The San Francisco Office of AIDS Renovation (SOAR) Project will allow three of the leading US-based HIV prevention research units within the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) to increase their capacity to recruit, enroll and retain large, diverse populations of study participants efficiently and effectively, and to provide critical data on new HIV/AIDS cases to investigators worldwide. These three units are central components to NIH- and CDC-funded HIV prevention and epidemiology studies, with a current awarded research portfolio of $46 million, and $10 million in grant applications just approved or under review. These three research units are currently housed in multiple suites of the City-owned, historic building at 25 Van Ness Avenue, conveniently located along multiple public transportation routes for study participants coming from many parts of the Bay Area. However, the existing facility is not currently configured to 1) meet capacity needs for participant enrollment;2) ensure maximal security for storage of research records;3) encourage interaction within and among research units;4) provide space for training students and fellows;5) offer adequate conference room space to accommodate investigator and community meetings;6) or provide on-site facilities for research laboratory, pharmacy, and videoconferencing. The SOAR Project seeks to address each of these deficiencies through expansion and renovation of 17,417 square feet of space while increasing the energy-efficiency of each of the research units. We propose three coordinated phases of renovation to research suites on four floors that will be led by a team with more than 27 years of experience improving over $1 billion worth of capital projects. The SOAR Project will create or maintain more than 100 American jobs and have a substantial impact on the Department's current and future biomedical and behavioral HIV/AIDS research and training initiatives.
