Public Works outlines $275 million Bayview training campus; zoning, CEQA and soil tests remain pending

The San Francisco Fire Commission on May 28 heard a detailed project update from the Department of Public Works on the planned Division of Training facility in Bayview Hunters Point, a consolidation of the department istributed training sites into a single campus.

Public Works project manager Scott Moran told commissioners the site is about eight acres, will contain roughly 150,000 square feet across 12 buildings and include training structures intended to simulate seven- and four-story buildings, residential typologies and an urban search-and-rescue building. The project budget is $275 million, financed principally through the 2020 bond measure; Public Works listed $145 million in anticipated construction costs and about $30.1 million held for contingencies and reserves.

The presentation framed the project as a consolidation of two existing training sites (Treasure Island and the 19th & Folsom facility), with a planned construction timeline that would begin late in 2025 and run about two-and-a-half to three years, targeting completion in late 2028.

Public Works emphasized remaining prerequisites: a CEQA addendum to correct earlier assumptions about training smoke emissions, a near-final memorandum of understanding with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to protect an 18-by-18-foot combined sewer box that crosses the site, and legislative steps to vacate three paper streets (Bancroft, Hawes and Griffith) and rezone roughly 26 parcels from a 40-foot bulk height to 90 feet to allow the taller training tower. Supervisor Walton has agreed to sponsor the zoning/street-vacation legislation, Moran said.

Why it matters: the campus is a major capital project for the department that would centralize recruit and continuing training for emergency response, vehicle drills and urban search-and-rescue simulations. Its schedule and costs affect other planned station rebuilds and department training capacity.

Details that Public Works provided during the meeting: - Site: Bayview Hunters Point, near the former Candlestick Point area; Public Works used 1236 Carroll Avenue as a locating reference and said official addressing will be refined. - Size and program: roughly 8 acres, 12 buildings, 116 parking spaces and bout 150,000 sq ft; occupied administration and classroom buildings are concentrated near the bedrock edge to limit pile depth, with training structures and vehicle exercise areas elsewhere on the site. - Budget breakdown (Public Works figures): $275,000,000 total bond funding; $39,000,000 for land purchases; $53,800,000 project control/soft costs; $145,000,000 estimated construction; $2,900,000 (2% of construction) for art enrichment; $30,100,000 contingency/reserves; $4,200,000 bond financing costs. Furniture, fixtures and specialized training equipment were estimated at $20'5 million and are expected to be requested through the capital planning process closer to construction. - Schedule: construction documents underway; Public Works expects to complete documents later in 2025 and to begin construction in late 2025, with a roughly 2.5- to 3-year construction period and an anticipated late-2028 completion.

Environmental and site risks Public Works described soil and subsurface conditions as a significant factor. The project site sits on historical landfill and drops from bedrock to deep bay fill; the team expects piles to be deeper farther from bedrock and said the southern and western portions are preferable for occupied buildings. Moran said a prior city excavation (an 18foot box sewer built in the 1980s) uncovered debris the city identified as Navy-era dumping at a location just north of the site; that discovery has driven additional geotechnical study and a supplemental environmental analysis requested by the Department of Public Health.

Moran said the CEQA addendum, narrowed to correct earlier overestimates of smoke from specific training props, was expected to be posted to the public record soon (the project team said the addendum was expected by the end of the following week). The project team also said it is finalizing agreements with SFPUC on protections for existing sewer infrastructure and is preparing legislative language for the street vacations and map amendments for planning and the Board of Supervisors.

Community outreach and entitlements Public Works said it has engaged neighborhood groups including the Bayview Hill Neighborhood Association, local housing associations and nearby property owners (including Prologis and California State Parks). Prologis and the state parks office provided letters of support for the street vacations, Moran said. He also described coordination with the San Francisco Arts Commission on public-art locations; SFAC will issue a request-for-qualifications for artists later in the year.

Commissioner questions and department context Vice President Paula Collins, Commissioners Alan Lowe and others asked about contamination, bedrock and sea-level-rise implications. Moran said the site is not a Superfund site, that the most substantial subsurface debris was found north of the campus in prior work and that the environmental team will document historical findings for DPH. Moran estimated the site's elevation near 25 feet above sea level and said that sea-level models place the more vulnerable areas to the west and north; the project team said the site itself is not expected to be within near-term inundation zones.

Chief of Department Dean Crispin and Public Works said the project must move ahead to vacate Treasure Island and consolidate training capacity ahead of development pressures there. Moran and Chief Crispin said the department and Public Works are aiming to have required legislation introduced to the Board of Supervisors before the summer recess.

Next steps and dependencies Public Works will complete the CEQA addendum, finalize the SFPUC memorandum of understanding, complete a supplemental environmental submittal for DPH if requested, and pursue the planning-code map amendment and street-vacation legislation. Public Works said it hopes to secure Planning Commission review and Board of Supervisors introduction before the July recess; Construction Manager/General Contractor Swinerton Builders is already on board for preconstruction work.

Commissioners offered support for moving entitlements and outreach; no public comment was recorded for this agenda item during the meeting. The commission did not take formal action on the training facility during the session.

Ending note: Public Works characterized the project as a multi-year, multi-agency effort with substantial budget contingency to address subsurface unknowns; zoning, CEQA and utility agreements remain the critical path items before permits and construction can begin.