TIDA launches Treasure Island planning program as Job Corps parcel status remains uncertain

Treasure Island Development Authority staff outlined a new Treasure Island Planning Program that will reassess open space, community facilities and development capacity across the island center while preparing for a possible future acquisition and integration of the federal Job Corps parcel.

Allison Alberici, introduced as the authority’s new planning staff member, said the program groups work under three categories: parks and open spaces, community facilities and retail, and development capacity. “The time for planning is now. We have a lot of work to do,” she told directors, describing the work as a chance to refine ambiguities in the 2011 plan and to incorporate updated priorities such as racial and social equity and sea‑level rise guidance.

Alberici said the program will include focused studies and community programming audits—examples cited were an urban agriculture park, sports‑park programming, and a review of the parcel set aside for a future joint public safety facility with San Francisco Fire Department and San Francisco Police Department. She also said staff will check space needs with the San Francisco Unified School District and the Life Learning Academy for the planned school site.

A major thread of the presentation was the federal Department of Labor‑owned Job Corps center occupying approximately 36.5 acres in the island center. Alberici said TIDA and city staff had pursued an Exclusive Negotiations Agreement (ENA) in late 2023, but changes in the federal administration prevented the Department of Labor from signing. She said the authority had learned the Job Corps Center would suspend operations and that the situation is rapidly evolving. “While the immediate picture is unclear, the opportunity to incorporate the Job Corps site into the development project remains,” she said.

Staff proposed a working timetable that would aim for entitlements (including environmental review and any required development agreement amendments) by the end of 2028 if the Job Corps parcel is pursued. To meet that schedule, staff said about 18 months of scoping, site concept updates and focused studies are required to form the environmental application, and additional pre‑environmental transportation, infrastructure and financing work must be completed early enough to feed into any revised entitlement package.

Directors asked about program scope and how ongoing built projects would be reconciled with new planning; staff said initiatives include audits of programming across parks and open spaces to identify gaps and to work with community partners on operations and programming. Commissioners emphasized equity, long‑term park management, and the difficulty of securing middle‑income housing on the island. One commissioner urged planning for the Job Corps site now rather than waiting for federal disposition because the 36.5‑acre parcel sits at the center of the island and could significantly change development capacity.

Other items raised during the discussion included coordination with One Treasure Island (the island’s community partner), targeted stakeholder outreach to avoid engagement fatigue, and the use of limited consultant task orders rather than large, long‑term consultant teams because of budget and procurement timing constraints.

Staff described several program priorities in more detail: urban agriculture (siting and sustainable operations), programming for a proposed sports park, and ensuring the northern shoreline and wildlands are managed consistent with the latest sea‑level rise guidance and best practices. Alberici said planning will also review community facility opportunities that were not included in the adopted plan but are now viewed as important, such as a library, community center and neighborhood health services.

Directors requested regular updates and asked whether this subcommittee or the full board would be the preferred forum for interim reports; staff invited guidance and said it would return with more detailed studies and recommended schedules. The committee received no public comment on the planning presentation during the meeting.