Companies Partner to Help Solve San Francisco’s Public Restroom Issue

SAN FRANCISCO C.A. (Nov. 3, 2022) —Two modular companies have partnered to offer a donated restroom to the City and County of San Francisco to help solve the need for a public bathroom in Noe Valley.

Volumetric Building Companies (VBC), a Philadelphia-based company that designs, manufactures and builds housing and hospitality buildings in factories around the world to address the housing and construction cost crisis, and Public Restroom Company (PRC), a family-owned company that designs and builds restrooms and related buildings for parks and public spaces, made the announcement during the three-day Industrialized Wood-Based Construction Conference (IWBC) at the Moscone Center on Wednesday. Both are Modular Building Institute member companies collaborating to complete the project.

“Our company has been successfully building this type of public facility for more than 40 years, including in many California locations,” said Chad Kaufman, President of Public Restroom Company. “Modular bathrooms are cost effective, visually appealing and take a fraction of the time to build. It was an easy decision for us to offer this help, knowing the end result is providing a solution to a need that exists.”

PRC offered to donate the facility while VBC offered to donate associated architectural and engineering services, pending the city’s acceptance and work to streamline the process. A group of donors has also been secured to cover site installation costs, making the project at no cost to the city or its taxpayers.

“While the facility itself is built offsite, we would retain local workers and ensure they are compensated in accordance with San Francisco’s living wages for the installation process,” said Vaughan Buckley, founder and chief executive officer of Volumetric Building Companies and one of the IWBC keynote speakers. “This would truly be a collaborative effort to achieve a solution for the city, its residents and its visitors. It also frees up San Francisco’s laborers to more quickly take on the next project and address another existing need.”

The two companies began discussing the solution following the city’s announcement that a restroom would cost $1.7 million to build and be completed in 2025. 

Offsite manufacturing dramatically improves construction labor productivity, eliminates waste and allows for the completion of projects in a fraction of the time. It also expands labor force diversity through the inclusion of more women. In areas where onsite labor costs are highest, such as California, offsite construction is even more cost competitive.

If accepted, the proposed donation could be installed and completed by the spring of 2023. The companies met with the Recreation and Park Department on Thursday, Nov. 3 to formally present the offer, and are continuing to identify next steps on how to move the philanthropic effort forward.

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About Forest Economic Advisors

Forest Economic Advisors, LLC, (FEA) is the organizer of the IWBC conference and is the premier source for North American wood products analysis and information. FEA is headquartered in Littleton, MA, USA, with offices in Atlanta, Vancouver, Quebec City, Beijing, Lucca, Santiago, Auckland, and Melbourne.

About Volumetric Building Companies:

Volumetric Building Companies is a vertically and horizontally integrated global volumetric modular construction leader headquartered in Philadelphia, PA with locations across the United States and Europe. Utilizing their technology-enabled design and engineering model, precision-driven manufacturing capabilities, and project-proven modular construction expertise, the company’s focus is on building the future by providing high quality, sustainably produced buildings in less time across varied market sectors. To learn more, visit www.vbc.co. Follow along with the latest news on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About Public Restroom Company:

Public Restroom Company is an industry leader in designing and building restrooms and related buildings for parks and public spaces. A family-owned company, PRC has more than 40 years of experience in executing prefabricated buildings. The company focuses on attention to detail to make buildings safer and more reliable for the communities they serve. For the latest PRC news, visit https://publicrestroomcompany.com/ or follow them on Facebook or LinkedIn.