Kaiser's New Hospital Begins to Take Shape

A giant erector set containing 3,000 tons of structural steel began to take shape Monday morning along Veteran's Boulevard.

Workers set the first steel beams about 9 a.m., the physical skeleton for a state-of-the-art medical facility that will become the new Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City.

"We've been working on this with the regional Kaiser people and the city of Redwood City for probably the last 13-15 years," says Jim O'Donnell, M.D., Chief of Staff for the Redwood City Kaiser facility. "It's really the fruition of all the labors now coming into being, and it's so exciting to see it happening."

The construction figures involved are impressive. The steel, enough to produce over 2,700 vehicles, will lay on a five-foot thick concrete foundation.

"We're going to be using in this building what are called bonded brace frames," says Karl Sonkin, Media Relations Director for Kaiser Permanente. "This is a technology that came out of Japan, first used in the United States at Kaiser in Santa Clara. "It is angle beams that go column to column, and these angle beams are set up to be shock absorbers. In the case of an earthquake, the angle beams compress and expand as needed, and as a result, the structure doesn't have a tendency to buckle."

The building will rise seven stories. To move the steel into place, the crane brought in - so big it had to be piecemealed together on site - towers 300 feet into the air. Contractors had to get FAA approval for the crane, since the San Carlos airport is just to the north, and planes are often overhead in the area.

The crane is so powerful it can lift up to 200 tons.

The hospital is one of three Kaiser is currently building in the Bay Area. The other two are in San Leandro and Oakland.  All are scheduled to open in late 2014.  In the time the Redwood City hospital is being constructed, an estimated 300 local jobs will be created.

"In the tough economic times we're having, it's great to have local people here working and having a job they can really be proud of and watch for the next 50-60 years or so," says O'Donnell.

There is no word yet on what Kaiser plans to do with the existing facility in Redwood City once the new hospital opens.