014 Grand Award, Best Multifamily Housing Project over 60 units/acre PCBC.