About the Urban Infrastructure Council

The Urban Infrastructure Council (UIC) comprises select SPUR business members from architecture, engineering, design and construction. This group meets monthly and brings together firms to provide updates on projects, improve processes, resolve problems and strategize about ways to build public support for necessary investments.

Membership in UIC is by invitation only. If you are interested in joining, please email [email protected] for more information.

Co-Chairs

• Ben Tripousis, Senior Project Manager, Associate Vice President, HNTB
• Carsten Voecker, Construction Manager, Vice President, Plant Construction Company
• Sarah Young, Marketing Director, Senior Associate, Gensler

Upcoming Events:

• March 12: Mixed Used Development of 3333 California with Prado Group
  Prado Group’s Dan Safier (President and CEO) and Don Bragg (SVP, Head of Development) will present on 3333 California, now branded Presidio Highlands, a multi-building residential and mixed-use development in Presidio Heights. Located in a neighborhood that has not seen new development of this scale in more than 50 years, the project introduces much-needed new housing while thoughtfully integrating ground-floor retail and publicly oriented open space to strengthen neighborhood vitality and walkability.

  Originally entitled prior to the pandemic, the project navigated significant post-Covid economic headwinds, requiring a comprehensive reassessment of program, phasing, and delivery while preserving the original design vision and neighborhood integration. Dan and Don will discuss how Prado worked with the City to amend its Development Agreement to right-size the affordable housing requirement to reflect current market conditions while maintaining the project’s core community commitments. They will also share insights on the formation of an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) spanning this site and a nearby Prado project, and how that financing structure supports critical infrastructure and long-term placemaking. The presentation will offer an inside look at the challenges of balancing design intent, public benefits, and financial feasibility in today’s San Francisco development environment.

Select Past Events:

• February 12: Redevelopment of Embarcadero Plaza with Aaron Fenton of BXP
  • Aaron Fenton, Senior Vice President of Development at BXP
     
• January 15: UIC Tour of BART Silicon Valley Phase II
  • Mark Rhoades, AICP
  • Tom Maguire, Chief Megaprojects Officer at VTA
  • Beverly Greene, Chief Government Affairs Officer at VTA
     
• October 9: 1998 Shattuck with Mark Rhoades and Mia Perkins of Rhoades Planning Group
  • Mark Rhoades, AICP
  • Mia Perkins of Rhoades Planning Group
     
• September 11: Westbank’s Net Zero Community in Downtown San José with Andrew Jacobson and David Marshall
  • Andrew Jacobson and David Marshall of Westbank
     
• August 14th: Building Concord’s Future: The Naval Weapons Station Overview
  • Emily Boyd, Director of Business Strategies at Brookfield Residential Land
  • Patricia Fonseca Flores, Principal at CMG Landscape Architecture
     
• July 10th: Revitalizing Bayview Hunters Point: FivePoint’s Vision
  • Catarina Kidd, Director of Planning
  • La Shon A. Walker, Vice President of Community Affairs
     
• May 8th: Reimagining the Railyards: Insights from Prologis and Caltrain
  • Kristen Hall, Kristen Hall City Design
  • Mark Hansen, Managing Director at Prologis
  • Kansai Uchida, Caltrain’s Director of Systemwide Planning
     
• April 10th: Overcoming Fiscal Challenges in Muni and BART
  • Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA's Director of Transportation
     
• March 13, 2025: UCSF Proton Therapy Center: Transforming Cancer Care
  • Vice Chancellor Brian Newman of the University of San Francisco
     
• February 13, 2025: OEWD’s Approach to Equitable Opportunities and Housing Solutions
  • Leigh Lutenski, Deputy Director of Joint Development for the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD)
     
• January 2025: Tour of SJSU-Spartan Village on the Paseo
  • Ian Colburn, AIA, NCARB Vice President, Multistudio
     
• October 2024: Samuel Merritt University Tour in Downtown Oakland
  • John Long, AIA, LEED AP, Perkins&Will
  • Clarke Miller, Managing Director, Strada Investment Group
     
• March 2024: Virtual Port of SF Waterfront Resilience Update
  • Sarah Atkinson, Hazard Resilience Senior Policy Manager, SPUR
  • Ben Grant, Senior Planner, SITELAB
     
• February 2024: Navigating Policy to Build SF's Newest Highrise
  • Paul Paradis, Founder & CEO, Bayhill Ventures
  • Jim Abrams, Land Use Attorney, J. Abrams Law, P.C.
     
• November 2023: Dogpatch Power Station with Associate Capital
  • Enrique Landa, Managing Partner, Associate Capital
  • Tina Chang, Partner, Associate Capital
  • Nora Mansilla, Project Manager, Associate Capital
     
• October 2023: Tour of UCSF Parnassus Heights
  • Alicia Murasaki, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Campus Planning and Campus Architect
  • Kevin Beauchamp, Executive Director, Physical Planning
  • Elizabeth Polek, Vice President, New Hospital Planning and Optimization
  • Ellie Rossiter, Interim Vice Chancellor, Community and Government Relations
  • Amiee Alden, Senior Director, Local and State Government Relations
     
• September 2023: Office to Residential Conversion
  • Marc Babsin, Principal at Emerald Fund
  • Kate Collignon, Partner at HR&A Advisors
  • Sujata Srivastava, San Francisco Director at SPUR
  • Jack Sylvan, Founder and Principal at SDG, LLC
     
• August 2023: Kapuso at the Upper Yard Tour
  • Mission Housing Development Corporation
  • Mithun
  • Related California
     
• July 2023: Pier 70 Tour
  • Tim Bacon, Senior Director, Development at Brookfield Properties
     
• June 2023: Housing for All Legislation
  • Annie Fyman, Director of Special Projects at SPUR
     
• April 2023: Mission Rock Tour
  • Corbett Belcher, Senior Associate at CMG Landscape Architecture
  • Kevin Conger, Founding Partner and President at CMG Landscape Architecture
  • Chris Murphy, Director at Tishman Speyer
     
• February 2023: Link21 - The Underground Train Crossing Between San Francisco and Oakland/East Bay
  • Aidan Hughes, Link21 Planning & Engineering Project Manager, ARUP
  • Sadie Graham, Program Director for Link21
     
• January 2023: Hayes Point
  • Swathi Bonda, Senior VP, Development at Lendlease
  • Pat Hanlon, VP, Senior Development Manager
     
• December 2022: Epic Cleantec Tour
  • Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO and Founder of Epic Cleantec
     
• October 2022: San Jose Department of Transportation
  • John Ristow, Director at the San Jose Department of Transportation
     
• September 2022: San Francisco International Airport
  • Ivar Satero, Airport Director at San Francisco International Airport
     
• August 2022: High-Speed Rail Authority
  • Boris Lipkin, Northern California Regional Director at the California High-Speed Rail Authority
     
• May 2022: Treasure Island & Yerba Buena Island Tour
  • David Smith, Plant Construction Company
  • Kelly Stockton, Plant Construction Company