Fire Commission hears detailed update on $275 million Bayview training campus

Scott Moran, project manager for the San Francisco Department of Public Works, told the Fire Commission on May 28 that design and permitting work is advancing for a new Division of Training campus in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood.

Moran said the site is roughly 8 acres and the overall project is "about 150,000 square feet of space," including 12 buildings and 116 parking spaces. He said the program pairs occupied buildings for classrooms and offices with training-only structures that simulate a range of San Francisco building types. "The entire project is about 150,000 square feet of space," Moran said.

The project budget, Moran said, is funded primarily by the city's 2020 bond measure and totals $275,000,000. He outlined the major components: about $145,000,000 anticipated construction cost, roughly $53,800,000 in project control (soft) costs, $39,000,000 used for land purchases, $2,900,000 for art enrichment and approximately $30,100,000 held for contingencies and reserves.

Why it matters: the campus consolidates training now split between Treasure Island and the nineteenth-and-Folsom facility and adds on-site vehicle and urban search-and-rescue exercises, which project staff say will reduce the department's need to schedule external sites for apparatus training.

Key schedule, scope and cost details

- Site: Bayview Hunters Point, near the former Candlestick Park site; roughly 8 acres, made up of 26 parcels. - Program: 12 buildings (occupied and training-only), ~150,000 sq. ft., 116 parking spaces. - Budget summary (projected): $275,000,000 total; $145,000,000 construction; $53,800,000 soft costs; $39,000,000 land; $30,100,000 contingencies; $2,900,000 public art. - Schedule: construction documents continuing through 2025; construction anticipated to begin in late fall 2025 with completion in late 2028.

Environmental and site constraints

Moran described historic landfill conditions beneath parts of the site and said work to map and mitigate subsurface materials is ongoing. He told commissioners that excavation associated with earlier sewer work uncovered "jeep tires and hospital bedpans and things like that" in the northern portion of the broader area, which prompted additional sampling and documentation with the Department of Public Health.

Moran said the site is not listed as a federal Superfund site. He also described a large, 18-by-18-foot box sewer and other utilities that cross the property and the need to finalize a memorandum of understanding with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to protect those assets during construction and operation.

Entitlements and design changes

Moran said the project team is preparing two legislative steps: vacating three unused "paper" streets (Bancroft, Hawes and Griffith) and a planning-code map amendment to rezone the block and raise the allowable bulk height from 40 feet to 90 feet so the training towers can be built. He said Supervisor Walton has agreed to sponsor the legislation and that the planning commission and city attorney teams are engaged. Moran said the team is aiming for introduction to the Board of Supervisors before the summer recess.

He also described a CEQA addendum to update prior environmental findings and correct earlier assumptions about training smoke emissions; the addendum was expected to be published soon.

Materials and public art

After testing materials for graffiti resistance and durability with Public Works staff who clean city surfaces, the team selected a porcelain finish that preserves a brick-like appearance but resists graffiti and impacts, Moran said. The San Francisco Arts Commission will run a public artist selection process for several sites on the campus.

Community outreach and adjacent projects

Moran said the team has met with neighborhood groups identified by the supervisor (including Bayview Hill Neighborhood Association), nearby property owners such as Prologis, and California State Parks. He said the project intentionally concentrates occupied buildings close to bedrock to limit pile depths and places parking toward the northern portion of the site.

Commissioners' questions and next steps

Vice President Paula Collins asked whether the location was affected by soils issues tied to Hunters Point and the naval shipyard; Moran replied the site is not a Superfund site but that limited historic dumping and localized contaminants had been identified at the northern edge and are being investigated.

Commissioner Alan Lowe asked whether introducing the street-vacation and rezoning legislation was a gating item; Moran said it was and that the team is working closely with the city attorney and other departments to complete introductions this summer. Moran said the construction manager/general contractor is Swinerton Builders and that the team expects construction documents to be complete later in 2025.

The commission did not take a vote on the project at the May 28 meeting; Moran asked for the commission's continued engagement as the team completes the CEQA addendum, finalizes the SFPUC memorandum, and prepares legislative introductions.