Modern Home Builder - Fall 2017 - 108
Fine Line Construction CITYBUILD Given its extensive history of building throughout the Bay Area, Fine Line has developed long-standing relationships with many of San Francisco's best subcontractors. However, there are many administrative barriers in publicly-funded projects, so Fine Line is cautious to rely on a select group of subs. "We really need to make sure that no one subcontractor is overextended," Vice President Emily Lin says. "Because that is not going to do anybody any favors." Further, there are requirements on public projects calling for hiring workers from the low-income developments themselves. Fortunately, the city of San Francisco has launched "CityBuild," a program designed to connect contractors with ready-to-work employees. "That program has really been a great tool," Lin says. "It is available to all trades, who face daily challenges in finding new workers." The program began in 2006 as an effort to coordinate citywide construction training and employment programs with pre-apprenticeship and construction administration training. MODERN DESIGN Fine Line Construction is uniquely qualified to work with tenants, and takes great care to ensure their needs are met. for tenants, we have to keep in mind the neighbors surrounding the sites as well." Generally, Fine Line rehabilitates units in blocks of 15-50, depending on the building configuration, to keep the number of tenants to be displaced at a manageable amount. Further, it is able to complete such blocks within a three- to six-month time frame. "Given the risk and cost associated with these projects," Lin says, "It is critically important that we are phasing in them in as efficiently as possible." The first five buildings were started in late 2015 and work began on the second five buildings a year later. Overall, the project is being constructed in two phases. The first phase is considered easier than the second because the second phase has more difficult buildings in terms of size and their preexisting seismic conditions. Phase I completed in Summer of 2017, while Phase II buildings are scheduled to be completed at the end of 2018. 108 www.mhb-magazine.com Fall 2017 Completed buildings on this project tend to look anything but institutional, as they are designed to enhance their neighborhoods. As Lin notes, this is completely by design. "The buildings are durable and the design is really timeless," Lin says. "And that is absolutely intentional. We are fortunate to have clients who value not just affordability, but quality of life and community assets." Lin also notes that the finished product is a result of talented and committed design firms such as Gelfand Partners Architects, Levy Design Partners and HKIT that design with the tenants in mind, but also keep in mind durability issues. After all, there might not necessarily be resources available for improvements every five years. "That's really where our quality focus comes in," Lin says. "Nothing gives us more satisfaction than to hear someone say, 'I didn't know that was affordable housing.'" PRIMED FOR GROWTH With a full pipeline of projects, Fine Line is careful to keep its high standards and culture intact. "It's important to acknowledge that Fine Line is really a diverse, family business," Lin notes. "We have so much diversity not just in our office, but also in the field as well." That diversity is important because Fine Line serves a diverse group of tenants in the Bay Area. And within Fine Line, there is a major focus on maintaining a strong culture. "When a company is intentionally growing, we have to be mindful of continuing to build great teams," Lin says. "We really want to maintain that culture of collaboration." )