SF Public Utilities Commission Operations Center Being Constructed on Marin Street

The large steel infrastructure taking shape at 2000 Marin Street, between Evans Avenue and Interstate 280, will ultimately host San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Water Divisions’ Operations Center, replacing the present 1990 Newcomb Avenue location. SFPUC hasn’t determined what it’ll do with its soon-to-be-vacated property. 

The new 371,000-square-foot facility will contain administrative offices, a warehouse, and industrial shops equipped for automotive, machine and fabrication, meter, carpentry, and electrical repairs. There’ll be a six-story parking garage, fuel station, and outdoor plaza, with a rainwater garden in an interior courtyard to capture and divert stormwater. Solar arrays will generate on-site power.

The project’s general contractor is Clark Construction LLC, a Bethesda, Maryland-based firm. Constructing and outfitting the structure will cost roughly $394 million, paid for through debt financing and SFPUC ratepayer revenue. Building began in January 2025, with an expected completion date of early 2029. Once finished the campus will be occupied by roughly 490 employees. 

SFPUC’s Water Division manages municipal drinking and groundwater supplies, as well as the Emergency Firefighting Water System, an independent high-pressure scheme for fire suppression. The Division operates and maintains water distribution, supply, and storage facilities, including more than 1,200 miles of water pipes and 12 in-city reservoirs. 

“Once completed, the new SFPUC Water Division Operations Center will replace outdated and seismically vulnerable facilities and shops at 1990 Newcomb Avenue, where they have been located since 1963…consolidate other division offices into one location. The upgraded facilities and centralized location…will make operations more reliable and emergency response more efficient to better serve our ratepayers, particularly in an emergency,” said Nancy Crowley, SFPUC press secretary. 

A four by six-foot project sign at 2000 Marin Street contains outdated information, indicating that the project began in August 2024 and will be completed in 2028. SFPUC typically sends construction notices to addresses within a 300-foot radius of a project site.  

“In this case, we proactively expanded the mailing area to a 1,000-foot radius and sent approximately 300 notification postcards to nearby addresses. We also share updates with the District 10 Supervisor’s Office and keep nearby neighbors informed about construction activity in this largely industrial area…working with commercial neighbors to help ensure the continued smooth operation of their businesses during construction,” said Crowley. 

The project follows the Local Hire Ordinance, which requires that at least 30 percent of construction work be performed by San Franciscans. It complies with the Local Business Enterprise program, which obliges that at least 16 percent of construction contract value is awarded to business enterprises located in the City. 

Other municipal facilities in the area include the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority yard, at 1399 Marin Street, a San Francisco Public Works maintenance and operation yard at 2323 Cesar Chavez Street, and the San Francisco Police Department Crime Lab at 1995 Evans Avenue.

Crowley said every project teaches SFPUC more about delivering its services a little faster, better, or more efficiently. 

“We also continue to learn about growing the skills and opportunities for our local workers and businesses, assuring that they will benefit from the SFPUC’s investments as we upgrade the water, wastewater, and power system facilities,” said Crowley. 

SFPUC is proposing significant water and sewer rate increases starting July 1, 2026, with an estimated combined monthly bill rise of roughly 12.6 percent in 2027 and 12.5 percent in 2028, or another $21 to $23, for the average residential household.