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San Francisco officials outline $652 million earthquake-safety bond to fund new Public Safety Building and forensic center
Summary
Public Works told the Police Commission the proposed $652 million earthquake safety and emergency response bond would fund a Public Safety Building at Third/Mission Rock and a forensic science center at 1600 Owen Street; construction would begin after voter approval, with multi-year build schedules and a plan that, officials said, would not raise the city—s property-tax rate.
Public Works officials presented a proposal to the San Francisco Police Commission on Jan. 13 for a $652,000,000 earthquake safety and emergency response general‑obligation bond they hope to place on the June 2010 ballot. The department described two police projects and a set of fire‑department seismic upgrades that together aim to strengthen the city—s emergency response infrastructure.
Charles Egarris of the Department of Public Works told commissioners the bond would fund two main police projects, each in the roughly $230 million range: a Public Safety Building planned for the Third/Mission Rock site (immediately south of the Giants' Parking Lot A) and a separate Forensic Science Center proposed for 1600 Owen Street. "This opportunity is actually the culmination of about four years of planning," Egarris said, describing a consolidated headquarters, a Southern District station relocation and a new fire station as elements of the Third/Mission Rock project. He added that the Public Safety Building program totals about 320,000 square feet across the site.
On the forensic project, Egarris said the center would reunify forensic services currently split between the Hunters Point shipyard and the Hall of Justice. He described the 1600 Owen Street site as roughly 95,000 net square feet (about 160,000 gross) and said the city is pursuing an entitled speculative development to shorten schedule and reduce cost compared with building from scratch.
Public Works officials outlined schedule targets tied to voter approval: they said construction for the forensic center would begin after bond passage (they cited March 2011 as a planning benchmark) with completion roughly two years later; the Public Safety Building was described as beginning in February of the year after passage and completing a little more than two years afterward.
An Office of Public Finance representative told commissioners the department has worked with capital planning to structure the program so it could "proceed without raising the rate of property taxes" by relying on payoffs of prior bond issues and careful rate limits. Commissioners asked how the bond would affect improvements at other police district stations; Public Works said the police portion of the bond is allocated to the two projects described and that most of the remaining funds would accrue to fire department projects.
Egarris also emphasized sustainability goals for the Public Safety Building, saying the design aims for LEED Gold and includes green roofs, courtyards and a narrow floor plate to maximize daylight and ventilation. He said the building would house command-and-control functions, provide redundancy for communications and be outfitted with infrastructure intended to remain serviceable into the early 2020s.
Officials laid out the legislative roadmap for putting the measure before voters: ordinance and resolution submitted in December, a Budget and Finance Committee hearing scheduled for Jan. 27, and at least two Board of Supervisors appearances in February, with a target to finalize ballot placement by the end of February.
The presentation concluded with commissioners asking for missing financial details — notably an estimated annual debt‑service figure — and Public Works agreeing to provide those numbers to the commission. Egarris said the department would return with more detailed design and cost information as the program moves forward.
