The second phase of the Planning Department’s study to explore the potential for redeveloping San Francisco’s 20-acre Caltrain Depot at 4th and King Streets, connecting rail to the Transbay Center (and possibly the East Bay), and re-configuring the terminus of I-280 in the city has been funded.
The first phase of the study, assessing the technical feasibility of any redevelopment, began last month and is slated to be completed next March.
Phase two, which will be funded with grants totaling $1,190,000 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the California Strategic Growth Council, will begin to flush out the possibilities and alternatives, including the potential to replace the elevated portion of I-280 north of Mariposa or 16th Street with a surface boulevard (similar to the Embarcadero or Octavia Boulevard), and opportunities for new public spaces and housing at the Railyard and along the freeway/rail alignment between Townsend and Mariposa.
Potential alternative plans are expected to be delivered by the middle of 2016. And assuming the alternatives are deemed feasible, follow-on phases would include the selection of a Preferred Alternative, a 12-18 month project, and the securing of Environmental Clearances, for which 18 months to 4 years have been budgeted.
Implementation could follow sometime after 2020, “as money and priorities allow.”