Osborn Engineering was the Executive Architect and Engineer for the Sutro Tower Transformation Program in San Francisco. Sutro is the exclusive Bay Area primary connection for broadcast high definition television, radio, satellite teleport and city unified demographic communication service providers. The United States Federal Communications Commission “Widelity” report listed Sutro as one of the top three most complex transmission sites nationwide, if not worldwide. The Sutro Transmitter ‘hoteling’ site is comprised of 110,000 SF of poured-concrete bunker architecture and houses 12 broadcast television stations and four radio station transmission plants. The 977 foot-high, 4 million-pound steel tower safely delivers clear signals throughout the surrounding San Francisco Bay area, over 2,500 feet above the city and Pacific Ocean beach below.

Osborn provided laser point scan architectural mapping for the entire 1970 original Sutro facility. This planning and documentation redesigns the large transmission ‘pathway pipes’ that deliver signal path to the broadcast antennas high above the city. In addition to the overall transmission complex, Osborn was commissioned to redesign each broadcast station ‘hotel’ for eight TV stations. All of these stations, with the exception of one, is an Owned & Operated broadcast network facility, including: ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS with the KRON ownership by Nexstar. These stations have changed their operations to fit the new FCC nationwide repack broadcast standards. For these two assignment areas, transmission complex and hotels, Osborn provided the following: architecture, electrical, mechanical, structural, civil, fire suppression, telecommunications engineering and technology elements. Osborn was truly honored to be part of this dynamic historic transformation.