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Committee approves amendments and sends Polk Street leases for further processing amid questions about Community Justice Center
Summary
The committee moved amendments to correct dates and require a March 2013 report on space‑use before exercising an expansion option tied to the Community Justice Center, and forwarded the 575/555 Polk lease package with those amendments after public testimony praising CJC.
San Francisco
The Budget & Finance Committee considered two interrelated lease proposals to secure space at 575 Polk Street (ground floor) and 555 Polk Street (second floor) for court facilities and the Department of Public Health’s Community Justice Center (CJC) and voted to forward both items with amendments recommended by the Budget Analyst and one proposed by Supervisor Kim.
What was before the committee
Real Estate Acting Director John Updike explained the package: a 10‑year master lease at 575 Polk with 1 five‑year renewal and an expansion option to recapture the 9,000 square feet currently used as the CJC on the second floor (555 Polk) once the Culinary Academy sublease expires. The combined package secures 18,000 square feet under fixed rental terms through 2021 and provides certain tenant improvement allowances, a one‑year early termination notice date and a June 30, 2016 termination option.
Budget analyst recommended corrections and port/finance clarifications
The Budget and Legislative Analyst pointed out clerical date errors in the proposed resolution and recommended changes to reflect the correct transfer and lease expiration dates (e.g., when the city transferred maintenance responsibilities to the state). The BLA also noted that rent payments historically credited against the county facility payment could create net annual impacts and that the Courthouse Construction Fund may require general‑fund backfill if deficits persist.
Community testimony and program review
Multiple public speakers—including Civic Center and Tenderloin community representatives and CJC graduates—testified about the program’s neighborhood benefits and urged continued support. Supervisor Kim asked staff to secure a real‑estate plan and return to the Board with uses for the space prior to exercising the March 2013 expansion option; staff agreed to incorporate Supervisor Kim’s amendment. The RAND Corporation is conducting an independent evaluation of the CJC with final results expected in late 2013; the committee asked staff to accelerate where possible.
Outcome
The committee approved two technical amendments from the BLA (correcting transfer and lease‑expiration dates) and adopted Supervisor Kim’s amendment requiring the real‑estate department to return with a plan before executing the expansion option. The lease package was forwarded with recommendation as amended.
