Six months ago, Kristian Ongoco joined the University of California, San Francisco as a community relations representative for its Parnassus, Mt. Zion and Laurel Heights campuses. Yesterday, we caught up with her at the Milberry Student Union to talk about neighborhood outreach and being the chief point of contact for the City's second-largest employer.
"I've been trying to talk to people to find out about their major concerns and issues," said Ongoco, who previously managed community development grants for the City of Oakland. "UCSF has a huge footprint, and I'm trying to feel out what the community thinks and get their feedback." Predominantly, residents' major issues are land use, development and construction, she said.
Ongoco spends about two days each week at UCSF Parnassus, noting that the library is one of her favorite spots. Via a community advisory group, she meets quarterly with individuals and groups who live near the campus, which has an average daily population of 16,000 people. "The quarterly meeting is the main stage where we get their input," she said.
Members of the advisory group "are actually leaders of the community like the Inner Sunset Park Neighbors, the merchant's association, and longstanding residents," said Ongoco, who plans to expand her outreach efforts.
In March, construction crews will begin renovations on the Clinical Sciences Building and will demolish the Medical Research Building adjacent to the Koret Vision Center. "We're going to see a lot of new changes that you'll be able to notice on Parnassus Avenue very soon," said Ongoco. "The reason why we're doing the demolition is to reduce square footage on campus as part of our commitment to neighbors."
Because the research building is a wooden structure, "the impact isn't going to be as large as other demolitions. It's going to happen predominantly over the course of two Saturdays in two weeks," she explained. Work on the Clinical Sciences building will consist mainly of interior demolition and will also create a new facade. "It's a really old building," said Ongoco.
UCSF Parnassus in its early years. (Photo via UCSF)
As part of UCSF's Long Range Development Plan, the Milberry Student Union towers at 500 Parnassus will be converted back into student housing, per their original use. According to a university analysis of the site, the building could accommodate as many as 83 1-bedroom and studio units. "Student housing is a major concern for UCSF," said Ongoco.
Although she commutes to work from Glen Park, Ongoco lived in the Inner Sunset for five years, "so I'm pretty familiar with the neighborhood."
"It's really different from my experience living here several years ago," she noted. "Not that the Inner Sunset was a sleepy neighborhood, but now, it's dynamic and it's thriving. It just seems like such a different neighborhood from what it used to be."
UCSF's next quarterly community advisory group meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, March 2 at Genentech Hall N114 on the Mission Bay Campus. Visit this page for a list of all 2015 meetings and locations.
