The new Potrero Yard will help our staff make your rides on the 22 Fillmore even more reliable.
The Potrero Yard Modernization Project has been given the green light! Both the SFMTA Board of Directors and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors have approved the Project Agreement to build a new Muni bus yard.
What was approved?
The Bus Facility Project Agreement includes a construction contract to design and build the 75-foot high, multi-level bus facility. A new Potrero Yard will help us deliver more reliable Muni service for seniors, students, families and thousands of others.
Additionally, the SFMTA Board also approved the Bryant Street Housing Lease Development & Disposition Agreement. This agreement is the next step to facilitate approximately 100 units of affordable housing proposed along Bryant Street.
Aerial view from the northwest of the bus facility. Rendering indicates location of approximately 100 units of proposed affordable housing along Bryant Street. (Arcadis)
“We are excited about the vote to approve the project,” said Dylan Fabris, community and policy manager at San Francisco Transit Riders. “We are happy to celebrate the joint wins of improving our aging transit infrastructure while also providing new affordable housing where none existed before.”
The many wins for Muni riders and staff
This project has always been driven by the need to improve transit service for a large percentage of Muni riders.
Every weekday, approximately 95,700 riders rely on Muni routes that came from Potrero Yard. These routes include the 5 Fulton, 5R Fulton Rapid, 14 Mission, 22 Fillmore, 30 Stockton and 49 Van Ness/Mission.
All of these serve Muni Service Equity neighborhoods. These neighborhoods include low-income households, people of color and those with the fewest transportation options available.
The 49 Van Ness/Mission route is serviced by some of Potrero Yard's electric trolley buses.
Reliable Muni service
The 111-year-old facility is outdated. It was built to 1915 standards to serve streetcars and not today’s modern buses. Aging equipment and the lack of space create challenges for staff.
A modern Potrero Yard will allow staff to more efficiently repair buses and get them back into service sooner. This will mean fewer service disruptions for riders. The new yard’s capacity will increase by 68% — from 146 to 246 buses — to support growing ridership.
Earthquake safety
The current yard does not meet current seismic safety standards and is at risk of collapse. A major earthquake could risk the lives of staff, as well as the fleet at the yard. The new yard will be an earthquake-safe facility that provides Muni staff with safe, modern, working conditions.
Community-driven amenities
Community members and stakeholders shared priorities with us during the outreach phase of the project. Their feedback directly shaped the final design. These community-driven amenities include:
- Community room — meeting space that can be reserved by the public.
- Public restroom — located near Franklin Square to serve people visiting the park and neighborhood.
- Streetscape improvements — including wider sidewalks, new landscaping and crosswalk upgrades.
- Upgraded bicycle lanes — 17th Street between Bryant and Hampshire streets will get separated bike lanes.
- Bicycle parking — provides staff bicycle parking (long-term parking) and additional public bicycle racks.
Green transit
This project is a big step in providing carbon neutral-transit service. San Francisco already has one of the greenest fleets of any major American city. By increasing capacity for electric trolley buses, this project continues that path. Trolley buses are powered by Hetch Hetchy hydropower. They do not generate GHG emissions. The developer also plans to construct the building to LEED Gold standards.
Enabling affordable housing
The project enables about 100 units of proposed affordable family housing to be built along Bryant Street next to the bus yard. The proposed housing is for households earning between 30 and 80 percent of Area Median Income. Plans include affordable units that range from studios to three-bedrooms.
The SFMTA cannot pay for housing, but we are contributing land formerly used for transit purposes. Now, it can now be developed as affordable housing.
“Although the project includes less housing than originally planned, Potrero Yard will still be a cornerstone of a more sustainable Muni system, all while delivering new affordable housing and real benefits for the surrounding community,” said JR Eppler, a member of the Potrero Yard Neighborhood Working Group.
The affordable housing developers include Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) and Tabernacle Community Development Corporation (TCDC). They will control the site adjacent to the new bus yard during construction. This is a crucial step for them as they work with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to apply for funding opportunities.
Draft rendering showing location of proposed affordable housing along Bryant Street. (Arcadis).
Reaching an affordable price
The Project Agreement includes a final fixed price for the bus yard facility of $612 million. Like purchasing a home with a mortgage, the SFMTA will finance the new Potrero Yard over a 30-year period through its public private partnership with PNC.
It has not been easy to reach an affordable price for the new bus yard. The final project has been impacted by the SFMTA’s financial crisis and increasing development costs. To make it possible, the SFMTA has prioritized building the new Potrero Yard over other major capital projects. We also had to change the project’s design to lower the cost and make the project feasible. Learn more about the challenging decisions that make the project affordable.
“The project continues to offer many community benefits including a public restroom, safer pedestrian street crossings on 17th Street and bike safety improvements," said Jolene Yee, a member of the Friends of Franklin Square. She also sits on the Neighborhood Working Group as the environmental/parks advocate. “We also remain optimistic that the reserved land parcel will successfully be used to support the construction of at least 100 affordable housing units on the block.”
What happens next?
The site will soon be handed over to Webcor, the prime contractor, to build the new bus yard. The site takes up one whole city block in the Mission District. It is bordered by Bryant, 17th, Hampshire and Mariposa streets.
Later this year we will begin the final steps before demolition and construction, including:
- The SFMTA’s move-out from the yard
- Additional site due diligence
- Removal of overhead lines from the site
Demolition of the existing facility should begin in early 2027. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2030.
Visit the Potrero Yard Modernization Project webpage (SFMTA.com/PotreroYard) to stay updated.
Working conditions haven’t changed much since the yard was first built in 1915. Here, mechanics service a trolley bus from a maintenance pit. October 26, 1949.
History in the making
The combination of a new Muni bus yard with affordable housing serves the future of San Francisco. We are excited to launch this once-in-a-generation investment to improve Muni for the next 100 years.