Board approves transfer of Fillmore Muni Substation from redevelopment agency to city for community-led reuse planning

The Budget and Finance Committee approved a resolution to acquire 1190 Fillmore Street (the historic Muni Fillmore Substation) from the Redevelopment Agency at no cost and to receive 171,308 transferable development rights and $135,225 in predevelopment planning funds for rehabilitation and reuse.

City staff said the A2 project area for redevelopment expired earlier in the year, returning authority over the landmark property to the city. Jack Sylvan, representing the city's real estate office, said the transfer implements prior board actions that reallocated approximately $3.3 million associated with the substation to various Fillmore projects and that the purchase-and-sale agreement implements two specific elements: the transfer of $135,000 for planning and the dedicated transferable development rights for substation reuse.

Budget analyst Harvey Rose told supervisors the city estimates roughly $4 million in required seismic retrofit and that total development costs could range from $8 million to $10 million depending on reuse. Redevelopment staff said remaining A2 project-area funds are limited (about $400,000) after prior allocations to revolving loan funds and marketing; supervisors pressed staff to clarify the remaining balances and asked that the mayor's office and redevelopment agency provide a fuller accounting as part of the follow-up process.

City staff described a community outreach process to gather reuse ideas and said an RFQ would be released by the end of the year; they estimated a 12'18 month planning and entitlement process followed by a development agreement returning to the Board of Supervisors in early to mid 2011.

The committee approved the resolution with recommendation to the full board.