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City presents multi-project Justice Facilities plan; $216M forensic center proposed in Mission Bay
Summary
San Francisco public works and police officials presented a phased plan to replace and redistribute Hall of Justice functions, proposing a Forensic Sciences Center at 1600 Owens Street in Mission Bay and multi-hundred-million-dollar projects for a new police headquarters and a Sixth Street jail; DPW gave cost and schedule estimates and tied near-term work to capital planning and funding availability.
Department of Public Works staff told the Police Commission on Nov. 12 that the city is pursuing a multi-year Justice Facilities Improvement Program (JFIP) to address seismic, space and operational shortcomings at the Hall of Justice. Charles Hageras and Jim Buecher of DPW outlined a phased approach that avoids a single billion-dollar replacement and instead relocates and “rightsizes” functions across multiple sites.
The DPW presentation said the first project would be a Forensic Sciences Center to consolidate the Office of Chief Medical Examiner and the Forensic Services Division at 1600 Owens Street in Mission Bay. DPW said bridging documents would be completed by February, tenant improvements could begin in April 2010 and move-in was targeted in 2011 (dates described as approximate). The project cost estimate presented for the Forensic Sciences Center was $216,000,000. DPW said the consolidation is intended to preserve accreditation for the medical examiner’s office and expand laboratory capacity and chain-of-custody controls.
DPW described additional potential projects, including a rightsized police headquarters with an adjacent district station and fire station at the Third & Mission Rock site (estimated $204,000,000), a replacement jail on the block east of the Hall of Justice at Sixth Street to replace Jails 1 and 2 (estimated $437,000,000), relocation of local justice agencies and police investigations offices (estimated $463,000,000), and demolition of the West Wing to create a future court site (estimated $47,000,000). Officials emphasized the draft schedule and budgets are contingent on funding and the Capital Planning Committee review.
Dr. Sidney Holt, director of Forensic Services, described the operational need for consolidated, accredited space and projected growth in staffing and space needs — from roughly 94,000 square feet today to a planning target of about 157,000 square feet over a 10-year horizon, with staffing expectations rising accordingly. DPW and SFPD representatives said the consolidation should improve evidence processing, increase eligibility for federal grants tied to accreditation, and support timely casework for the district attorney and public defender.
Commissioners pressed DPW and the department on site selection, right-sizing assumptions and capital planning timing. DPW said the program deliberately avoids interim facilities where possible and that the phasing and timing will be driven by available funding and capital‑planning review. The commission was invited to attend upcoming Capital Planning Committee meetings where the scheme will be reviewed.
The commission did not take a final vote on any of these proposals; DPW described the presentation as an early conceptual plan and emphasized that environmental review, funding approvals and detailed design remain necessary steps.
