Potrero Yard Modernization Project Remains at the Bus Station

Construction of the Potrero Yard Modernization Project, to renovate and add affordable housing to the 4.4-acre San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) bus yard at Bryant and Mariposa streets, is expected to begin in 2025. The Potrero Yard is part of SFMTA’s Building Progress Program, a $2.3 billion effort to modernize aging facilities. 

“We expect to learn a lot during the Potrero Yard Project as a first of its kind endeavor…,” said Michael Roccaforte, SFMTA’s public information officer. 

The Potrero Yard’s final Environmental Impact Report was approved in a January San Francisco Planning Commission hearing. In March, Mayor London Breed agreed to a set of entitlements – amendments to the General Plan Planning Code and Zoning Map, as well as creation of a Special Use District – following unanimous support from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The entitlements allow the project to have uses other than a transit facility, such as housing and shops. They also let structures exceed 65 feet in height, up to 75 feet for transit, 150 feet for residences. 

The project now consists of 465 units, down 48 from the previously proposed 513. The homes will be built on top of a revamped San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) yard. Bus yard work is expected to be completed by 2028. Housing construction could take more time. 

Potrero Yard is a collaboration between SFMTA and Potrero Neighborhood Collective (PNC). PNC is composed of numerous entities, including Plenary Americas, a Los Angeles-based infrastructure and workforce housing developer, and Mission Economic Development Agency, an affordable housing creator.       

Despite the reduced density, Jolene Yee, environmental/parks advocate Potrero Yard Neighborhood Working Group member and head of Friends of Franklin Square, believes the project continues to reflect a commitment to affordable housing. 

“All of us neighbors on the community working group, SFMTA, and PNC wanted to maximize the number of affordable housing units as much as possible. But [we] needed to be flexible and balance our goals with the realities of the financial market and how difficult it is to get the affordable housing grants and loans,” said Yee. 

PNC reduced the number of residences earlier this year when it redesigned units intended for older adults as family homes. All-family affordable housing better positions the project for funding. The family homes will be bigger, with more bedrooms. The complex will have a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. 

“While I wish senior housing could be part of the mix, it’s important that the team be flexible and move the bus yard project and first phase of affordable housing forward,” said Yee.

If insufficient money is raised, SFMTA and PNC may further scale back the project to 104 units and construct a paratransit operations facility on the bus yard roof, relocating operations from SFMTA’s Brisbane site. 

One of three contractors PNC recommended – Build Group, Hensel Phelps, or Webcor – will be selected this fall.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle, development of the bus yard is expected to cost $525 million, excluding expenses not directly related to construction.

The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development has dedicated $35 million for design work. PNC will cover some pre-development costs. Other money sources include potential bonds on the ballot for 2024 and 2026, the 2018 Regional Measure 3 bridge toll increase, and an Infill Infrastructure Grant. 

Residences would initially be constructed on Bryant Street, followed by “podium housing” on top of the yard’s interior. Bryant Street homes would be allocated to individuals or families earning between 30 and 80 percent of area median income (AMI), subject to change based on market and financial feasibility. In 2024 AMI is $31,450 to $83,900 for one person, $44,950 to $119,900 for a family of four. 

The bus yard is designed to accommodate growth of SFMTA’s fleet, with space for 80 percent more buses, with infrastructure for an all-electric fleet. 

“We are looking at distributed resources on this. For instance, the solar panels we show on renderings on the paratransit variant are an example of distributed resources.  We get our energy right now from Hetch Hetchy for trolley buses and via PG&E’s lines for battery electric buses. We might have more diversity in the future,” said Roccaforte. 

As part of the development adjacent streets will be improved, with three public art installations, and a new public restroom at the corner of 17th and Bryant streets.  Facilitated by the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC), the art will showcase the people, history, and cultures of Potrero Hill and the Mission, as well as the American Indian and Calle 24 cultural districts. Two hundred and twenty-five designs were submitted to SFAC for consideration, with four finalists invited to develop site-specific conceptual proposals for each artwork opportunity. 

SFMTA generally holds monthly tours of the Yard. To learn about the Potrero Yard Modernization Project, visit SFMTA.com/PotreroYard.