News Flash

On January 5 we reached a major milestone moving closer to the park opening when permanent power went live at Francisco Park. Final work is being done on the Children’s Play Area and Community Garden.  During this time some final grading and planting is underway while the great lawn is being established. Stay tuned for an opening date soon!

Francisco Park construction is moving forward towards a December 2021 completion!

The Hyde Street stairway has been installed and the view from the top is spectacular.  The pathway from the stairway to the great lawn will be poured next week.  Construction on the children’s play area and picnic area is underway.  Irrigation and grading work is complete, all of the native plants have been planted and are getting established.  This week construction of the community garden beds has started and final preparation for sod in the great lawn is wrapping up.  Sod installation is expected to next week. 

The panoramic view as you enter the park on Hyde Street, and descend the Hyde Street stairway.  The Golden Gate Bridge and the Ghirardelli sign can be seen in the distance.  The children’s play area is to the right, the great lawn in the center, and the trellis covered seating area and restroom building are seen on the left. 

Native plants at the Bay/Hyde street park entrance.  The planting areas are prepared with jute netting to help stabilize the mulch that will be installed soon.

Native grass planting at the top of the elevated walkway.

 Grading and soil preparation for installation of sod for the great lawn.

The elevated walkway is complete connecting the lower part of the park along Bay Street with the upper level and future great lawn. All flatwork has been complete thorough the park: the Bay Street entrance, upper plazas and Bay Street  and Larkin/Francisco sidewalks. The landscape contractor is on site doing final grading, erosion control, and installing irrigation in preparation for planting. In the attached pictures you can see the completed trellis structure with benches and benches for the rest of the park being staged here until they can be placed. Coming soon: planting, including laying sod for the great lawn, construction of the community garden, and groundbreaking for the playground.

Construction at Francisco Park continues to move along smoothly.  The elevated pathway structure has been painted and the crew is starting to install the boardwalk.  Form work for the concrete at the Bay Street entrance is installed and concrete flat work is underway throughout the park. The contractor has been performing fine grading of the hillside, erosion control measures, and preparation for planting to come in January.  Construction on the Maria Manetti Shrem Community Garden continues and the dog play area is formed and ready for the concrete pour.

A bird’s eye view of the area where the main lawn will be installed and Hyde Street in the background.  The top of the elevated walkway can be seen to the left and the trellis to the right.

Light poles have been delivered and are being installed throughout the park.

The community garden taking shape, with the dog play area below in the background.

The structure for the elevated pathway has been painted and the boardwalk is being installed.

Bay Street entrance form work underway

Concrete flat work happening in front of the historic reservoir berm.

Recent construction activities at Francisco Park include install of the footings and piers for the elevated walkway, flat work on pathways around the main lawn, and construction of the new Maria Manetti Shrem Community Garden (click here to enter the lottery for a community garden plot).

As you can see in the photos, the elevated pathway is well underway and the views are stunning. Concrete flatwork, including the donor stairway, is nearly complete. And all of this while the contractor continues to carefully adhere to the City’s required COVID-19 health and safety protocols for construction sites.

The elevated walkway under construction.

The newly poured concrete stairs leading up to the main lawn.

The top of the elevated walkway where it meets the concrete path to the main lawn, playground and community garden.

The beginnings of the community garden.

Francisco Park construction is moving along at a rapid pace while the contractor continues to carefully adhere to the City’s required COVID-19 health and safety guidelines for construction sites. As you can see in the photos, the above ground work is really starting to take shape allowing us to envision the future park. The footings for the elevated pathway have been installed showing the alignment of the pathway from the northern part of the part up the southern hillside. The trellis has been installed, the community garden area has been cleared and will be installed in the coming weeks. The the section of the historic reservoir structure that is being preserved is being cleaned.

 A view of the segment of the historic reservoir that will remain in place. 

The trellis structure is under construction.

Footings for the elevated walkway have started. 

A bird’s eye view of the future community garden.

Francisco Park construction has restarted after being paused under the City’s shelter-in-place order. The contractor is adhering to the City’s required COVID-19 health and safety guidelines as they are getting back up and running. The contractor is continuing plumbing and electrical work inside the restroom building and within the next 2 weeks (weather permitting) they will begin installation of the roof on the building. Once those items are complete, they will start work on the interior finishes in the building. On the site, the contractor is currently finishing building the forms for the large retaining wall west of the convenience building, for which concrete will be poured in the next couple of weeks. Through the end of the May they will be continuing work on site utilities, grading, and flatwork in the reservoir area.

The concrete wall and planter on the west side of the great lawn with Hyde Street in the background. The restroom building is to the right out of frame.

A birds eye view of the new restroom building under construction. Hyde Street and is visible in the background.

This is an image of the great lawn with a view of the bay in the background.

COVID-19 UPDATE:

In consultation with the City’s health officer and the City Administrator, on-going projects were evaluated, and a determination was made on each of our current construction projects based on criteria described within the most recent health order. Projects classified as “essential” are allowed to continue with construction under the shelter-in-place order, provided they follow a series of health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19. 

The non-essential projects are temporarily pausing on-site construction work through the duration of the Shelter in Place. 

This unique park project is a public-private partnership between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (RPD) and Francisco Park Conservancy (FPC). In 2014, the Recreation and Park Department acquired an underutilized reservoir site. Upon completion, the Francisco Park project will transform this abandoned reservoir site into a new public park, providing access to some of San Francisco’s most famous views of the bay alongside open spaces lined with native plants and trees.

An ADA-accessible pathway starting at Bay Street will wind its way up the park to a central lawn area, children’s playground, picnic area, restroom, and other amenities. The project also includes a fenced dog play area.

For more information, please contact Project Manager, Kelli Rudnick – kelli.rudnick@sfgov.org, 415-581-2561 or visit: https://sfrecpark.org/1137/Francisco-Street-Reservoir-Improvement-P 

This site is monitored for security purposes. If you witness acts of vandalism or trespassing, please call 311.

 Learn more about the Francisco Park Conservancy at www.franciscopark.org.

The design development for the future park at Francisco Reservoir continues to develop, providing a diversity of fully accessible public spaces, preserving dramatic mature trees, creating natural habitat, and of course maximizing the spectacular views.

In an exciting development, the Francisco Park Conservancy has announced a $6M challenge grant from an anonymous donor, aiming to leverage an additional $5M in matching contributions by the end of the year. Meeting this challenge would bring the Conservancy very close to meeting the fundraising target.

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2019.

By: Reuben Schwartz

On March 15, 2018 the Rec and Park Commission approved the conceptual design to renovate the Francisco Reservoir. The project design team continues to refine drawings with the desire to break ground in the Fall of 2018. 

By: Peter Moore