Work to Begin on 22nd Street Staircase

Lanier Construction will begin building a long-planned-for 22nd Street staircase this month, replacing a steep dirt trail on a hillside between Missouri and Connecticut streets, north of Potrero Hill Recreation Center, with a set of steps. 

The project, expected to take four months to complete, will extend from a mid-block retaining wall adjacent to a Potrero Annex residence on Connecticut Street and run parallel to Missouri Street. The area under construction has been enclosed by rented metal fencing. Impacted ground will be watered daily during the initial grading phase, to keep down dust, with notices posted on the fencing about the work underway. 

Installation of the staircase is the result of years of planning, fundraising, and community engagement by Friends of Potrero Hill Recreation Center (FOPHRC). The project – including planning, blueprints, insurance, and permit fees – is expected to cost roughly $560,000, of which $400,000 will be dedicated to construction. The University of California, San Francisco contributed $500,000, with remaining funds donated by Dogpatch and Potrero Hill residents. 

FOPHRC recently received an additional $16,008.31 from Third Plateau, a San Francisco-based social impact and philanthropy entity, to help pay for landscaping and possible unexpected construction issues.

Last year, FOPHRC, along with other neighborhood park improvement groups, lost funds because of improprieties by its now-closed former fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco Parks Alliance. The Dogpatch and NW Potrero Hill Green Benefit District now serves as FOPHRC’s fiscal sponsor. 

“We feel blessed that donors stepped up to help all the groups recoup some of their losses,” said Jennifer Serwer, FOPHRC president.