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

• January 9, 2025: Tour of SJSU-Spartan Village on the Paseo

Join SPUR and Multistudio for a guided walking tour in downtown San José of the SJSU Spartan Village on the Paseo (SVP). Situated along the Paseo de San Antonio, Spartan Village on the Paseo transforms the former south tower of the Hilton Signia Hotel into a dynamic residential and student center hub. This thoughtfully designed development opened in August 2024 and houses 700 students, with 124 affordable beds partially subsidized through a $90 million state grant. Conceived as a vibrant living-learning community, Spartan Village offers modern, community-centered amenities, including on-site dining, a state-of-the-art fitness center, expansive study lounges, and a welcoming community kitchen, all crafted to provide Spartans with an inspiring and dynamic new place to call home.

The 264 hotel rooms have been converted to residential units, with manager units upgraded to include new kitchens, and the linen storage on each floor repurposed into shared laundry rooms. Notably, the inherent sustainability of reusing an existing building has kept over 11,770 Metric Tons of CO2e / 60 years out of the built environment. The project is enhanced by a rigorous focus on ‘red list free’ healthy materials, an all-electric kitchen, and appliances.

Select Past Events:

• 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